Discovering a more caring approach to reading and writing that meets students where they are One of the worst assumptions I made as a young classroom teacher was that each and every student in my class would possess a fully developed framework for reading and writing in my class. Maybe this was because I had
Read More… from Underpinnings of Literacy … Even in Middle School?
Helping students explore their opinions and develop vocabulary In the Association for Middle Level Education’s This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (NMSA, 2010), there is an expressed commitment to helping young adolescents become successful, responsible, global citizens. English language learners (ELLs) need meaningful opportunities to explore topics of global concern, though often, teachers do not
Read More… from Building ELL Literacy through Argument-Driven Activities
A course that honors the middle school transition On our pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 campus, the move from our lower school to middle school is a mere eight meters. An 11-year-old can make the trip in about 22 steps. Despite a limited physical distance, the transition from elementary to middle school remains intimidating. As new
The latest science tells us why now and even how to do it Many people have ambivalent to negative memories of their own middle school years, although there are exceptions. One of the authors of this article was in an “experimental cluster” within a traditional junior high, as it was called then. Her experience was
A student’s words of encouragement to fifth graders anticipating the start of middle school One year ago, I was sitting in these bleachers just like you, and just like you, I was excited, worried, sad, happy, terrified and everything in between. Now, I stand here before you, and guess what? I’m okay. These are the
Mastering standards at a deeper level with project-based learning John Dewey (1959), a great philosopher and educational theorist of the 1950s, had already warned us about the importance of an educational focus on the student rather than on the teacher. He argued that classroom methodologies should be reviewed since young people learn through experimentation. Dewey