I started my teaching career in high school English for two years before I transitioned to middle school, or what I always referred to as teaching-topia. I taught seventh grade for nine years, and during that time I...

The Coalition to Support Grieving Students is a unique collaboration of the leading professional organizations representing classroom educators (e.g., AFT and NEA), principals, administrators, student support...

Middle schools devote attention to good beginnings such as orientation programs, building tours, and icebreakers meant to ease the transition. But what is the fitting end? Before middle schoolers pack up their...

Examining the Evidence For centuries, traditional American schooling has taken place in isolated silos of math, language arts, science, and social studies. However, once entering the workforce, students find that the...

We value our young adolescents. Our mission is to provide an exceptional education to students in grades 6–8 and, in particular, "build on our nation's promise of opportunity by exemplifying the role social...

Is great teaching rocket science? No. It's actually far more complicated. Maslow & Bloom The middle school years can be some of the most exciting, yet nerve-racking phases in life. Recent studies have...

Tying shoes. A simple activity that's typically performed one or more times daily. Once people learn how to tie shoes, they can do so almost without thinking. One of my favorite activities to do with teachers and...

Collaborative, individualized, and competitive learning are instructional methods that can be used with the project-based learning approach in middle school, with collaborative learning (sometimes known as cooperative...

Background For many years educators have used punishment, or fear of punishment, as the primary deterrent to student misconduct. We have tried zero tolerance, excessive use of in-school suspension (ISS) and out of...

In working with teachers on integration and differentiation, there are a few obstacles that are prevalent in almost every group. Logistics in implementing this approach in a system that is currently used is a common...