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"Of Particular Interest" Archives!

MARCH IS MIDDLE LEVEL MONTH
March is Middle Level Month and the National Association of Secondary School Principals has a collection of useful and interesting resources on this special page, including interviews with 13 "highly regarded middle level leaders sharing their thoughts and experiences on a range of important topics." You'll also find ideas to help draw attention "to the many good things that are happening in countless middle level schools across the country." In these volatile times, that seems an important step to take.

TEACHING THE I-GENERATION: PRACTICAL IDEAS
NC middle grades teacher Bill Ferriter, author of "Teaching the iGeneration," is generous in sharing some great ideas from his own classroom that can help increase the digital learning quotient in your school. The link above leads to an archive of a recent hour-long Elluminate presentation Bill made for Classroom 2.0. We attended another recent Ferriter webinar, offered through TPACK Fridays, an interactive Open Academy series sponsored by the folks at Powerful Learning Practice. It's also publicly available at no cost. Both are click and view, with great audience chat.

NO-C0ST MATH WEBINARS
The National Middle Grades Forum is offering seven weekly math webinars (45 min each) for coaches, curriculum specialists and teacher leaders. The online workshops, scheduled through the end of March, highlight tools from the Mathematics Improvement Toolkit to help teachers strengthen and differentiate instruction. All you need is a computer, a browser and an internet connection.

FINALLY, HAIKU FOR BOYS
Middle-school librarians and Booklist bloggers Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan enthusiastically review “Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys” written by Bob Raczka and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. The book's website features animated haikus submitted by readers and activity sheets for teachers. The site also welcomes girls, who want to know: “What about us?!”

DRAMATIC MIDDLE GRADES REFORM
Hayes Mizell is one of the godfathers of middle grades improvement, known for combining compassion and directness in his advice to middle school educators and policymakers. In this December paper,, Mizell responds to a blue-ribbon commission's request for suggestions on how best to make "dramatic improvements in the percentage of students who leave grade eight prepared for challenging high school studies." He begins by singling out the unique and important job of educators who work with adolescent students, who must have both more respect and more consistent, high-quality PD support if we really expect much to change.

A DAY WITHOUT CHEMISTRY
A new short animated video from the American Chemical Society is getting some buzz - a very clever conversation starter about the role chemistry plays in everyday life. Alas, the ACS loaded the vid on YouTube and it's been crashing against school firewalls since. To the rescue, the Daring Librarian of Murray Hill Middle School, who not only posts the 90-second clip on her blog but tells how she leaped the firewall to do it. Ridiculous, isn't it? These teachers think so.

SOCIAL STUDIES & THE 2010 CENSUS
If you're not a member of the National Council for the Social Studies, you can still partake of some excellent articles from NCSS publications on using the Census in the classroom. Visit this page at the NCSS site and note the three articles at the top, offered to the public. Other materials are listed (just below) for members only, followed by another round of links to public resources beyond NCSS. PS: An individual annual membership is $79 or $139 for two years.

NO CURSIVE IN NEW CORE STANDARDS
Cursive isn't a required standard for students in the new Common Core State Standards for English, which Georgia and 40 other states adopted last summer. Teachers and administrators from across GA will meet in March to decide whether to amend the standards and retain cursive writing, which is already in serious decine."A lot of my students over the years have stopped being able to read cursive writing," says middle grades ELA teacher Ellen Jackson. "I have to make sure to write in print because they can't read it otherwise.” ALSO: Here's a teacher chat about the pros and cons.

WHY EXPLICIT STRATEGY INSTRUCTION WORKS
Author and new ASCD Edge blogger Rhoda Koenig applies the elements of coaching to explicit strategy instruction with students and suggests the technique can help "produce drivers instead of passengers." In future blogs she'll examine other research-supported strategies to push student learning. Her second post sets the stage with a discussion of classroom climate control.

READER'S THEATRE HELPS BOYS SUCCEED
In less than six minutes hear how teacher-librarian Susan Grigsby teamed with remedial reading teacher Gil Rodriguez to evaluate data about the reading deficits of 10 male students and create a reader's theatre to help these middle schoolers enjoy and improve learning. (It's YouTube, so see the next resource!) For more on data-driven collaboration and the work of Susan and Gil, see Toni Buzzeo's School Library Journal article.

YOU TUBE SAFETY
If you follow teacher and edutech conversations on the Web, barely a day goes by when you don't hear some sighing about the unavailability of YouTube video resources -- blocked by cautious school administrators. The eSchool News is reporting on the development of a free website to work around that problem. VuSafe allows teachers to pull in video clips from YouTube (and other sites) without the ads or comments that may contain offensive material. VuSafe is ready for beta testing: visit to see a demo and sign up.

NEW RESOURCES: BLACK HISTORY MONTH
The New York Times Learning Network has pulled together a good collection of Black History month resources, including historic front pages all the way back to Dred Scott and the Emancipation Proclamation. Plus a dozen or more NYTLN lesson plans. Check the comments for info about how other schools and districts celebrate the month. Also see this list (compiled by media literacy guru Frank Baker) of related cable TV content, including several lesson plans.

WHEN THE MIC IS POINTED AT YOU
More and more, teachers are called upon to share their insider views of school policy and practice. Be ready for your leadership moment with the media, with suggestions from Florida teacher-author Roxanna Elden. Her five points will help you prepare well, be alert to the preconceptions of media hosts, and stake out your position succinctly.

GOOGLE INVITES DOODLE ENTRIES
This year parents as well as teachers can register students in the Doodle4Google contest. With registrations due March 2 and entries on March 16, K-12 students still have time to compete and see their Google homepage logo designs online -- and at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Forty regional winners travel to New York. Three finalists win scholarships. The grand prize winner takes home a $25,000 technology grant for his or her school.

TEACHER PERCEPTIONS SHAPE STUDENT SUCCESS
Sixth through 12th graders who report teachers have low expectations of them, do not care about them, or do not involve them in school activities are less likely to succeed in their studies, says this recent research report published in Educational Leadership. Researchers at the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations base their findings on an analysis of more than 450,000 student surveys administered from 2006-10. The Institute identifies 10 school practices that they believe can help close the gaps in expectations, relationships, and participation.

PREDICTING WINTER
How do meteorologists predict seasonal weather? This interactive report from the National Science Foundation has some answers, as well as perspective on how the U.S. economy is affected by weather conditions, and how some businesses attempt to mitigate the effects. The report also highlights a new seasonal forecast model that scientists believe will improve accuracy. Graphs and maps help illustrate the key concepts -- and be sure to visit the classroom resources page.

READING PLANS WARM WINTER BREAKS
Sixth grade language arts teacher Donalyn Miller offers strategies to help students plan for personal reading during winter breaks -- expected or unexpected. Her ideas, shared at her Book Whisperer blog, can help young New England readers prepare for their February school vacations and the rest of us get ready for snow days. And Miller's tested ideas work equally well in the spring!

SCIENCE & MATH: ACCESS TRUMPS ABILITY
People are more likely to succeed as scientists based on access to rigorous science and math classes and enrichment throughout their school years -- rather than on pure ability. This finding, reported at Education Week's Inside School Research blog, emerges from a 25-year longitudinal study by Duke and Vanderbilt researchers. Though the study concentrated on top-performing students, the researchers predict that "the quantity, richness, and intensity" of math and science content would be equally important for a broader selection of students.

PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN
The recent passing of philosopher Matthew Lipman recalls his notable contribution to K12 curriculum, "Philosophy for Children." A MiddleWeb subscriber writes that it was "one of the most compelling curriculum packages for middle grades kids I ever came across. I loved it because it treated kids and their ideas seriously. And because it valued diverse ideas, heterogeneous groups were an asset in classrooms where it was taught." The NYT story linked above tells of Lipman's life and work. To find out more using the philosophy curriculum, which he hoped would not only teach logic but address some of life's big questions, visit this university webpage.

TECH FOR TEACHERS: BLOG BACKUP
Don't let sudden blogsite extinction affect you or your students. Multiple Edublog award winner Richard Byrne guides you through several steps to create off-line backups in his Free Technology for Teachers post, "How to Back Up Your Blog and Why You Should." BONUS: Earlier this month, Byrne kicked off 2011 with daily lists of top resources by content area. Have you tried Yummy Math or Adolescent Literacy?

SHARE YOUR STRATEGIES & INSIGHTS
Want to write for publication? The ASCD Express is published online every two weeks and favors short, pithy articles (250-750 words) on teaching and student-growth topics. If you think you might have a good idea, visit the link above to get upcoming themes (& deadlines) for 2011. Teachers often write for the Express feature "New Voices,"as MiddleWeb friend Susan Graham, an 8th grade FACS teacher in Virginia, did here.

FOR TEACHERS: BUILDING RESILIENCE
“The reality for those of us working in public schools is that our work is very, very stressful,” writes middle grades teacher-coach Elena Aguilar. “At a breakneck speed we must perform a multitude of mentally and emotionally draining tasks.” Add the pressures of high-stakes testing, budget cuts, and constant change from above “and sometimes it feels like it can't get any harder.” Which no doubt explains why Aguilar's thoughtful advice on how teachers “can increase our emotional reslience” has drawn a huge readership at the Education Week website.

GLOBAL LINK-UP: THE MICROLOANS PROJECT
We sat in on a very interesting webinar recently, featuring middle grades teacher/author Bill Ferriter. Bill dissected several digitally enchanced lessons and projects during “TPACK Friday” -- a public webinar organized by Powerful Learning Practice to help teachers think through ways to capitalize on the Web and enrich learning. The link above leads to resources from a project that involves students in making microloans in developing countries, using money they've raised themselves. Check out the rubrics and mini-lessons. If you're curious about TPACK and PLP's work, visit this page (scroll down to Jan. 7 to view an archive of Bill's session).

END OF THE 'STUPID' CLASS
Correia Middle School put almost all students into the same classes this year, taking on the challenge to end tracking and push all their students to excel. Students no longer joke about being in the 'stupid' class, and in the early going, school district tests show promising results, with less student conflict and socio-economic division. Parents were the hardest sell, but this story at the online Voices of San Diego newspaper says Correia “has won them over.”

MATH COACH: FORGET AUNT SALLY
Education Week Teacher has a hit with its recently launched blog called “Coach G's Teaching Tips.” The advice of instructional coach David Ginsberg is frequently a top “click” in the popular SmartBrief education newsletters. In this entry, Ginsberg argues that it's time to abandon the math acronym "Please excuse my Dear Aunt Sally" -- PEMDAS -- often used to help students remember the order of operations. The memorization tool is misleading, says Coach G, who proposes instead a big class poster that clearly states the four sequential steps and prevents students from ever concluding that 4-2+1 equals 1.

SIXTH GRADERS GO LOW-TECH
Most 12-year olds can't remember a time when technology wasn't front and center in their lives, so little wonder that this student-led experiment in digital deprivation landed in the media spotlight. During a unit on “the human condition,” Kelley Powell and her classmates at Still Middle School went without cell phones, cable TV, the Internet, iPods, video games, and more. “By the end of the week,” says this news story, “students had a new appreciation for a tech-free life, discovered or reconnected with their interests and activities that didn't include 'sitting in front of a glowing screen,' and spent more time with their families.” Ah, those were the days.

HISTORY YOU CAN DANCE TO
As we learn at the Washington Post Answer Sheet blog, a pair of teachers in Hawaii “have found a way to get around the common student complaint that history is dry and boring.” They've created video mini-lessons set to popular music: for example, the French Revolution to Lady Gaga's “Bad Romance.” The goal, says teacher Amy Burvall, is to get kids' attention and lure them into deeper study of history, not to substitute YouTube videos for the real thing. Excellent interview with a teacher who is far from frivolous. For (about 50) more clips, check out the YouTube historyteachers channel.

PRINCIPALS AS WRITING ROLE MODELS
“Middle level practitioners across America believe in the value of writing across the curriculum,” says Ross M. Burkhardt in this recent article for NASSP. Writing is “a learned competence, one that demands time, training, and example.” And speaking of examples, Burkhardt adds, principals can advance the quality and quantity of writing in their schools by not only sparking writing initiatives but becoming models of writers themselves. Burkhardt offers four ideas to get principals and other instructional leaders started, including this frequent suggestion from teachers: “Volunteer to go into (classrooms) and write along with students.”

DEBATE: SHOULD TEACHERS GET TENURE?
Here's a debate topic close to home, with both sides carefully laid out by the folks at the ProCon organization, which provides excellent breakdowns of issues, suitable for debate teams or class discussions. In this newest offering, ProCon notes that teacher tenure "is the increasingly controversial form of job protection that public school teachers in all states receive after 1-7 years on the job." It's the group's 40th "issue site," with others under development, including the pro/con of standardized tests and (safer territory?) vegetarianism. If you've had a chance to peruse ProCon's work, be sure to take their quick teacher survey, which helps with their fund raising.

WHO IS YOUR "EDUCATION PERSON OF THE YEAR"?
It's a popular question at the Edutopia website, with more than four pages of suggestions so far. Many teachers are zeroing in on Diane Ravitch, the education scholar who made an about-face on NCLB and high stakes accountability and has become something of a champion for "whole" schools. Others favor teaching scholar Linda Darling-Hammond, whose extensive writings and research point out a refreshing new path toward teaching quality and accountability. Many other voters, appropriately, named frontline educators who are succeeding in difficult times. Who would you pick?

WHAT ADULTS CAN LEARN FROM KIDS
Earlier this year author, speaker and whiz kid Adora Svitak spoke at the prestigious TEDTalks on the topic "What Adults Can Learn from Kids." In her 10-minute presentation, Svitak said the world could benefit from more "childish" thinking - bold ideas, wild creativity, and most of all, optimism. The big dreams of kids deserve respect and grownups need to see the teaching/learning relationship with children as a two-way street. Refreshing and remarkable.

THE DARING LIBRARIAN
Anytime the Book Whisperer (m.s. ELA teacher Donalyn Miller) recommends something, we pay attention. In a recent tweet, she highlighted the blog of The Daring Librarian, aka Gywneth Jones, teacher librarian at Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, Maryland. Jones is also a member of the ISTE Board of Directors - that's the organization of ed techies with the fabulous summer conference. We went to visit the Daring Librarian to read about "hot QR codes" but stuck around to browse. Chances are you will, too.

CLASSROOM RESOURCES: BLOOM'S TAXONOMY
Teaching resources maven Larry Ferlazzo is well-known for his "Best of" lists (there must be hundreds). We think you'll appreciate Ferlazzo's best tools for making Bloom's thinking skills taxonomy part of a teacher's regular planning and classroom instruction. In his introduction, Larry says he set out to find resources of practical use to teachers that are not "caught up in academic jargon" and describes some ways he tries to use Bloom's with his own students. You'll find dozens of links to explore, including free posters suggested by a commenter. And if this Ferlazzo "Best of" list isn't your cup of tea, check out his - yep - Best of the 'Best of' Lists for 2010.

PARENTS SHOULD LISTEN TO TEACHERS
Dan Willingham, psychology professor and author of 'Why Kids Don't Like School', has a thoughtful guest article at the Washington Post's Answer Sheet blog. There are 3 good reasons, Willingham says, why parents should listen attentively when teachers share perspectives about their kids. "In judging whether...my child is typical, teachers have a huge advantage over me." Worth a place in the new-parent packet?

TEXTBOOK-LESS TEACHING?
California is the first state, says this recent article, to "crack the spine" on open source, free digital textbooks in an attempt to save money and make educational resources easier to access and update. It's a challenging undertaking and works best in situations where students have access to laptops 24/7. And here's another story about reducing dependency on textbooks and paper-based tools — this time by a Maryland high school teacher who's doing it in her own classroom. It's hard work.

HISTORY: DOCS TEACH
This page at the Teaching History website serves as an excellent gateway to the "DocsTeach" site of the National Archives by pointing you in all the right directions. DocsTeach itself "brings together more than 3,000 primary sources and seven online activities, each designed to reinforce specific historical thinking skills." You can search or browse the primary sources, bookmark any that interest you, then go to the Activities section where you can plug your sources into any of the site's seven activity templates, then click and save your new activities for classroom use. "To add a twist," says Teaching History, "ask your students to make and present activities of their own-activity creation is simple enough and web-savvy students should be up to the task."

IS YOUR SOLUTION WORTH $2500?
In a recent post, we highlighted the Challenge to Innovate project, co-sponsored by the NEA and the U.S. Department of Education. Phase One, in which teachers submitted problems in need of solutions, is over. The NEA/USDOE folks have selected four "problem questions" from the many submitted and are offered $2500 awards for the best solutions. Two are content-oriented questions (math and literacy), one has to do with parent involvement, and the other with student voice. The solutions were due by January 14, 2011. If you missed the deadline, check by to see what others came up with!

PLC RESOURCES: GETTING THE FIRST YEAR RIGHT
If you're interested in starting or strengthening a professional learning community in your middle school, you'll want to browse the "reproducibles" on this webpage at the Solution Tree website. These resources can be downloaded without obligation, although they are obviously intended, in part, as an enticement to purchase "Professional Learning Communities at Work: The First Year" by middle grades teacher Bill Ferriter and principal Parry Graham. And why not? The book was just selected as the Best Professional Development Book of 2010 by Learning Forward (once known as the National Staff Development Council). That's up to you, but the 30+ resources are yours for the downloading — and good stuff.

BUILDING MATH POSITIVITY
Middle grades teacher and former neurologist Judy Willis has written a series of books for ASCD on the "brain science" of learning. In a recent guest post at Betty Ray's blog, Willis argues that children become interested in math when they are comfortable with it. "Students build resilience and coping strategies when they learn how to use their academic strengths to build math skills and strategies," she says. The teacher's intervention "helps them strengthen the networks that carry information through their brains' emotional filters to the area where higher-order thinking skills are concentrated." Willis offers three strategies to to help unlock students' math potential.

A FIGMENT FOR TEEN IMAGINATIONS
A literary website for teens? Yes indeed, and led by two experts with ties to New Yorker magazine. The idea behind "Figment" is to create a virtual space where students can write, read and share original fiction created via computer or cellphones and other mobile technologies. Best of all, the co-founders were wise enough to team with libraries, schools and literary groups to recruit student participants in advance, so the site would be launched with plenty of content. Read about it in the New York Times and/or visit Figment yourself, which has the feel of a cool but sophisticated social network.

WHAT HAPPENED TO PARENTING?
"Educators around the country agree that parenting trends in recent years have provided additional challenges to our schools," middle grades principal Melba Richardson says in this article from NASSP's Middle Level Leader newsletter. The times, says Richardson, "have certainly evolved from the days when students were expected by parents to take complete responsibility for their actions." She describes the formula for student success as one part educators, one part student motivation, and one part parental support. For another spin on the same issue, see MS teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron's series, posted at 3 different blogs, and highlighted by the SmartBrief ed newsletters. She begins at Huffington Post, with her 10 top family responsibilities.

TAMING CLASSROOM CHAOS: THE SEQUEL
Several years ago Cossondra George wrote one of the most popular Teacher Magazine "Teaching Secrets" articles ever, "Taming the Dragon of Classroom Chaos." In a recent post at her "Middle School Day by Day" blog, George pens what we might call "the Sequel," in which she offers "some easy practical ideas for how new teachers (or old ones who want to become more effective) can structure their classrooms to meet the needs of students." She used the word "old," not us! If you missed the original, it's here.

CLASSROOM MUSEUM HEIGHTENS HISTORY CLASS
We love this story from the San Gabriel (CA) Valley Tribune. Middle school history teacher Rocco Buccola uses artifacts placed throughout his classroom to make lessons come alive. It's based, he says, on the theory of "realia" - the use of multidimensional objects to enhance learning. "Just about everyone who walks into his classroom, including teachers and parents, is awestruck," says the news story. Check out the photos and see for yourself. And here's more about realia at the ESL Weblog.

INTERNET: DON'T HAMSTRING TEACHERS & STUDENTS
"If you're doing nothing but blocking (the Internet) all day long, teachers are going to give up using technology," says consultant Meg Ormiston in a T.H.E. Journal interview. Teachers are being pressured to blend digital skills into lessons, "but they're not being allowed to use the tools they need to do that. They're being hamstrung. And so are their students." She agrees there are legitimate barriers to using some Internet technologies in classrooms, but "the justifications in many cases are much flimsier."

DO YOU HAVE A TOP YOUNG SCIENTIST?
America's Top Young Scientist for 2010 is an eighth grader from Brookfield Academy in Brookfield WI, whose solution to a social or security issue (using science) was judged the best among more than 10,000 applicants in grades 5-8. The event is sponsored by 3M and the Discovery Education channel and offers a $50,000 grand prize and a chance to work with 3M scientists on a project. Learn about his project, the structure of the annual Challenge (which also offers prizes to finalists & semi-finalists) and how to keep up to date on the 2011 event at the link above.

LEGACY LETTERS: STUDENTS PASS ON THEIR WISDOM
There's no anxiety quite like the anxiousness of 11 and 12-year olds leaving the comfort of the elementary grades, where they've lately been the "kings and queens," and entering big bad middle school. Being welcomed by letters of advice from your older peers is bound to help. That's why middle school teacher Marsha Ratzel developed her annual "Legacy Letters" activity. In this article at Teacher Magazine, Marsha supplies all the details you'll need to get your own letters cycle started. What a great idea for entire middle schools to adopt.

SCIENCE: LIVING SYSTEMS
Inquiry into the structure and function of living systems is inherently interesting to middle graders, writes Mary LeFever, an Ohio science teacher working with the Middle School Math & Science Portal at Ohio State University. "For example, students are naturally interested in the workings of their own bodies and are often wowed when observing animal behaviors. The (2005) documentary March of the Penguins provides a good example of animal behavior that wows all of us." This comprehensive resource for teaching structure and function, freshly updated and penguin-populated, is a major resource for MS science teachers.

TEACHING BOYS
Boys are falling behind girls in academic achievement--whether measured by reading level, grades, dropout rates, or college attendance. Across racial or ethnic backgrounds, says the introduction to this themed issue of the ASCD Express, "boys are more likely than girls to be suspended from school or be medicated for learning disabilities." The online magazine includes a half-dozen articles with "practical classroom strategies to better engage, reach, and teach boys." One of our favorites: "Why Boys Feel at Home in My Class" by eighth grade FACS teacher Susan Graham, who understands that "boys need to make things and connect to the real world."

MATH: USE REAL DATA AND CURRENT EVENTS
Students who study news and current events in school, says this article at the NCTM website, do better on standardized tests, develop and improve reading, vocabulary, math, and social studies skills, and continue to follow the news as adults. This excellent tipsheet (developed by math teachers) is filled with ideas about incorporating real data and current events in your math lesson plans.

PROJECT LEARNING: THE BIG PICTURE
From this webpage, you can view a short video highlighting the main components of project-based teaching and learning, jump to a longer video describing project learning in a fifth grade classroom, or read a short article introducing the PBL idea. Look in the right margin under "Related" for more articles and videos, including a "PBL Research Summary" that highlights studies vaildating project-based learning methods. Also check out this comprehensive look at a kinetic energy project involving eighth graders at Maine's King Middle School.

CHOICE LITERACY: 6th GRADE CLASSROOM SET-UP
Billed as a general resource for K12 "literacy leaders" -- whether teachers, instructional coaches or principals -- the Choice Literacy website is available only by subscription, at the substantial price of $100 a year. But what caught our attention was the sizeable collection of no-cost samples, including articles by well-respected literacy authors like Aimee Buckner, Ellin Keene, Andie Cunningham and "The Sisters." Here's one sample of special interest to 5th and 6th grade teachers: Ann Marie Corgill's detailed description of the "learning landscape" in her own middle grades classroom, illustrated with photographs.

URBAN MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN CRISIS
Despite nearly two decades of zero tolerance disciplinary policies "and their application to mundane and non-violent misbehavior," there is no evidence that frequent reliance on removing misbehaving students improves school safety or student behavior. So says a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which zeroes in on middle school suspension rates. "Middle schools were chosen as the focus of this report for several reasons. One is the importance of a student's middle school experience in determining future academic success. (R)esearch suggests that suspension at the middle school level may have significant long-term repercussions."