The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) emphasizes that attending to the social, intellectual, emotional, and physical needs and assets of middle school children is central to their intellectual development....

Harsh skies at noon mirror the deep, stormy sea. Winds scream at tumultuously rolling peaks and valleys. Tossing ship and tumbled crew groan in unison. The captain shouts through the chaos, "Look lively, mates. You've...

After teaching sixth grade math and science my first two years, I was extremely nervous and apprehensive to become a robotics teacher. I did not study robotics in college, and I had never, ever pictured myself in this...

Everyday Leadership Object Prompt A Please take a few minutes to think about characteristics of leaders you know and respect. Then choose an object from the table that...

I'm a sucker for a good Taylor Swift song. As a 32-year-old middle grades educator I feel confident enough to put that in writing, especially in this venue. The weeks before I began teaching outside of Houston, Texas,...

In September 2015, a haunting image of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi circulated the world, mostly via social media. His lifeless body on the shores of Turkey was a confronting and emotive image for the average adult. For...

Every teacher has students who never participate unless called upon. And while randomly calling on students to respond, instead of taking volunteers, can dramatically increase both attention and participation, it can...

The best compliment a teacher can ever receive from a student is when they look at you and say, "Class is over?" These three words let you know loud and clear that they were engaged, focused, and enjoying the lesson...

The standards in current education reform movements stress the importance of strengthening students' content-area literacy skills. This means that social studies teachers must draw on powerful texts. The problem is...

"Students in the middle grades … have the ability to perceive deep truths and are making decisions that will affect the way they live the rest of their lives. This transitional time between childhood and...