Adolescents are particularly susceptible to circadian rhythms โ the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle โ writes principal Mike Gaskell. Educators can do more to plan academic lessons and other content to take advantage of peak learning times.
The authors of Educating for Global Competence break down what global competence is and then give examples and advice on how teachers can help students achieve it. International teacher Megan Kelly recommends the book as a resource to engage students in global citizenship.
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 โa great PD resource.โ
While most middle schoolers can decode text, the crux of any worthwhile lesson is assuring they understand what theyโre 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.
Gholdy Muhammadโs Unearthing Joy offers ways to elevate meaning, reflection and joy so readers can offer cultural and historically responsive teaching most effectively. Sarah Cooper calls it โone of the most beautiful, inspiring, actionable books about pedagogy Iโve ever read.โ
Lauren Buellโs 8th grade ELA team works with students on a comprehensive unit that helps all participants develop speaking, listening, writing, reading and life skills as they prepare end-of-year TED-style talks. She shares the unitโs impact once students enter high school.
Scaffolding strategies need to be used strategically, writes depth of knowledge expert Dr. Karin Hess. A strategy intended to support executive functioning or language development may not be effective for deepening content knowledge and thinking. See her tips and tools.
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 โlearning goldโ videos offer.
Recounting her visit from a grandfatherly apparition grabbed the attention of Stephanie Farleyโs students and launched a study of storytelling. Putting โstunt teachingโ into action โ sometimes with colleagues โ builds engagement and opens the door to choice, challenge and play.
