All students can learn how to pick up the pieces after they face adversity, disappointment, loss, or trauma and go on. They need our guidance to find healthy ways to move forward. Debbie Silver offers six strategies educators can use to create classrooms that foster resiliency.
Red peppers have taken over Katie Durkin’s 7th grade team commons area. This year’s logo, banner and t-shirts result from teachers encouraging students to create artwork that fosters community. Katie shares all the steps in her team’s process and the excellent results.
Articles / Back to School / Mentoring
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/20/2023 · Last modified 07/17/2024
How can seasoned educators improve teacher retention rates? By helping new colleagues address two retention factors – student behavior and classroom climate – says middle grades veteran Sharon Ratliff. “Let’s show them how to manage their school of fish without being a shark.”
Lorena Germán easily weaves her personal experiences into the presentation of her Textured Teaching framework, holding our interest as she invites us into a deeper reflection about what it means to grow a culturally sustaining teaching practice and how we can bring that about.
Serena Pariser and Victoria Lentfer answer teachers’ questions about how best to establish dynamic classrooms, offering practical ways to build routines, minimize off-task behaviors, and engage students in truly meaningful ways. A great resource, says NBCT Kathie Palmieri.
Do you invite student talk? If we want kids to engage in the lessons we’re teaching, they need to see us valuing what they have to say. Kelly Owens shares tips for creating a “two-way” classroom community and home connections that encourage authentic dialogue and build trust.
The life skills students learn in our classes prepare them to thrive in the real world. Middle grades teacher Laleh Ghotbi shares some lessons from her effort to use weekly community-building circles in her classroom to help students learn to respect their differences and focus on common values.
Fresh teaching ideas engulf math teachers each fall. Which strategies take priority as we seek to help students have the best year ever? Teacher and coach Mona Iehl recommends three: build classroom community, review and augment resources, and select engaging lesson formats.
We Belong by Laurie Barron and Patti Kinney offers a community-forward approach to classroom management that promotes a culture in which schools become “places where [students] can discover who they are and who they want to become” through the year, writes Michael McLaughlin.
We know how to get those same 6 students talking and raising their hand each day. But how do we engage every student in truly explaining their thinking and sharing their math reasoning? Middle grades teacher Mona Iehl shares 3 ways to structure questions that pull them in and keep them talking.
