Math Activities / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 12/05/2023 · Last modified 12/07/2023
Students are more engaged when they’re talking and moving around, says math teacher Michelle Russell. “I won’t lie – it’s hard. But I believe a louder class that’s somewhat engaged in the concept is better than a quiet one.” She rates three engagement strategies she’s tried.
The authors of Shifting the Balance (Grades 3-5) invite literacy educators in the upper elementary and early middle grades to “engage in both the headwork and the heartwork required to ensure our practices are science-aligned and student-centered.” And do it in a safe space.
Adolescents are particularly susceptible to circadian rhythms – the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle – writes principal Mike Gaskell. Educators can do more to plan academic lessons and other content to take advantage of peak learning times.
Without good math fact recall, many students become discouraged about building math knowledge and solving equations. Kathleen Palmieri uses song and movement to engage fifth graders in computation fluency. Watch the music and exercise videos that are hits with her kids.
Facing the ‘December Dilemma’ of how to include winter holidays in the instructional day? This MiddleWeb resource offers a multi-faceted look at religious and non-religious aspects of the season, legal issues, and some ideas for seasonal lesson planning.
Kasey Short recommends offering middle schoolers YA novels with multiple narrators as a way to enrich opportunities for content instruction and SEL. They’re also really engaging and fun for kids to read. Included: sample questions and activities and lots of suggested titles.
Grounded in research and real-world situations, The Social-Emotional Learning Playbook by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher and Dominique Smith supports the social-emotional growth in you, your students and your community, writes Anne Anderson, calling the book “a great PD resource.”
While most middle schoolers can decode text, the crux of any worthwhile lesson is assuring they understand what they’re reading and how it might impact them or the world around them. Peg Grafwallner shares strategies to help embed these literacy skills across the content areas.
Ready to leave Granny’s snooze-inducing grammar lessons behind? Three simple yet powerful changes in grammar instruction can make a big difference in how students use grammar as a creative tool to shape their writing, says literacy coach and teaching consultant Patty McGee.
The Unstoppable ML Teacher / Videos in Class
by Tan Huynh · Published 10/23/2023 · Last modified 11/13/2023
Explainer videos are challenging for multilingual learners because of the dense academic language, the rapid speaking pace and the large amount of content covered. Language specialist Tan Huynh shares strategies he uses to help MLs maximize the ‘learning gold’ videos offer.
