MiddleWeb

Promoting Sensitivity to Student Diversity

As the school year begins, we are likely confronted by some students’ insensitivity to challenges of diversity. Sometimes that social blindness also occurs among faculty and staff.

• Writing for the AMLE magazine Middle Ground, University of Florida professor Colleen Swain outlines ways to develop sensitivity to racial and class discrimination and to make classrooms welcoming to diverse students in Addressing the Achievement Gap Through Cultural Responsiveness.

• Countering the ostracism which often greets special ed students requires a consistent effort, according to elementary principal Peter DeWitt in an entry from his Finding Common Ground blog at Education Week. Several of his blogs over the summer are also helpful for understanding the fear and suffering of LGBT young people and for helping them.

• Annamarie Urso, PhD, who has worked in K-12 special ed and now teaches at SUNY in Geneseo, urges educators to go beyond teaching about intolerance and to actively support kids who are targeted by bullies. Writing for Leadscape, the cognitive coaching site, she lists recent examples of racist bigotry and suicides among LGBT youth and provides links to resources to build support for targeted students. 

• LGBT students speak for themselves in “Queer Youth Advice for Educators: How to Respect and Protect Your Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students” by Abe Louise Young and 30 LGBT teens. Available online in PDF format, the booklet from nonprofit What Kids Can Do also offers extensive links to materials and ideas to help GLBT youth survive and thrive.

10 Great Reads for New Middle Grades Teachers

In this eclectic collection of articles for new teachers, you'll find plenty of how-to advice -- and also some excellent "think" pieces that will serve you well as you progress through the year.  Subscribe to our newsletter for more like these!
 

What to Do When the Kids Don't Share Your Culture

The respected educator Ted Sizer once said: "You can’t teach someone you don’t know." What is the most effective path for working with students who come from backgrounds different than your own? Middle grades instructional coach Elena Aguilar offers 13 tips that will be of interest not only to new teachers but to anyone who works in multi-cultural classrooms.

 

Important Things to Do Before Your Students Arrive

Veteran middle school teacher Marsha Ratzel offers advice about actions novice teachers should take BEFORE the first day with students. A math, science and social studies teacher in Blue Valley KS, Ratzel's ideas range from the practical to the profound and are a must-read – sooner rather than later. Also see another article by Ratzel that includes an illustrated discussion of how she organizes her classroom for learning.


How to Tame the Dragon of Classroom Chaos: Organizing Yourself & Your Students

"My classroom is not neat and tidy and shiny like some," writes middle school math and social studies teacher Cossondra George. "It has that homey, lived-in, loved look." So how does the semi-organized teacher hold the Mighty Dragon of Chaos at bay? George shares 10 "stolen" strategies that help her and her kids stay focused on learning. Also: In a follow-up post at her teaching blog, she builds on her ideas to include tips on instructional management.

 

Get Back in Touch with Your Inner Tween

Effective middle grades teachers have the knack for remembering what it was like to be an adolescent in school (frightening as it sometimes was). MS teacher and new author Heather Wolpert-Gawron recently shared some ideas about getting back in touch with your inner student in this excerpt from her recent book Tween Crayons and Curfews: Tips for Middle School Teachers. Also: If you like what you read, jump over to W-G's teaching blog TweenTeacher and read her top 10 ideas about "How to Take Control of Your Teaching."

 

Involve Students in Creating Classroom Norms

This article at Education World offers a collection of teacher strategies aimed at increasing student ownership of classroom rules and norms by involving them in their creation. Also: For more ideas about positive approaches to behavior management, see this excellent article "Assuming the Best" based on the successful strategies of teachers in high-needs schools.
 

Priming the Student Learning Pump

New-teacher mentor Kathie Marshall tells the story of a novice middle school teacher who learns some important lessons about student engagement. One reader commented: “As a first year teacher, this was a refreshing article to read and relate to. I know that engaging students is the key to their success, but I, too, became overwhelmed with the curriculum and ignored the most important factor of teaching -- engaging the learners!” Enough said!

 

Teaching Secrets: Effective Questioning

"Research has demonstrated the value of effective questioning, but the stats are depressing," says board-certified teacher Elizabeth Stein. "About 60 percent of all teachers’ questions fall under the category of 'recall,' the kinds of questions that require students to regurgitate facts." Stein explains how teachers can deepen learning by setting the stage for fruitful inquiry, then asking the right kinds of questions: open-ended, diagnostic, challenge, elaboration and extension. (Free registration at Ed Week Teacher) 

 

Use Left-Over Classroom Time Wisely

Nobody does a better job of gathering useful teacher advice than resources guru Larry Ferlazzo, as he demonstrates in this article filled with good ideas (from his own classroom and others) about maximizing the teaching potential of those leftover minutes between the end of the planned lesson and the final buzzer.

 

Meeting Parents at the Beginning of School

Parent nights send "chills up the spine of many teachers," says veteran middle grades teacher Marsha Ratzel. Her article is aimed at helping novice educators prepare for a successful parent meet-and-greet experience. Don't get lost in the details of your classroom, she says. Remember that parents most want to know that you're going to treat their child fairly, you're committed to teaching both the curriculum and other skills well, and you'll listen to them as a valued partner in their child's school year. Also: Check out this Educational Leadership article "But What Do I Say to Parents?"
 

Not New, but New to Middle School?

And finally, recognizing that all new teachers in the middle grades aren't novice teachers, we offer a reflection by a veteran elementary teacher who recently moved a few rungs up the grade ladder -- who shares the valuable help she got from two middle school classics by teacher, author and middle school expert Rick Wormeli. "Both of these books are treasures for any new middle school teacher, be they novice or level-jumping veteran."

Like this feature? We'll be sharing lots more advice for new teachers in upcoming MiddleWeb newsletters. You can subscribe here.

 

For New Teachers: "My Five Biggest Mistakes"

This blog post by teacher-author Robyn Jackson at ASCD's Edge social community has been a popular read (for its good advice) and drawn useful comments (from other teachers confessing their biggest blunders). Among Jackson's confessions: taking everything personally; waiting too long to intervene; and hiding out from parents. Good counsel - and while you're taking a look, check out the Edge itself: lots of smart teachers hanging out there.

 

New Teachers: When You're Up against a Wall

"Middle schoolers are engaged in an experiment of how far their power to control their environment extends," says eighth grade teacher Susan Graham in this post at her Teacher Magazine blog. "The variable is how far they can push before the test subject responds negatively; and the test subject is pretty much any adult they encounter." When Graham, a 30-year veteran, encountered "J.R.", she was reminded again of these developmental characteristics as her tried and true classroom management system collapsed. And then she recalled a bit a wisdom recently gathered from a much younger colleague.

 

Teaching Time Management

We all understand and sympathize with the distractions of tween-hood, says middle grades teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron, but "we still need to teach deadlines and responsibility." In an installment of her "Middle School Nuts and Bolts" series, the TweenTeacher offers ideas from her own classroom about helping students manage their minutes and their workloads. Wolpert-Gawron's blog post was a most-clicked story from the daily Accomplished Teacher SmartBrief newsletter for more than a week. Are we surprised?

 

Teaching Secrets: The Classroom Management Collection

Your MiddleWeb editor also serves as editor for the Teaching Secrets series at Teacher Magazine. These articles from that collection, all written by members of the Teacher Leaders Network, emphasize classroom management strategies of particular interest to new and novice teachers.

Teaching Secrets: CREATE EXTRA LEARNING TIME
In her latest classroom management article for Teacher Magazine, middle grades teacher Marsha Ratzel offers a tour of Room 66, describing “some of the routines and procedures that make your classes run more like a well-oiled machine than a smoking jalopy.” Her system, she says, can create nearly a month of extra classroom time for teaching and learning. She even includes pictures.

Teaching Secrets: CREATING POSITIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Veteran teacher-coach Marti Schwartz explains how helping students take pride in positive behaviors—and reflect on negative ones—can help change the classroom environment.

Teaching Secrets: FIRST DAYS IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM


Instructional coach Elena Aguilar's first-days routines have been honed over many years of practice. She divides them into three categories:building community, establishing routines, and launching the learning.

Teaching Secrets: TAMING CLASSROOM CHAOS

"My classroom is not neat and tidy and shiny like some," writes middle school math and social studies teacher Cossondra George. "It has that homey, lived-in, loved look. " So how does the semi-organized teacher hold the Mighty Dragon of Chaos at bay? In this article, Cossondra shares 10 "stolen" strategies that help her and her kids stay focused on learning.

Teaching Secrets: TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CLASSROOM

Gail Tillery inducts up to 25 new teachers a year at her large suburban Georgia high school. Most have just graduated from college and suddenly find themselves standing in front of a room full of students only a few years younger than they are. “In many cases, the disaster is coming on fast,” she says. Dodge the disaster with this National Board Certified Teacher’s advice. (May require free registration at the Teacher Magazine site.)


Teaching Secrets: HOW TO SMILE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

When Kathie Marshall entered her first classroom nearly 30 years ago, “I found myself running to veteran teachers at the first sign of trouble, asking ‘What do you do?’ Without fail, she remembers, someone would say, “Don’t smile until Christmas!” Their advice to assume a “grim and commanding presence” didn’t square with Kathie’s vision of an inviting teacher. Her alternative? Early in the year, she and her students work together to develop class rules and routines. It’s worked for three decades, says the Los Angeles teacher-coach. (May require free registration at the Teacher Magazine site.)


Teaching Secrets: ORGANIZING MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

Special education teacher Laurie Wasserman shares time-tested methods that can help even the most “organizationally challenged” sixth grader find his or her way. “It’s hard sometimes to realize that students don’t deliberately misplace papers, forget pencils, or lose track of assignments… It’s our job to teach them the tools and strategies for getting organized and feeling successful.” (May require free registration at the Teacher Magazine site.)



Teaching Secrets: STUDENTS BEHAVE WHEN TEACHERS ENGAGE

Anthony Cody began his teaching career in inner-city Oakland CA almost 20 years ago. It was a rough first year, with many lesson preps. “My credential program had not really dealt much with behavior issues. The idea was to deliver a rich curriculum, and the management would take care of itself. If you are already teaching, you know this does not always work.” After floundering the first year or two, he got some good advice from down the hall. Follow his tips and you won’t have to way a year or two to establish a harmonious classroom environment. (May require free registration at the Teacher Magazine site.)

Teaching Secrets: THE MIRACLE OF CHOICES

Stubborn two-year olds respond to choices, why not adolescents? That was the thesis Mary Tedrow began with, some years ago, when she devised an engagement strategy that allows her high school English students latitude in selecting assignments. Which are, of course, carefully designed to produce the same learning effects – whatever they choose! As you’ll see in the Comments section of this Teacher Magazine essay, middle schoolers like to be choosy, too. (May require free registration at the Teacher Magazine site.)

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CLASSROOM
This final article isn't technically a part of the Teaching Secrets series, but it could be. At her blog TweenTeacher, eighth grade teacher (and TLN member) Heather Wolpert-Gawron offers her "Top 10" ideas about "How to Take Control of Your Teaching." Good advice for newbies and veterans alike.

The Power of Positive Relationships

Some educators discount relationship-building in middle grades and high schools as "fluff," writes Tara Brown in the August issue of Middle Ground, the NMSA magazine. But for "middle grades kids who are trying to gain some independence and figure out which way is up, relationships with classmates and teachers are crucial to success." Brown offers seven relationship-based strategies "that can transform your classroom into a positive learning environment."

Bullying: Help Students Get Proactive

"Most of the time, 6th graders arrive in middle school feeling lost and scared, and it takes some time before the bullies and troublemakers have the nerve to separate themselves out from the pack. But last fall at our Los Angeles middle school, trouble was brewing almost from the start." So begins literacy teacher Kathie Marshall's frequently recommended story at Teacher Magazine about the strategies she used successfully to help her students put bullying in its place. For more tips about bullying, download this toolkit from Eyes on Bullying.

Dealing with Sassy Kids

Check out the advice in this and other articles at the "Empowering Parents" website and see if the insights of behavioral experts James Lehman and Robert Myers might be useful to you and/or to parents and guardians of your students. "As your child gets into adolescence, he'll start to find ways to push your buttons," says Lehman in this overview of sassy talk. "I personally think that the less you challenge it, the less you give it power. Remember, the less power you give it, the more it's going to die its natural death."

Classroom Management at Your Fingertips

Get organized with Surviving and Thriving, a practical 32-page flipchart for classroom management, with tips you can use tomorrow on routines, time & planning, space & materials, grouping, transitions, refocusing, encouraging discussion, reporting out, record-keeping, and more. Just $12. Click here to order!

Thanks to Stenhouse Publishers for their support of MiddleWeb and middle grades educators.

Balancing the Teacher-Student Relationship

What is the relationship balance in a classroom? Where is that exact point at which students feel cared for but also know that they must respect the teacher and they are expected to learn? Middle grades educator Cindi Rigsbee, a 2009 national teacher of the year finalist, shares her insights about "The Relationship Balance" in the new summer edition of Educational Leadership. It's a web-only issue with the theme "Good Teaching in Action," that includes interesting articles for newbies and veterans alike. Another must-read: "The Best Teachers I Have Known."

Schools Still Exploring Single Gender Classes

A Virginia school district will pilot single-gender classrooms in grades 6-8 during the coming school year. The focus will be on core academic classes. While some groups question whether such approaches "prepare students for the real, coed world of work and family," school and district leaders cite research evidence and their own experience in defending a practice they say can help some students flourish who might not otherwise. According to the National Association for Single Sex Education, about 500 public schools in the U.S. offer single-gender programs of some kind.

10 To-Do's for New M.S. Teachers (before the kids get there)

Veteran middle school teacher Marsha Ratzel offers advice about things novice teachers should do BEFORE the first day with students. A math and science teacher in Blue Valley KS, Ratzel's article has received more than 30,000 hits at the Teacher Magazine website. "These straightforward, practical tips can help you get off to a good start by smoothing the path to the destination you care about most—teaching well. Start thinking, planning and preparing now, and you’ll get there." It's a must read – and the sooner the better!

What Does It Take to Get Really Good?

At the Fires in the Mind site, sponsored by What Kids Can Do, young people are sharing stories about their own efforts to get really good at something -- from ballroom dancing and skateboarding to developing mathematical thinking and good study habits. As always, WKCD provides the authentic voices of a diverse cross-section of American youth -- a precious commodity. And they've included mindful ideas for teachers and parents to start some fires of their own. The site asks: "Do kids have to be born with talent to shine at math or chess or debate or cello? What draws them in, and keeps them going when things get harder? What's happening at school--or not happening--to light the fires in young people's minds?"

New Teachers: An All Star Resource Collection

For the past five years and more, we've been collecting the best new-teacher web resources we can find at a special spot at the MiddleWeb site. Among these treasures are nearly two dozen "Teaching Secrets" articles written by middle school folks for Teacher Magazine. (It requires free registration to access these, but it's well worth the effort.) Some other recent additions to our collection include ideas for new math and science teachers; and real-life videos from a U.K. series for novices. There's even advice straight from a particularly insightful student.

Solutions for the Antsy Classroom

Not long ago we spotted a news story about an elementary school that replaced classroom chairs with fitness balls and found their youngsters were able to stay put long and concentrate better. Now comes a similar story about a solution for restless middle schoolers -- but this time, instead of bouncy balls, it's stand-up desks. In Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin (at least), some schools are replacing the standard classroom desk "with height-adjustable work stations that teachers hope will offer notorious fidgeters some relief for their antsy tendencies." Read this Associated Press story and click on the accompanying photos for a good look at the stand-up desks.

Video Advice for New Teachers

There's a good no-cost video series at Teacher TV featuring Sue Cowley, a former teacher turned behavior management expert. Cowley is British and the series is filmed in British schools, so it feels a bit like The Nanny reality show. But that's a good thing -- and as you'll quickly see, kids act pretty much the same everywhere. "The enemy is not the kids but anything that gets in the way of them learning," Cowley believes. Among the topics: Starting the school day right; keeping a cool head in class; creating a good set of rules; managing group work; and establishing routines. Each clip is about 15 minutes long, and you'll see a mix of age groups, K-8. Also check out Teaching with [John] Bayley, who works with teachers in the upper grades. See "Too Much Talk," for example.

Desperately Seeking Solutions?

Do you have students who, when faced with a problem, immediately cry for help, accept defeat, or simply panic? Desperately Seeking Solutions gives you a framework for teaching essential problem-solving skills that help kids succeed in school and in life. Includes a 10-lesson mini-unit plan. Click here to preview the entire book online!

Thanks to Stenhouse Publishers for their support of MiddleWeb and middle grades educators.

Advice for New Teachers... from a Student

Kelsi Bryant is a 10th grader at award-winning Marvin Ridge High School in Union County, NC. After reading an archived new-teacher discussion at our MiddleWeb site, Kelsi was moved to prepare some notes for new middle school teachers, from a student point of view. Kelsi says she has grown up in a family of teachers and "I am aware of many different teaching styles. I am no teacher, it is true. But in my 10 and a half years of being a student I have had lots of good teachers; and lots of bad teachers too. I want to to share some things that my good teachers did." Click above to see what Kelsi had to say.

Meeting Students Where They Are

That's the theme of Educational Leadership's February 2010 issue. Rather than select an article for you, here's a link to the table of contents, where you'll find several publicly available offerings. One of our favorites is "Start Where Your Students Are." Teachers often value good grades and a quiet classroom, says author Robyn Jackson, but what if students come to class looking for something else? Jackson explores the idea of "student currencies," which she defines as "Any behavior that students use to acquire the knowledge and skills important to your class." Jackson, who authored the ASCD book Never Work Harder Than Your Students, also shares some of her solutions to problems of student engagement.