Gena was failing most of her sixth grade classes when she decided to stop going to school. Her mother, Sheryl, called me in a panic. I hadn't talked to Sheryl in years, but we'd grown up together, and she knew I was a...

Much of the writing we assign our students is public writing—writing to communicate with others. Writing-to-learn is personal writing, writing that helps students increase comprehension of texts—fiction...

All effective middle school leaders take the time to reflect. In addition to purposeful reflection, the strongest kind of leader will also question themselves, explore their thoughts, and assess their actions in an...

Each year we explore new and innovative ways to teach middle grades students the foundational concepts and skills they need for algebra such as proportional reasoning. This year, we engaged students in a scale...

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education continues to emphasize the teaching of skills that are relevant to today's information driven economy (Jamali, Nurulazam Md Zain, Samsudin & Ale...

Students today are faced with global issues that impact their lives such as bias, political divisiveness, injustice, and mass shootings. These students have the potential to become a generation of leaders that improve...

There are a number of lessons I have learned in my 20 years as a teacher of American History. Appreciation of history is like a fine wine … the longer you let it sit (the older we get), the better...

Early leaders of the middle school concept established the goal of flexible organizational structures. But what is flexibility? The answer might include The utilization of opportunities to make change The...

Introduction Young adolescent education must be empowering and equitable (NMSA, 2010). While empowerment and equity are at the forefront of middle school educators' minds as they plan their lessons and conduct class,...

In This We Believe, the Association for Middle Level Education stresses the importance of understanding the unique developmental needs of our middle level students in designing appropriate learning environments and...