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
First-Week Activities My Math Classes Loved
Michelle Russell’s first week back in math class went great. Learn how she launched her classroom communities, thanks to teachers whose activities and ideas she scouted out online. Michelle has included all the students’ favorites in case you’d like to try some yourself!
The Very Real World of Artificial Intelligence
Not all educators and parents are ready to trust Artificial Intelligence, writes Amber Chandler, but to fully participate in the lives of our students and our children, we need to go where they are. Not only is AI very real to them, it’s also where the future awaits.
How to Build Effective Student Teams
If you are a STEM teacher, you’ve likely made productive teamwork one of your goals. Just as likely, you’ve probably learned that simply putting kids in groups does not automatically make this happen. Anne Jolly shares a step by step process to build successful teams.
Teachers: Plan to Care for Yourself This Year
Amid the enthusiasm and anticipation that typically infuse the start of school, author Debbie Silver shares advice to help teachers plan a successful year by choosing actions that will decrease stress, build stamina, and make sure they take care of themselves first.
MiddleWeb’s Latest Back to School Posts
At MiddleWeb central in North Carolina, late summer means fresh back-to-school ideas from our bloggers and guest writers. July and August 2017 have overflowed with teacher wisdom we want to highlight in one, easy-to-access post. We’ll add more posts as they arrive.
Teaching Kids to Thrive with Essential SEL Skills
In Teaching Kids to Thrive, says special education teacher-coach Laura Von Staden, Debbie Silver and Dedra Stafford provide a great book, full of research and resources, that craftily ties together the theories and research on vital, overlapping SEL skills.
Higher Order Thinking with Geometric Shapes
Each student Amy Estersohn shared the book “Which One Doesn’t Belong” with spent time lost deep in thought among the geometric images and was able to articulate a reasonable explanation for why a shape didn’t belong. The teacher’s guide can help build math discussion.
Kids: 5 Things to Know about Middle School
Amber Chandler introduces her rising 7th grade daughter Zoey to share “five things I wish people told me about going to middle school.” Perspective is everything, as Zoey demonstrates, with some advice she urges sixth grade teachers to share with their new students.
Using Fiction to Launch Our 4th Grade Science
Mary Tarashuk is counting on Peter Brown’s fiction picture books to enliven her 4th graders’ adaptation to their new classroom and their first science unit on animal and plant adaptation. The Global Read Aloud, featuring Brown’s Roz the Wild Robot, is in the wings.
Eight Ways Teachers Can Fight Hate & Injustice
In her first post at a new MiddleWeb blog, “Heart of the School,” teacher-librarian Rita Platt responds to a weekend of civil strife and a deepening discussion about race and diversity in America with eight steps she believes can promote social justice through education.
