In an earlier MiddleWeb post, professor and former middle grades ELA teacher Jason DeHart argued on behalf of teaching with graphic novels, with numerous examples. Here he delves deeper into a single text from the Kid Beowulf series, detailing his own instructional strategies.
Brain and learning expert Marilee Sprenger highlights the 25 most high-frequency words for learners in the English language to focus upon. “I call these words ‘essential’ because knowing and using them can boost academic success and lifelong learning.” Are they on your vocab list?
“Improve Every Lesson Plan with SEL” shows us how – through intentional, deliberate and embedded instruction, including differentiation and choice – teachers can assure all students gain the explicit and implicit SEL skills they need, writes middle level leader Todd Brist.
Does email steal your time? Your problem isn’t so much about having too many. It’s that they’re in the wrong places. Use these tips from educator and digital organization expert Frank Buck to unmask your email time bandits and make your inbox tidy and surprisingly sparse.
Middle grades teacher Kathleen Palmieri is taking advantage of her students’ growing comfort level with online apps to set up interactive notebooks in Google Jamboard and use Google Slides to simplify the process. She includes all her steps plus extra tips and resource links.
Discover the why, what and how of collective student efficacy in this research-grounded book from John Hattie, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and Shirley Clarke. Reviewer Sarah Cooper was inspired by the rich descriptions of “I” and “we” skills needed for higher-level learning.
By linking bite-sized birthday bios and quirky facts to the daily calendar, Anne Anderson shows how we can engage minds, encourage dreams and capture curiosity. Have fun with your students while reinforcing skills and vocabulary and sharing a bit of learning they’ll love.
Want to keep content from last year’s digital classes while at the same time close down your prior students’ access? Follow along as NBCT Kathleen Palmieri shows how she’s organizing her files and folders to prep a fresh Google Classroom space as the new school year begins.
Suzanne Kelly and Elizabeth Dobler help us understand that technology, when used with intention, can help teachers augment instruction without letting it dictate what we do.They offer many tools and ideas to guide decision making as we integrate tech into our lesson plans.
Kelly Owens saw that polished texts didn’t model the struggles writers go through. “It was like showing kids an elite Olympian’s performance and asking them to replicate it.” With her ‘Draft Along’ activity, students now experience the wrinkly reality of the writing process.
