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20 Literacy Strategies for Engaging the Middle Level Brain

20 Literacy Strategies for Engaging the Middle Level Brain

Effective ways to enhance reading and writing experiences.

Recently, I was teaching a language arts class in Logan, West Virginia. The objective of the lesson was to analyze the impact of tradition on human behavior using narrative text. Sounds really dull, doesn't it? It...
Author: Marcia L. Tate
Number of views (156868)/Comments (3)/
Topics: Language Arts and LiteracyTeaching
Tags: Student EngagementReadingWritingLiteracyGames/Gaming
The Love Bubble

The Love Bubble

Using writing as opportunities for students to grieve and grow.

Teachers are perpetual students. Each day we learn some new piece of information from a book, an article, or a podcast, but we often learn a great deal more from our students. This following story is inspired by an...
Author: Sandy Cameli
Number of views (15818)/Comments (0)/
Topics: InspirationLanguage Arts and Literacy
Tags: WritingGrief
Getting Students Excited about Analytical Writing

Getting Students Excited about Analytical Writing

Imagine students wanting to improve their writing—just because!

What if students improved their writing because they wanted to, not just to get a good grade? What if their motivation to do better was fueled by teacher conferences and quick feedback? That fantasy could be closer...
Author: Joy Mushacke Smith
Number of views (21764)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Language Arts and Literacy
Tags: WritingState Tests
Making a Middle School Magazine

Making a Middle School Magazine

A student-produced magazine celebrates middle level student voice.

In October 2015, a team of seven editors—all eighth grade boys at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Virginia—met during lunch to compare two digital publishing platforms. They judged entries for the...
Author: Lisa Brennan
Number of views (37177)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Language Arts and LiteracyTeaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent MotivationActive LearningWritingLiteracyProblem-solvingStudent Leaders
Freewriting Middle Grades Math

Freewriting Middle Grades Math

Incorporating writing into math helps students understand their thinking.

In the minds of middle grades learners, math and writing typically don't go together. With the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) things have changed! If you'd asked me not too long ago about the challenges of...
Author: Rebecca Stelfox
Number of views (20217)/Comments (1)/
Topics: Common Core State StandardsLanguage Arts and Literacy
Tags: MathWritingProblem-solving
Humanities in a STEM World

Humanities in a STEM World

Even the most technical STEM jobs require verbal and written communication skills.

John Engler, president of The Business Roundtable and former governor of Michigan, recently wrote an article for U.S. News and World Report entitled "STEM Education Is the Key to the U.S.'s Economic Future." Engler...
Author: Brittany Durkin
Number of views (22156)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Language Arts and LiteracySTEM
Tags: ScienceMathReadingWritingCollege ReadinessCareer ExplorationCritical ThinkingSTEAM
Encouraging Student Voice Through Writing

Encouraging Student Voice Through Writing

These simple strategies put students' voice in their writing.

Some students come to class ready to engage and offer their voice, but others wish to go unnoticed and remain silent observers to the educational scene. The following is an assortment of creative writing, image...
Author: Jason D. Dehart
Number of views (14500)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Language Arts and LiteracyTeaching
Tags: Writing
Necessary Noise: The Importance of Collaborative Learning

Necessary Noise: The Importance of Collaborative Learning

An old-fashioned radio broadcast encourages deeper reading.

Connections between students, connections between texts and students, and connections between texts and the real world are vital to student learning. In classrooms, one way to make connections is by linking people,...
Author: Lesley Roessing
Number of views (26725)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Language Arts and LiteracyTeaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent MotivationActive LearningLiteratureReadingWritingInterdisciplinary TeachingLiteracy
Preventing Plagiarism: Three Proactive Paraphrasing Lessons

Preventing Plagiarism: Three Proactive Paraphrasing Lessons

You've read it … that one passage in a student research paper that startles you. The sentence structure and vocabulary exceed middle school norms. You raise your eyebrows, shake your head, and take a deep...
Author: Lisa Brennan
Number of views (32086)/Comments (3)/
Topics: Language Arts and LiteracyTeaching
Tags: Writing
Transporting Historical Figures from Past to Present

Transporting Historical Figures from Past to Present

Perspective-writing activities bring "a bunch of dead guys" to life.

To young adolescents, historical figures are a bunch of dead guys. Many students believe the issues, values, and perspectives of the people from the past hold no relevance to their lives in the 21st century. However,...
Author: Jeremiah Clabough, Nefertari Yancie
Number of views (15763)/Comments (1)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Social StudiesWriting
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