Beginning your first year as a middle level teacher? Our resource collection points to plenty of how-to advice – from our very own bloggers and guest writers as well as other outstanding sources – that will guide you through the first weeks of school and the semesters ahead.
When we incorporate literacy assessments that honor students’ assets and identities, we take an essential step toward creating an inclusive classroom that values students’ cultures and centers them in their learning. Teacher educators Sean Ruday and Katie Caprino show how.
Looking for a way to incorporate creativity into your curriculum next school year? You may want to consider teaching students about design thinking. Teacher educator Katie Caprino and her preservice colleague Alyssa Marzili introduce the concepts and highlight 3 useful apps.
MiddleWeb is filled to the brim with resources and helpful ideas that new middle grades teachers will find valuable. We’ve selected 26+ articles that might be especially useful to newbies before (and after) they greet their students at the classroom door for the first time.
In The Elementary School Grammar Toolkit Sean Ruday shows how to use mentor texts as a tool to help kids connect with engaging material as they learn proper writing conventions. Teacher Kathie Palmieri says the book will enrich writing in the intermediate grades and beyond.
As you work with your students on grammar instruction, Sean Ruday recommends emphasizing that grammatical concepts are key parts of writer’s craft toolkit. An understanding of the precise purpose of each tool will help them become thoughtful and artful communicators.
Kathryn Caprino and Sean Ruday encourage you to include inquiry in your teaching this fall, whether it’s face to face, in remote settings, or a blend. The literacy educators share 5 tips with cross-curricular application to engage kids in the pursuit of essential questions.
The First-Year English Teacher’s Guidebook is a trustworthy resource that is well-balanced, effective, and research-based. Preservice ELA teacher Tara Sherman expects early career educators (and experienced instructors) will find it easy to use and “wholly recommends it.”
Teacher educator Sean Ruday hopes students will take ownership of ELA concepts like “inference” or “sensory language” if they can make meaningful connections between “school talk” and aspects of their out-of-school lives. He shares examples from his own research.
After considering his early years as an English teacher, looking at research and talking with teachers and administrators, teacher educator Sean Ruday shares four recommendations to help new ELA teachers’ first years in the classroom be as successful as possible.
