According to the National Association of Health Education Centers, the chief stressor for students ages 9-13 is school. No middle grades educator is surprised by this, given the factors involved in a student's school...

During the Tennessee Council of Teachers of English conference a couple of weeks ago, I was walking around the spacious grounds of the event between sessions when I did something regretful and then noticed something...

In eighth grade, co-author Brian Quinn played on one of his district's ice hockey teams, which included students from different social circles. He was not in one of the "popular" groups at his school, but being a...

It was bright orange and boxy. I had used it repeatedly to "catch air," plowing over snow piles at high speed in school parking lots during the winter. Doing these stunts was safe, I reasoned: It was the family...

Learning styles are an integral part of each student's learning process, so to provide effective instruction, every teacher should be aware of the variety of learning styles represented in their classrooms. When I...

The first tip is thinking ahead... One of our best tools as parents is being prepared. As your son or daughter gets to the middle school years, get ready for at least occasional conflicts. Think through what is truly...

This case study involved three middle school students in an assessment of the influence of self-reflection on general academic performance. It was hypothesized that increased self-reflection would have a positive...

The current study investigated how ethnicity and gender affect changes in the self-esteem of early adolescents during the middle school years. Self-report data were collected from more than 4,000 early adolescents...

Lynn is an eighth grade student struggling through several of her courses; pre-Algebra is her biggest challenge. Until now, she has gotten by with acceptable grades, but this year she has found her classes much more...

Middle grades students write—daily. They text, pass notes, send e-mails, blog, and post updates on Facebook. At the center of students' non-academic writing are their day-to-day thoughts, stories, and...