In principal Matt Renwick’s school, digital portfolios are comprehensive collections of student work that teachers and their students curate and reflect upon on a regular basis. Here, Renwick offers a close-up look at the portfolio process.
Homework can be one of the most renewing and exciting aspects of teaching middle school, says teaching expert Rick Wormeli, but we have to be smart about its structure, assignment, and assessment. Included: Ideas to make homework more engaging.
Kids on the Cusp / Teaching writing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/27/2014 · Last modified 11/30/2019
Having helped her students visualize scenes and characters during read alouds, Mary Tarashuk tries the same idea with writing. She and her students “write aloud” as they create text to match the opening illustrations from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Then they envision their own stories.
The topic of dictionaries came up in assorted conversations in the past few weeks, reminding Kevin Hodgson both of the power of those esteemed books of words as symbols of thought and scholarship, and the ways in which technology is completely altering the ease and means of how we find information when we need it.
Teachers can help students explore important connections across different genres and subjects using “text sets” β collections of books and other media with a common theme. In this MiddleWeb article, teacher educator Amanda Wall details an assignment creating text sets for ELA and math.
Math Know-How: Answers to Your Most Persistent Teaching Issues (Grades 3-5) takes on topics of critical importance: the CCSS, teaching decisions, pacing guides, instruction, manipulatives, technology and reflection, says reviewer Sarah Parker.
Book Reviews / ELA & Literacy / Math & Literacy
by MiddleWeb · Published 02/26/2014 · Last modified 11/25/2019
The new edition of The Daily Five by the Two Sisters (Boushey and Moser) refines a popular ELA & math literacy program and offers powerful strategies that can lead to student independence. Start reading now for next year, says reviewer Linda Biondi.
Getting Started with STEM / STEM By Design
by Anne Jolly · Published 02/23/2014 · Last modified 12/10/2019
In this STEM By Design guest post, Dr. Susan Pruet shares 7 essentials on how to design and implement a successful, sustainable STEM program. Nothing worthwhile happens fast. So start with a diversely talented team and then work through her steps.
In Causes & Cures in the Classroom, author Margaret Searle provides detailed exemplars for getting to the root of studentsβ academic and behavioral problems. To reduce feelings of inadequacy, read the last chapter first, says reviewer Sarah Grieb.
Kids on the Cusp / Passion-based Learning
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 01/23/2014 · Last modified 11/19/2019
Storytelling, in its richest form, has an incredible impact on children, writes 4th grade teacher Mary Tarashuk. As her students explore the world of August Pullman in R.J. Palacio’s novel Wonder, she witnesses passion-based learning in full flower.
