Welcome to the Middle Grades!
MiddleWeb is all about middle school & the middle grades — with a sharp focus on teaching and learning in grades 4-8. Join us, learn about our 5 streams of content, and find out how to get involved.
Teaching and learning in grades 4-8
4 Keys to Engagement in Social Studies Class
Award-winning social studies teacher Ron Litz shares some of the ways he makes student voice a top priority in his history classroom – using teaching strategies that focus on engaging students with the past and allow them to demonstrate their learning in a variety of formats.
My Radical Approach to Class Management
“My collaborative approach to discipline may sound too good to be true. But it’s still working, eight years into the experiment,” writes David Finkle. “Some classes respond immediately; some need time to adjust to the paradigm shift. But in the end, it nearly always works.”
How We Redefined What School Means
Most students at Laurie Lichtenstein’s middle school were F2F all year, but masked and isolated in small classroom pods as teachers moved about. It was hard, but as time passed teachers found ways to reduce isolation, build community, and let kids have lots of time to play.
Keys to Using Text Sets across Content Areas
“Text Sets in Action” provides expert guidance for any teacher interested in using this engaging strategy to deepen learning. The authors define “texts” broadly and provide advice and examples across the core content areas, writes teacher educator Dr. Sarah Pennington.
Teachers Are Active in Every Phase of GRR
Sunday Cummins and Julie Webb lay out the established roles teachers play in the Gradual Release of Responsibility classroom and then look into the complexity of GRR as teachers do a lot behind the scenes to manage the process, adjusting to students’ needs in real time.
A Rough Draft Mindset Boosts Math Learning
Using rough drafts and revision in middle school math class can reduce anxiety and boost math learning. Kathleen Taylor and Amanda Jansen relate an action research project aimed at shifting lessons from a process of task completion to one of continuous, ongoing learning.
3 Essential Roles for Monolingual Teachers
Drawing on a conversation with Dr. Brandon Beck, language specialist and co-teacher Tan Huynh highlights the roles monolingual educators have in advocating for multilingualism, fostering being multiliterate, and celebrating multiculturalism to support language learners.
25 of Our Best Posts for New MS Teachers
MiddleWeb is filled to the brim with resources and helpful ideas that new middle grades teachers will find valuable. We’ve selected 25+ articles that might be especially useful to newbies before (and after) they greet their students at the classroom door for the first time.
Everything You Need to Personalize Your PD
Michelle Blanchet and Darcy Bakkegard offer teachers ways to turn ideas into actions, personalize professional development, and create innovative learning experiences for themselves and their students. Reviewer Linda Biondi highly recommends the book.
18 of Our ‘Long Reads’ You Probably Missed
Did the sheer exhaustion of teaching in 2021-22 cause you to take a pass on some good but long MiddleWeb articles? Here are 18 insightful posts covering a wide range of topics that you might want to look over, in the calm before the next storm.
