As students experience physical and emotional changes as part of adolescent development, body image can become a complex and sensitive topic. Reading books that explore body image can help. Kasey Short shares some favorite titles and questions for reflection and discussion.
Many problems that emerge in the ‘wonder years’ might be alleviated with a high quality puberty education program, writes health educator Wendy Sellers. “You will benefit from cultivating a more productive classroom climate and knowing you are meeting your students’ needs.”
2020 has been traumatic for students. A global pandemic, social unrest, and economic hardship have all impacted their well-being. For adolescents, writes school counselor Stephanie Filio, there is also no reprieve from the emotional clutter of growing up. Here’s her advice.
Middle schools and their students are special. By design 6-8 grade schools are intended to be communities, organized in houses or teams as the kids are exploring themselves and their world. All this helps in the leap to online school, says teacher Laurie Lichtenstein.
With unprecedented levels of stress among adolescents, and promising new research from leading institutions, there’s never been a better or more crucial time to implement mindfulness practices into middle school classrooms, says author-consultant Dr. Thomas Armstrong.
Articles / Teaching the Whole Adolescent
by MiddleWeb · Published 12/08/2019 · Last modified 06/24/2023
It’s hard to strike a balance between nurturing a middle schooler and fostering independence, but they need both from adults in their lives as they toggle between childhood and adolescence. Author and middle school counselor Phyllis Fagell shares 10 ways we can help.
Middle school dean Bill Ivey says Rachel Simmons’s Enough As She Is will thoroughly illuminate and clarify what parents and teachers of girls are seeing and hearing and help those adults think through how best to be supportive as girls seek their best authentic selves.
If bibliotherapy is an effective way to ease the growing pains of adolescents, writes 7th grade teacher Laurie Lichtenstein, The Outsiders is “the gold standard of therapy in middle grades literature.” It’s the only whole class novel she teaches each year.
Articles / Teaching the Whole Adolescent
by MiddleWeb · Published 07/07/2015 · Last modified 11/26/2019
Young adolescents need classrooms designed to meet their unique physical, intellectual and social-emotional needs, says middle school veteran Cheryl Mizerny. Her spot-on advice can help educators develop a teaching style that maximizes tween achievement.
Articles / Teaching the Whole Adolescent
by MiddleWeb · Published 12/28/2014 · Last modified 11/05/2022
Middle school students are a unique breed, says educator and consultant Jennifer Gonzalez, and they need teachers who are tuned in to the intense dichotomies of adolescent life and learning. She offers teachers new to the middle level eight helpful tips.
