Teachers Samantha Layne and Susanne Croasdaile introduce a new UDL-friendly tool to promote higher thinking, using a model-building strategy. TPRY helps students break down visual content, analyze it, and even build their own visual texts. See a food web modeling example.
Katie Durkin has begun adding picture books and read alouds to her seventh grade classes. She finds that in units like historical fiction and social justice, they bring students a sense of nostalgia, help them grasp difficult abstract concepts, and create a shared experience.
Our Making Questions Count series explores three key roles in the teacher-student learning relationship. In their final post, Jackie Walsh, Emily Brokaw and Anna Salazar describe in rich detail the Student as Collaborative Contributor, with real-world stories and resources.
Equity can be found in many places in the school – on the walls, on bookshelves, and in policies. The best place to check for equity for multilingual learners is by examining teacher and student schedules. Tan Huynh describes the practices that lead to equitable scheduling.
For educators who want to create culturally, linguistically sustaining gifted education policies and practices, Robin M. Greene and Michelle Pacheco Dubois offer a roadmap for change in their new book. Teacher Katie Galayda notes the book can be extended beyond gifted classes.
The missteps of middle schoolers may be “developmentally appropriate” but we still need to guide students to do better, writes school leader Jody Passanisi. “Students this age often rise to the expectations that are set for them. That is developmentally appropriate, too.”
After reading Co-Intelligence, Sarah Cooper is newly optimistic about the possibilities of AI in education – and trying to live more like a cyborg. Follow along as she inspects the author’s rules for co-intelligence, ways to personalize AI for educators, and how and if we might co-exist in the future.
What can you and your students accomplish the last few weeks of school? In this MiddleWeb resource educators share activities that align learning with fun, offer ideas for responding to stress, and suggest strategies to help sustain your classroom community.
Asian and Pacific Islander Month / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 04/10/2024 · Last modified 04/30/2024
For over 40 years the US Congress has recognized the heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during May. Federal agencies and nonprofits provide resources to bring the culture and history of AAPIs to the classroom. For an overview visit this MiddleWeb roundup.
Recognizing the gap between formal curriculum standards and the emotional and organizational hurdles of writing, Matt Renwick shares some of his ideas for student-centered strategies that acknowledge these challenges and equip students with tools they need to overcome them.
