Author: MiddleWeb

What Leaders Can Do to Prepare for 2021-2022

As school leaders begin typical summer work, they will need to include recovery strategies that identify effects of the pandemic and address emerging issues. Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share key areas of focus to help teachers and students thrive in the new normal.

Trauma-Informed Schools to Support All Students

In Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, Alex Shevrin Venet has written not only to inform us but also to call us to reflect and take action, writes middle school leader Bill Ivey, who anticipates readers will evaluate their practices to find areas for improvement.

3 Questions We Can Ask about Informational Texts

Asking three basic questions can help middle grades readers connect with informational texts and make sense of their meaning. Literacy consultant Sunday Cummins describes several classroom-tested steps that can aid students in identifying and analyzing new information in nonfiction material.

Differentiating History Instruction with Menus

Laurie E. Westphal offers a comprehensive introduction to student choice and how to make menus successful. Aimed at high school, the ideas can also work for advanced students in middle school as they develop their strengths, writes history teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith.

Make It Happen: Reading Growth for All Students

Helping students who avoid reading see themselves as developing readers rather than struggling readers can make all the difference, writes Laura Robb. She shows how guided practice lessons give students opportunities to strengthen their skill and move steadily forward.

Teaching Kids When to Let Go of a Writing Idea

Writers often put unsatisfying drafts on the back burner, but our students seldom have the luxury of time, says literacy expert Lynne Dorfman. They need to take a piece through the complete writing process. Knowing when to let go and choose a new topic becomes a valuable skill.

Taking Middle Schoolers’ Reading Journals Online

Educators Daniel Rose and Christine Walsh receive a thank-you note for their new book, Talking Through Reading and Writing: Online Reading Conversation Journals” from middle school director and teacher Jeny Randall. She’s ready to reinvigorate her practice with their ideas.

A Trio of New YA Books Written in Verse Form

New YA books by Amanda Gorman, Lois Lowry and Margarita Engle are all written in verse, says Katie Caprino, yet each tells a story in a different way. One is a poem to America. Another is memoir. And the third is historical fiction, set in 1990s Cuba, with a singing dog.

It’s Pride Month! Books Featuring LGBTQ Teens

In celebration of Pride Month, 8th grade ELA teacher Kasey Short highlights 12 YA books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters who represent diverse identities, sexualities, experiences and families – showing young teens experiences that may be similar to or different from their own.

Using Guided Practice with Hesitant Readers

Literacy experts Robb and Harrison draw directly from their current middle grades teaching practice to identify the causes of reading hesitancy. Their tested lessons focus on improving student reading and vocabulary using videos and high-interest texts included in the book.