MiddleWeb

Poets Laureate: Poems for Young Readers

Every year or two, the Library of Congress selects a new poet laureate. We've highlighted the newest national poet, Philip Levine, in a recent MiddleWeb newsletter (#434).

Here are some kid-friendly poems by other recent poets laureate:

Kay Ryan reading "Home to Roost,” a cautionary chicken tale.

Charles Simic on “Late September” at a quiet coast.

Charles Simic, again, describing wedges of “Watermelons” before and after dining.

Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry” with some suggestion of violence at the end.

Ted Kooser reviving America’s past with “Porch Swing in September.”

Ted Kooser, again, seeing galaxies far and near in “Flying at Night.”

Rita Dove on the last moments before “Vacation.”

MiddleWeb's New Resources (433)

From our newsletter: • Ready for NaNoWriMO? • Stenhouse: Students as "historical thinkers" • Bloom-friendly Apps • See Math Come Alive • Boost Active Learning • 300+ Years of History • Promoting Positive Behaviors • Quick Links (free subscription)

Ready for NaNoWriMo?

Book Whisperer Donalyn Miller can hardly wait to immerse her students in the National Novel Writing Month’s Young Writers Program beginning November 1. In this blog entry, she’s invited YWP director Chris Angotti to explain how K-12 students can participate and how they benefit from writing a novel in just 30 days. Kids "win" when they reach their target word count. At the YWP website you’ll find out how classrooms and individual students can take part. You’ll have access to resources like a virtual classroom, a Young Novelist's Workbook pdf in the kids’ section, a free classroom kit (for up to 35 kids), lesson plans, and more.

 

From Stenhouse Publishers

Traditional history instruction doesn't work. "Why Won't You Just Tell Us the Answer?" shows you how to move beyond just lectures and textbooks toward a more question-centered approach that fosters historical thinking and leaves a lasting impact. Includes 6 sample American history units. Preview the entire book online.

  

 

Bloomin' iPad Apps

Apps are everywhere. To help you narrow the field and find apps that support Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, Kathy Schrock has provided Bloomin’ iPad, a clickable display of Apple-friendly apps to take you from Remembering (SimpleMind+) to Creating (Fotobabble). An online prof who's been an ed tech director and school librarian, Schrock earlier offered Bloomin’ Google to show where Google tools fit into Bloom’s. You can find more ed tech resources at her Guide for Educators.

 

See Math Come Alive

UC Berkeley math ed professor Dor Abrahamson wants to bring math to life for kids: not just scribbling numbers but understanding the interaction of their world and the math they encounter in class. In this brief Edutopia video, he uses humor as well as objects, some of his own invention, to show how math – even in a first encounter with traditionally challenging fractions – can come alive.

Boost Active Learning

Roadblocks to active learning abound. In this TeachHUB article read about four of them and find suggestions for meeting each head-on. You may increase participation of just about everyone by trying out the grouping strategies and student/teacher interactions outlined here. For more on engaging students, revisit a 2009 favorite which outlines ten ways to keep kids attuned to class.

300+ Years of History

Working with the Library of Congress, Scholastic has assembled a one-stop American History collection. As part of their Teach 'Dear America' Diaries promotion, Scholastic offers scrapbooks, whiteboard-ready slides, and more, all neatly arranged by historic periods. You can get an idea of the range of the LOC offerings by visiting the Colonial and Thanksgiving resources, complete with an up-to-the-minute Thanksgiving teacher guide. If you are following the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War this year, be sure the look over the extensive list of resources for that era.

Create Positive Social Proof

What do you do when a student disrupts the class? Elementary PD director and presenter Bryan Harris suggests that responding to each disruption will only encourage "negative social proof," with students seeing that negative behavior receives attention. Instead, build positive social proof by rewarding positive behaviors. Commenters (scroll down) share their challenges as well as strategies for building a successful learning environment.

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MiddleWeb's Quick Links

Didn't find quite what you need? Here's a quick look at some other resources. 100 characters or less.

• New Teachers - Five Things Not to Do After a Bad Day.
• YouTube launches Education channel to complement Teachers channel. Hunt & pick.
• Mobile app game models safe networking: BeSeen!
• Highlights of proposed NCLB rewrite, from Ed Week. Has bipartisan support.
• Self-paced Web 2.0 teaching primer - Rev up your 21st century classroom, for free.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (432)

From our newsletter • Dan Pink: Motivating Students • Stenhouse: Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This • Candy
Corn in Space • New Teachers: After the Honeymoon • Student Research Unbound • Teaching Kids Self-discipline • 7 Golden Tech Rules • Our new Quick Links (free subscription)

Rethinking Drive & Motivation

Scholastic’s Top Teaching blogger Stacey Burt recently discovered Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In two posts (part 1, part 2), she shares his ideas about motivating students: both the principles (autonomy, mastery, purpose) and some everyday how-to’s. You can also hear Pink talk about motivation to learn and how students respond to his ideas in a 2011 video interview. PLUS: If you're a visual learner, join the 6 million people who've viewed Cognitive Media’s lively animation of Pink’s core thesis.

From Stenhouse Publishers

Get your students to buy into writing as a valuable skill with Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This. You'll see how to model writing for a variety of real-world purposes: inform & explain, evaluate & judge, analyze & interpret, take a stand, and more. Includes mentor texts throughout and a chapter on revision & editing. Click here to order.

Science: Candy Corn in Space

If you're a science teacher, you've probably listened to Science Friday on NPR. But have you seen the geeky-yet-cool videos on the SciFri website? Here's a corny space experiment with a seasonal theme: Watch NASA astronaut Don Pettit's gravity-free explanation of how soap works, using a baseball-sized sphere of candy corn. Pettit also notes that at the right concentration, the candy ball becomes rigid, not unlike an arch. Speaking of arches, should you have need of some virtual manipulables for a Newtonian physics lesson, this interactive tool at PBS’s Nova site lets students play around with medieval arch-building, sometimes with thunderous results. (Hints are provided, but you'll need to supply your own dust & sound track).

New Teachers: After the Honeymoon

The school year is fully underway, writes middle grades teacher Cossondra George, and teachers and students "are settling into routines—which can be comforting but can also confront new teachers with the reality of how tiring a teacher's life can be. It's when you need to develop habits that will sustain you—and keep your excitement and enthusiasm flowing—throughout the school year." Take advantage of George's wise advice. ALSO: If you haven't yet discovered the teacher's superpower (eyes in the back of the head), 8th grade teacher Ariel Sacks tells all here.

Student Research Unbound

Most students will need to know how to assemble a research paper or book report. But what other formats may catch the attention of young researchers? School librarian and teaching innovator Joyce Valenza shares 50 ideas about ways students might report on what they're learning without resorting to traditional forms. Trip itineraries, mock trials, performance pieces, online surveys, even battle re-enactments may be just what you need for memorable E/LA, history or science study. Also note (in the comments) Valenza's invitation to contribute your ideas, including those in math and science. There's also a link to her TED-X talk on the future of librarians.

Teaching Self-Discipline

Here's a good Edutopia piece on teaching students to manage their own behavior. It includes both a video and a story about the "developmental discipline" approach being used in Louisville KY with students in the late elementary and early middle grades. "This strategy changes teachers from being punitive to really helping kids -- and adults too -- examine why something happened, and then consider what we can do to make it right and to make sure it doesn't happen again," says one principal. ALSO: New ASCD columnist and nationally respected educator Carol Ann Tomlinson writes about "the most powerful attribute a teacher can attain" — Respect for Students.

Tech in Schools: 7 Golden Rules

The MindShift blog ("How we will learn") recently featured 7 golden rules offered by edutech author Adam Bellow at last summer's ISTE conference. Many who read them have suggested they be laminated and nailed to the door of school board and principal offices. (Especially the one about professional development.) In a recent follow-up, fourth grade teacher Patti Grayson offered her take on the 7 rules, after serving for a year as a member of her school's teacher leadership team on digital learning. It's time to get past the fear factor, Grayson says. Digital tools and technologies are here to stay, and it's the job of schools to help students cope with the new reality, not hide from it.

MiddleWeb's Quick Links

Didn't find quite what you need? Here's a new feature we'll include in all future newsletters. 100 characters or less.

• Artsonia is a huge student art gallery on the Web. It's a free space (created by teachers) and if parents choose to purchase 'custom keepsakes,' schools share.
• Understanding Science is a teacher resource goldmine. We've been prospecting there; you should too!
• ReadWriteThink's monthly literacy events calendar is awesome. October includes Black Poetry Day & Teen Read Week.
• Math Problem-Solving Strategies? The Middle School Math Portal has plenty of teaching ideas.
• Social Studies Chat - Looking for a collaborative community? Here's the doorway.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (431)

From our newsletter • A festival of teaching tips • Stenhouse: Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing? • Let students create their questions • Math all over the place • Blowing up a storm • Not enough time to assess? • Reading to remember • It's the Witching season • Our new Quick Links (free subscription)

20 Tips - about Everything

Creating blog posts and articles around "numbered bullets" is all the craze. Three tips, 5 ideas, 6 steps, 4 never-do's. Hey, we're guilty. So we took some guilty pleasure in wallowing in Edutopia's totally over-the-top approach to Tips Chic: a slew of articles celebrating the site's 20th anniversary, all featuring (yep) a Top 20. We'd give the prize to "20 of My Biggest Teaching Blunders," but "20 Things I Never Thought I'd Say in an Elementary Classroom" is also a hoot. On the practical side, we favor "20 Tips for Managing Project-Based Learning" and the piece by our middle grades teacher friend Heather Wolpert-Gawron: "20 Everyday Ways to Model Technology Use for Students."

 

From Stenhouse Publishers

Use technology to reenergize your writing instruction with "Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?" Practical lessons help you advance from simple word processing and publishing tools to digital storytelling, distance learning, interactive editing, and revamped rubrics—while meeting writing standards. Preview the entire book.

 

Students Asking Their Own Questions

There's a useful instructional article in the Harvard Education Letter, describing a six-step process for teaching students to create their own questions about what they're learning. Question formulation creates student buy-in and deepens learning, say the authors, who offer examples from very different middle grades classrooms. “When you ask the question," says an inner-city student, "you feel like it’s your job to get the answer, and you want to figure it out.”

Math All Over the Place

“Does putting math in context mean that we cannot teach math in abstract?” Blogging for MindShift, Audrey Watters responds to a NYT op-ed calling for applied math and references a TED Talk by math teacher Dan Meyers. For a look at what’s happening in math ed today, visit NCTM’s monthly Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School and look for public articles. September’s non-member download tackles estimating to improve fraction calculations (click download-upper right). Find engaging activities and review materials (complete with video how-to’s) at After School Math. Abstract or applied, you'll find plenty to peruse.

Blowing Up a Storm

Recently Vermont Public Radio broadcast news about a tiny village coping with the devastation brought by Hurricane Irene. With storms brewing in the Atlantic and more possible into November, we are recommending several sites to bring the hurricane season to life for your students. For a storm-by-storm review of 2011, try Weather.com’s State of the Season. Thinkfinity provides a whole page of K-12 sites from the likes of NASA and AAAS. For instantly useable resources, visit Scholastic. Among its links is one for kids who are wondering what hurricanes are like in the Pacific. For a teaching perspective, see sixth grade teacher Marsha Ratzel's ideas for engaging students with violent weather.

Assessment: Show Me the Time!

Formative assessment works. Sixth grade E/LA teacher and popular blogger Bill Ferriter has Robert Marzano's numbers to prove it. But after four weeks of struggle, Ferriter wonders if ongoing assessment of teaching and learning is really possible for teachers who have an imperative to cover the curriculum, and other school and home responsibilities to fufill. Read his suggestions for altering school life to make the oft-touted assessment strategy a reality (some are dependent on funding). And browse all the commiseration and recommendations submitted by readers.

Reading to Remember

ASCD Edge blogger Rhoda Koenig provides strategies for helping students in the intermediate grades remember what they have read. It's an excerpt from her book, Learning for Keeps: Teaching the Strategies Essential for Creating Independent Learners. Koenig follows the efforts of fourth grade teacher Ann Daley who introduces “chunks, blocks and breakthroughs” to help kids analyze their reading. See how Daley uses differentiated group practice to build toward individual understanding.

It's the Witching Season

Witches have a place in Halloween — and in American History. It was on September 22, 1692 that the Salem Witch Trials led to the execution of the final eight victims. This UM-Kansas City site, filled with transcripts, images and maps, includes an opportunity for students to decide how they would have responded to being accused of witchcraft. Also suggested by Awesome Stories are video clips from “In Search of History” which review the deadly hysteria and describe Puritan beliefs and the second-class status of Puritan women. The introductory clip on European torture of accused witches may be too vivid. For a lighter take on witches and Halloween, visit ReadWriteThink’s collection of lessons and activities and the resources at the American Memory site, including a "real" ghost story.

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MiddleWeb's Quick Links

Didn't find quite what you need? Here's a new feature we'll include in all future newsletters. 100 characters or less.

• YouTube launches Teacher Channel. School-friendly features coming soon.
• ClassDogo, a new mobile app, aims to help teachers track and manage classroom behavior.
• Online imaging tools make student multimedia projects more fun, less frustrating.
• Earth Science Week ahead. Lots of activities for the Oct. 9-15 event.
• Who cheats in school and what can we do about it? Surprising infographic.

Two Videos with Excellent Teaching Tips

In a recent MiddleWeb newsletter, we highlighted Success at the Core, a website filled with videos about high-impact instructional strategies and ideas for leading change at the school level. It's all free — just register to access everything on the site. If you'd like to sample before signing up, here are two sample videos that don't require becoming a SATC member:

The Big Brain - a Cooperative Learning Protocol – Take a look at how students in Barbara Cleveland’s seventh grade math class use a small group cooperative learning protocol in a math investigation.

Facilitating Student-Centered Discussion – Take a look at how students in Steven English’s eighth grade science class refine their understanding of scientific concepts through small group and whole class discussions.

Each video runs about 8 minutes. As you'll see, just below the video window, SATC has provided some information about the school, class length, etc. Both of these videos involve classes with lots of student diversity.

Subscribe to our newsletter here.

 

MiddleWeb's New Resources (430)

From our newsletter: • Great teaching videos • Tips on fiction writing • STEM in the middle grades • Valuing diversity • National writing day • The Flipped classroom • Create ebooks for any ereader • Hispanic Heritage Month • Transmedia Storytelling (free subscription)

 

Great PD Videos

Looking for quality open-source PD videos illustrating proven teaching and leadership strategies? Explore the offerings at Success at the Core, a non-profit group that has developed and field-tested material "designed to help leadership teams and teachers elevate classroom instruction and improve student outcomes." We've heard a lot of praise about this series, which features seven leadership team development modules and 24 teacher instructional strategies (a total of 47 documentary-quality videos). Register at no cost to explore all of the site's content, including tips on how to best use what you find.

From Stenhouse Publishers

Get your students crafting stories like a pro. In Writing Stories award-winning author Carolyn Coman (What Jamie Saw, The Memory Bank) offers sage advice and practical exercises on all aspects of fiction-writing—getting ideas, plot, setting, characters, dialogue, and more. Preview the entire book online.

STEM in the Middle Grades

Schools need to prepare students for "a STEM-filled world," says this recent issue of the ASCD Express, which offers several articles useful to those concerned with science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning. In New Jersey, a middle school has developed a required course called simply "STEM," taught at each grade level 6-8, in addition to regular math and science courses. Another article highlights the importance of a "why and how" approach to engaging intermediate students in math concepts. There's also a selection from Case Studies in K-8 Science Education, featuring Audrey, a veteran educator teaching science for the first time in an urban middle school. And lots more to browse.

Valuing Differences

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. In a new post at the MiddleWeb blog, we offer a diverse collection of resources about increasing students' awareness and educators' support of the differences that make us human.

10/20: Nat'l Writing Day

The National Council of Teachers of English is inviting everyone to its third annual National Day on Writing, set for October 20. In past years Ohio fifth graders have covered their sidewalk with chalky quotations from their favorite writers, Arizona college students have written seven-word memoirs, and South Carolina students of all ages have crafted writing to tempt visitors to the state’s Lowcountry. Teachers across the country have created classroom galleries featuring their students’ writing at the NCTE’s digital National Gallery of Writing. Find writing lessons for all ages at Read Write Think and other Day on Writing resources on the NCTE site.

Flipped Classrooms

Are you hearing the buzz about "flipped classrooms"? We're not talking earthquakes and tornadoes here, but an intriguing (if disputed) cross-curricular teaching strategy. “Flipping” refers to the practice of having students study lesson content as homework and spend class time practicing what they’ve learned with guided help from teachers. Here's an eSchool News story — and a brand-new infographic sharing the big ideas. If your interest is piqued, visit the Flipped Classroom Network, a Ning social community dedicated to discussing flipped teaching and learning. There you'll find videos, teacher stories, and lots of other resources.

Convert eBooks to Any eReader

Want to move PDF’s to your favorite eReader? Mediabistro.com’s eBookNewser can help. Just follow their directions for using the open source conversion tool Calibre. You can also use the powerful Calibre software to manage all your ebooks, convert them to formats compatible with popular readers, and even create your own ebooks from scratch. For example, put together a collection of student work in Word, convert to PDF, then use Calibre to create the ebook in any format of your choice: Kindle, Nook, iPad, even desk and laptop computers. Calibre will also search for and add ebooks in the public domain. Learn all this via an excellent tutorial at the Calibre site.

Hispanic Heritage Month

When National Hispanic Heritage Month begins its 23rd annual celebration in the U.S. on September 15, you can be ready with a compact resource from Scholastic. You can help your upper elementary students discover outstanding US Latinos or guide your middle schoolers on a trip through Hispanic influence in the Americas. Learning about the key role of early Catholic missions is another possibility: you'll find lesson plans at Edsitement’s Heritage page, which also has links to PBS clips, Mexican National Holiday pages, and much more. The Library of Congress has collected many other resources, including stories from NPR's StoryCorps.

Transmedia Storytelling

First: what's that? Wikipedia says it's "the technique of telling stories across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies." Whether a narrative is presented to students or is created by students, they can enter a transmedia story from several digital directions (and often participate in the action). In a collection of articles and resources at the National Writing Project's DIGITAL IS website, upper elementary media specialist Laura Fleming explores ways that teachers can make use of transmedia in the classroom. We suggest starting here. “Developing a narrative over multiple platforms while interweaving learning outcomes," Fleming says, can "create transformational learning experiences.” Fleming offers the example of a "born-digital" story called Inanimate Alice (which you can learn about here and then experience here). In a collection of blog posts, she includes sources of transmedia books and tools for teachers who want to immerse their students in narrative learning adventures. (Also check out the Inanimate Alice Facebook page.)

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.

Resources for Teaching about 9-11

Facing the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 will be difficult for many people, in the United States and across the world. For teachers the challenge is to help students understand that day and our country’s response to it. Among the online resources for educators, we have found these to be the most helpful:   The “September 11: Teaching Contemporary History” website provides lesson plans and activities from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the three memorial organizations, and others. The site now offers recordings of the early August online conference sessions for EL, MS, and HS teachers.

Materials are also available to help parents talk about 9/11 with their children. Access education services company Pearson’s free September 11 resources. The two Pearson collections, one for K-6 and the other for 6-12, include lesson plans, audio of survivors, and a booklet to share with secondary students. This week the NYT’s Learning Network offers thoughts on how to use the anniversary of 9/11 to help students understand history, and why it is essential for them to see that history is more than chronology.

Edutopia’s Suzie Boss suggests several 9/11 resources in her August 29 blog. Especially helpful are brief guides from the National Association of School Psychologists. The advice can help educators,  parents and young people face the pain and questions which memories of 9/11 provoke.

If you decide to use video of people’s responses to the attacks, the History Channel provides interactive maps with linked video clips. Finally, the Associated Press has created a free style and reference guide.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (429)

From our newsletter: • Classroom Q&A blog • Practical classroom assessment • Teachers paying teachers plenty • Google Earth math • Class websites made easy • Talking to parents about homework • Top teen fiction books • Back to school with MindShift (free subscription)

Classroom Qs? Ask Larry

Seen the new Classroom Q&A blog at Ed Week? Larry Ferlazzo invites your questions on K-12 classroom management, PD, instructional strategies, ELL instruction, school reform, and any other challenges you face. Each week he’ll take one question, offer his thoughts, and also gather ideas from readers and experts. If your Q is selected, you’ll receive a book by Larry or another Eye on Education author. First up is "How Can We 'Motivate' The Unmotivated to Learn?" Experts include top-selling author Daniel Pink. ALSO: In another recent Ed Week article, Larry shares 5 Questions That Will Improve Your Teaching.

 

From Stenhouse Publishers

How are your students progressing? What do they need next? So What Do They Really Know? — by best-selling author and English teacher Cris Tovani — shows you how to make assessment a powerful part of everyday instruction. Preview the entire book online.

Teachers Pay Teachers (Plenty)

We were surprised to learn that the teacher enterprise service, Teachers Pay Teachers, is now five years old. To mark the milestone, TPT has launched a "sparkling new website," says founder Paul Edelman. "We now have over 110,000 resources in the catalog and our best-selling teacher earned $195,000 in the past year. Overall, teachers have earned nearly $3 million sharing their best resources." Edelman says teachers in the middle grades are well represented in the mix. If you're looking for lesson ideas or feeling entrepreneurial, TPT is now a must-visit site.

Real World Math

Catch your math students’ attention with Thomas J. Petra’s Real World Math website. A 20-year math educator and Google Certified Teacher, Petra has brought Google Earth into the classroom, building lesson plans that will have students measuring, graphing, and calculating to determine how typhoons behave, what to expect from a Sierpinski triangle, and much more. Petra provides tutorials and extensive resources to get you acclimated to Google Earth. He also posts NCTM standards for the over 30 lesson plans. Most of them include the middle grades in their target audience. More how-to’s and why-to’s are at Petra’s blog.

Easy Class Websites

Seemingly tech-savvy middle grades teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron (she's written a book on internet literacy) confesses that she's been shy about creating a class website until this school year. But no more. “Technology integration should allow for teacher differentiation,” she says. For that, she's found Weebly, a user-friendly tool that made it easy to create an inviting student/parent site. Take a look to see how WolpertWorld will involve her eighth graders in the year ahead. (You might also enjoy Heather's nuts and bolts checklist for the 1st day of school.)

Parents & Homework

Here’s a tactic to share during parent conferences: Include homework breaks to decrease stress and antsy-ness. Maurice Elias reports on research showing that after about 18 minutes of struggle, kids need a break to do something they enjoy and do well. After 4-5 minutes, it’s back to the books (or computer screen). With a little practice, students will likely accept the new schedule. If parents wonder how much homework makes sense, share the Duke research cited in this USA Today article, favoring quality over quantity.

Top Teen Fiction Books

Vampires, angels, princesses, fairies, shape shifters, a teen private investigator, and a transgender youth. These are just a few of the characters featured in novels on a list of best 2010/2011 teen books assembled by the Young Adult Library Services Association. Through September 16, kids 12 and up can vote online to select the Teens’ Top Ten from the 25 nominated by YALSA’s reading groups. To see an annotated list of the selections, download this PDF.

 

Back to School Tech Tools

The excellent MindShift blog from KQED public broadcasting in San Francisco recently featured "The Most Anticipated Tech Tools of Back-to-School 2011." If you're an especially geeky teacher (pardon the expression), you won't be surprised. But it's a fun read - can you guess the top three? Don't miss the link to Evernote down near the bottom. John is a convert. (While you're at the M/S site, check out the new post about Google Chromebooks, which schools can rent cheaply, and - if you dare - Which [Firewall] Rules Are Worth Breaking?)

Earthquake Crowd-Sourcing

Did your students feel the east coast earthquake Tuesday or the ones out west this week? You can report your experience in detail at the US Geological Survey earthquake page. (Click on "Did You Feel It? Tell Us") It's a simple way to demonstrate "crowd sourcing" that helps scientists and public agencies learn more about disasters. While you’re there, check out the website’s extensive resources for teachers: videos, quick animations, photos going back to the 1906 San Francisco event, exhaustive Q&As, and more. There’s also a page of resources for kids with interesting facts, science project ideas, games and lots more.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (428)

From our newsletter: • More help for new teachers • 2 books for new middle grades teachers • Student habits of mind • Are graphic novels worthy reads? • Images of endangered life • Use Twitter for live PD • ELA Common Core curriculum maps • Middle school survival kit (free subscription)

 

More Help for New Teachers

Just getting started in the profession? We’ve collected more ideas to ease your entry. Vets may find these strategies useful too. (1) Before stacks of homework obscure your vision, check out Coach G’s Ed Week blog on how to become a deskless teacher. Includes helpful photos. (2) Middle grades teacher Dina Strasser shares ways to preserve your sanity. Keep data that’s useful to you and your students, not just for the requisite reports. Find a fox hole to avoid prematurely sacrificing yourself. Strasser has lots more. (3) Edutopia’s mystery blogger Holden Clemens alerts you to the challenges of a "No-Share Teacher" who’s all take and no give. AND (4) We bring back a classic: Marsha Ratzel's Teaching Secrets: The Parent Meet & Greet.



From Stenhouse Publishers

"A must-have for any beginning middle-level teacher"(VOYA). Day One and Beyond by veteran educator Rick Wormeli gives you advice on what to do in the first day & week, discipline, grouping, teaming, parents, homework, record keeping, and more. Pair it with Rick's first book Meet Me in the Middle for a comprehensive tour of best practices!

Editor's note: We agree with the publisher: Rick Wormeli's books are great resources for new middle-level teachers. But don't take our word for it. Read new-to-the-middle-grades teacher Elizabeth Stein's double review.

Squash Student Apathy

During an August 16 webinar (3 p.m. ET), Art Costa and Bena Kallick, who wrote the books on Habits of Mind, will share ideas about helping students begin the new year ready to engage and learn. You can sign up for “Launching Self-Directed Learners: Start Your School Year with Habits of Mind” at this link. The no-cost webinar is part of ASCD’s Summer Boot Camp. Learn more about the 16 Habits of Mind in this PDF. And visit the Institute for Habits of Mind for other readings and resources.

Graphic Novels: Worthy Reads?

In a recent post, blogger Bill Ferriter (The Tempered Radical) inspired (incited?) heaps of comments with his thoughts on the questionable value of graphic novels. They may motivate struggling readers, but is that enough? Can they de-motivate youngsters who don’t move beyond them? And how do we teach visual literacy, anyway? After you read his conclusions and everyone’s comments, read a different view from school librarian and YA author Jesse Karp. Following a quick look at the cultural history of the genre, he shows how to involve middle schoolers in Shaun Tan’s wordless The Arrival. ALSO: Here's an easy tool to experiment with simple comics creation: Bitstrips for Schools. It's web-based, secure and has a system for teachers to track student activity and set permissions. Try it for 30 days with full privileges (you can create, save and download). PS: Ferriter recants somewhat here.

Science: Endangered Life

ARKive: Images of Life on Earth hosts thousands of video clips and photos of animals and plants from around the world. You'll find grade leveled lesson plans ranging from Guess Zoo (classification) to Design a Species (adaptation). But the wonder of ARKive is its easily searchable collection of digital images by talented professionals. ARKive is an initiative of Wildscreen, a UK-based charity that provides images of life to build environmental awareness and bolster the prospects of endangered species. You're welcome to use any of the media for educational purposes.

 

All a'Twitter about PD

You may be tired of us talking about Twitter -- and we may never convert you. But we would invite you to read this account of the wonders of Twitter hashtag PD by fourth grade teacher Patti Grayson. She's not a long-time techy teacher — she discovered the camaraderie of Twitter PD groups just this summer. And speaking of such groups: once you've read Grayson's how-to piece, you might explore the hashtag group #midleved (every Friday at 8 p.m). That's "middle level education." It's a project promoted by middle grades teacher/coach Fran Lo, who has some tips in her excellent blog, and Ron King, a MS math teacher who keeps #midleved moving. There's also an archive of past chats, organized by theme.

English/LA: Common Core Curriculum

About a year ago the Common Core (standards) group released its first set of curriculum maps — for English Language Arts K-12. Since then, the draft maps have received more than 3 million views and lots of feedback. Now a 2nd edition has been published that incorporates teacher ideas, responds to some criticisms, and includes over 200 new activities, digital resources and instructional tips. The 1st edition is still available at no cost -- the 2nd is priced at $20 each for K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The income, CC says, will be plowed back into development of more tools and new maps, with math likely next on the agenda. How should the maps be used? View them "as road maps for the school year, using them to jumpstart the lesson planning process." If you join the 2nd Edition site, you can rate unit Maps, submit lesson plans, and play critical friend.

Middle School Survival Kit

We've seen a lot of material with this label over the years. Something about middle school seems to provoke a survivalist metaphor. This series of three articles for students, parents and educators goes so far as to label the middle grades "The Bermuda Triangle Between Elementary and High School." There's even a mention of Lord of the Flies. Ouch. But author Lori Day, writing at the Funderstanding website, does a nice job of "providing tools for parents, students and educators to effectively navigate the often challenging middle school years." This might be a good series to share with parents — Day includes sound ideas about how to better support middle school teachers. She also has feedback from parents about their MS concerns. Follow these links to: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (427)

From our newsletter: • Teach students to learn • New from Cris Tovani • Classroom Mgt 101 • Fanciful spaceships • AASL's top 25 learning sites • Reading ladders & scaffolds • Digital Math Tools • Lexus Eco Challenge (free subscription)

Teaching Students to Learn

Many middle grades students may enter your classroom still needing to learn how to learn, says teacher Cossondra George, whose practical advice is often featured in our MiddleWeb newsletters. Modeling techniques for reading, note-taking, and studying can take time, but it's a worthwhile investment, she says. "By encouraging students to be intentional in their learning, you can equip them with the tools they need to be successful in your own classroom and in the future." In this Teaching Secrets article, Cossondra describes three common misassumptions made by teachers — and how to avoid them.


From Stenhouse Publishers

How are your students progressing? What do they need next? So What Do They Really Know? — by best-selling author and English teacher Cris Tovani — shows you how to make assessment a powerful part of everyday instruction. Preview the entire book online.

 

 

 

Classroom Management 101

Classroom management articles proliferate as the school year approaches. Here's a varied selection with some different points of view. At his ASCD Edge blog, teacher Mark Barnes offers his ROLE strategy "to completely eliminate discipline issues in your classroom." Over at Edutopia, secondary teacher Nick Provenzano is a little less sanguine but suggests most discipline matters can be low-keyed without trips to the office. At Ed Week Teacher, Coach G warns that a new teacher's tech savvy isn't a substitute for classroom management fundamentals. And in this top-clicked article from 2007, Anthony Cody (a co-organizer of this weekend's SOS March in D.C.) writes that middle school students behave when teachers engage (free registration). RELATED: Maurice Elias, Director of the Social-Emotional Learning Lab at Rutgers, offers step by step instructions to build an anti-bullying pledge with student input. And this Ed Leadership article sees some value in 1-to-1 behaviorial agreements.

What Should Spaceships Look Like?

We found this intriguing BBC science story thanks to a tweet from @plugusin, a.k.a. middle school teacher, author and Tempered Radical blogger Bill Ferriter. His educated opinion is that the intersection of science and science fiction (in this case, space exploration) is a place where middle graders will likely want to hang out. Us, too. Wouldn't you enjoy a ride in one of these fantastic space voyagers? There's a lesson plan lurking here somewhere.

AASL's Top T&L Websites

Have you tried Kerpoof (multimedia software for kids) or iCyte (a cloud-based research organizer)? Freshen up your Web 2.0 toolkit for fall with AASL’s 2011 list of its top 25 websites for teaching and learning . Several may already be tucked away with your favorites, but you're sure to find more sites to boost creativity and collaboration for you and your students. ALSO: Speaking of school librarians, see these ideas about saving school libraries by making them vibrant learning centers for students.

Reading Ladders & Scaffolds

You can hear the joy in Teri S. Lesesne’s voice during this Choice Literacy interview as she explains how she helps tweens and teens climb ladders to more challenging reading. A former 8th grade teacher and current college prof, she lays out the fundamentals: Know the kids — know the books — bring them together. Along the way she explains how offering increasing choice in titles builds enthusiasm. She shares some of her current favorite books during the interview (there's a transcript with links) and also at her online journal. PLUS: Paul Hankins and Donalyn Miller, the Book Whisperer, talk about favorite books at the Choice Literacy site. And check out Hankins' Twitter hashtag group #speakloudly.

Math Teachers Lead Digital Charge

Education Week reports that while multimedia tools have been slow to integrate into instructional methods in some subjects, the math world is "bursting with tales of teaching technologies that visualize concepts, adapt to students’ strengths and weaknesses, and align with state academic standards." This story includes examples, links to other sources and resources, and is generally a very interesting read if you're mathematically and digitally inclined. ALSO: We're English/LA types, but we have friends who love math a lot. So we're wondering if, during summer break, a middle grades math teacher might love to watch this cutting-edge (and pretty relaxed) lecture by Harvard professor Curt McMullen on "The Geometry of Three Manifolds." John actually watched some of it, seemed to enjoy it, but has looked deeply puzzled ever since.

Science: Lexus Eco Challenge

This year's Lexus Eco Challenges, hosted at the Scholastic website, will immerse 6-8 students in ecological projects in your community and allow them to compete for major prizes. The challenges run consecutively beginning in late September, early November and early January. Sixteen MS and sixteen HS teams will share $500,000 in scholarships, teacher-selected classroom resources, and awards for their schools. You'll find lots of resources online and info about last year's winners. Plus this explanation of the rather complicated prize system.

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.

 

MiddleWeb's New Resources (426)

From our newsletter: 90 days of PD ideas • Student revisions • Web 2.0 boot camp • Add Khan to your math blend? • Science: Phenology projects • Persuasive writing • New Teachers: plan your assessments now • Brain rules for learning. (free subscription)

Megan's Summer of Learning

Subtitled "90 Days of Metacognition and PD," this daily diary by middle grades teacher Megan Palevich documents her professional learning during the summer of 2011. "I decided that I would map my learning, choose one thing that really stood out to me each day and explore what I learned, my learning path, and further learning… I want to document those things that push me to think differently." Palevich has faithfully kept to her plan (at her blog Middle School 101) and efficiently organized and referenced her learning experiences. It's a fascinating spot to browse and snag ideas and resources that might further your own practice -- whether you're a mid-career veteran, new teacher or principal.


From Stenhouse Publishers

Real Revision offers inspiration that you can turn to again and again as you work with students to improve their writing. Award-winning author and English teacher Kate Messner calls on her own revising experience as well as that of more than 40 other authors to bring you a trove of tips and techniques. Preview the entire book.

 

New Teachers: Web 2.0 Boot Camp

New Teacher Chat (#ntchat) founder Lisa M. Dabbs is offering great Web 2.0 integration ideas at Edutopia's New Teacher Boot Camp. The five part series (with Wordle and VoiceThread already online) can help veteran educators as well as newbies. Still to come: Storybird, Wetoku, and classroom blogs. Dabbs, who has coached middle schoolers and taught grad students, created a wiki for the series. The boot camp is part of Edutopia’s virtual PD summer.

 

Math: Add Khan to the Blend?

Although Renee Hawkins agreed to help five 8th grade girls who wanted to accelerate their math studies by taking an online geometry class, her last encounter with a protractor came nearly 40 years ago. So Hawkins turned to the Khan Academy's online tutorials. In this blog post, she acknowledges the criticisms of Khan videos but says her own experience has convinced her that the flexibility they provide can (with good teacher support) help some students succeed who might otherwise falter in a fast-paced, one size fits all curriculum. Blended learning, Hawkins concludes, can help skillful teachers "mind the gaps" in student learning.

Science: Ladybug, Ladybug

Third through sixth graders can help in the hunt for America’s disappearing native ladybugs, whose appetite for plant-eating insects has made them honored garden guests for centuries. Visit the Lost Ladybug Project to learn how to involve kids in the search and check out detailed lesson plans. Also: If phenology (the study of climate influence on flora and fauna) excites your students, you'll find other opportunities for them to collect and share data on plant and animal life through the seasons at the USA Phenology Network — ranging from butterflies and loons to feathery false lily of the valley and the beaked hazelnut. You can also download a Phenology Handbook for students & teachers (it's a large PDF file).

Writing: Power of Persuasion

Kids will enjoy playing the Persuasion Game to kick off this four-part series on persuasive writing from Read Write Think. Students use a checklist of strategies to analyze a reading assignment and learn how a writer convinces his or her audience. An online Persuasion Map lets kids chart their own arguments before they share their essays. Although geared toward grades 3-5, "there were certainly enough good ideas for me to adapt to my 8th graders," a teacher wrote in the Comments tab. Also look in the Related Links tab for a 6-8 project: Persuading the Principal: Writing Persuasive Letters About School Issues.

How to Plan Assessments

Ongoing classroom assessments for learning: we hear a lot about this important component of quality teaching — but how do teachers plan for it? Expert Anne Davies offers a PDF download at her website titled "Preparing for a New Year: Building an Assessment Plan." She introduces the step-by-step guide this way: "As I work with teachers new to the profession, I am often asked to help them construct an assessment plan that will allow them to be successful right away." Her article includes both key components and examples.

Brain Rules for Learning

We're hearing lots of brainy buzz about Brain Rules, the book and videos from John Medina, whose recent keynote at ISTE 2011 in Philly was by most accounts a big hit. This link leads to the freebie-laden Brain Rules website, where you'll find a list of Medina's 12 rules for maximizing our brain power -- each with links to videos highlighting big ideas. Example: Rule #4 - "We don't pay attention to boring things." Medina also contends that "The brain is not capable of multi-tasking." Task management, yes. And watch the video clip "We Ignore How the Brain Works" to find out where to get Miracle-Gro for your students' gray matter (hint).

MiddleWeb's New Resources (425)

From our newsletter: New teacher advice • Skip lunch & write • Internet literacy • P(roblem)BL Math • News then, history now • Teaching science via current events • Back channels in your classroom • The 30-minute reading teacher • Student blogging that's safe and creative. (free subscription)

 

New Teachers: 3 Pieces of Good Advice

July is upon us and new teachers are eager for advice from experienced colleagues. Here are three helpful articles from Education Week's "Teaching Secrets" series. For right now: Top 10 To-Dos Before the Kids Arrive. For after school starts: Communicating with Parents. To sharpen your teaching practice: Effective Questioning. Bonus: Seen our recent selection of 10 great reads for middle grades novices?



From Stenhouse Publishers

Use technology to reenergize your writing instruction with "Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?" Practical lessons help you advance from simple word processing and publishing tools to digital storytelling, distance learning, interactive editing, and revamped rubrics—while meeting writing standards. Preview the entire book.

Finding Truth on the Web (or Not)

Increasingly we're hearing calls to help students develop "Internet literacy" -- the ability to make judgments about what they may read as they surf a vast ocean of webpages. But how can teachers answer that call? Scholastic blogger and upper elementary teacher Brent Vasicek shares some of his lesson plans here, which use questionable websites to help fifth graders develop critical thinking skills. Should the corrosive liquid DHMO (aka, water) be banned? What about contributing to a fund to save the tree octopus? We bet you can find other examples that match up with your content area and age group.

Math: Problem v. Project Based Learning

Geoff Krall was once a strong advocate for project-based math instruction. Today, as math coach for the New Tech Network, he's convinced that Problem (not Project) Based Math offers the best of both worlds — high student interest and high engagement with content. In a recent blog post at Emergent Math, he details the reasons why and lays out a five-step process for developing problem-based lessons of 2-5 days' duration, generally focused on one specific key concept or skill. .

Black & White Portal to the Past

The Make Use Of blog shares six good sources of "news from the past" — sites offering digitized newspapers organized in a variety of ways and covering various years. Connections to the social studies are obvious, but we can see opportunities in other areas, including the evolution of science knowledge; media literacy then and now; and (in English/LA) how certain words have changed meaning or disappeared over time. In addition to Google’s News Archive and samples from the New York Times (1851-1922), there are event-specific collections at the Library of Congress and The History Buff, which offers selected news items from 1700 to 2004. Also: Check out the LOC Flickr Project for 100s of newspaper images.

Teaching Science via Current Events

"I’m on my back porch thinking about my teaching over the past year and wondering what I did well and where I could improve," writes 6th grade science teacher Marsha Ratzel. "I can be quite philosophical about it in June. But come August, I want a sharp, logically designed, power-packed unit to start off the year." She plans to continue her strategy of teaching science through current events, so powering up last fall's Hurricanes unit seems in order. Her post at Voices from the Learning Revolution includes links to her own teaching blog, plus ideas about using web tools to deepen and assess learning.

Twitter Iffy for Student Chat?

Would you like to create a "back channel" for student discussion online during classes and after school, but you're iffy about Twitter? TweenTeacher has an alternate suggestion that allows users to create IM chat threads safely and at no cost. And if you're not sure what a back channel is — imagine small groups working on aspects of a project and communicating with each other over a private texting network. TweenTeacher explains it better and has some good ideas about responsible use.

The 30-Minute Reading Teacher

What can you do with just 30 minutes of reading instruction a day? Quite a bit if you follow the lead of this group of teacher collaborators who "turned a group of mostly nonreaders into capable and enthusiastic bookworms." In this article from the summer issue of Educational Leadership, you'll find both the theory and the practice — including steps to help students select interesting books, "think sheets" to build comprehension, and a sample reading list. Also: For schools with one-to-one laptop initiatives, here's an Edutopia post describing a collegial project in writing, aimed at teaching all students how to blog both creatively and responsibly.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (424)

From our newsletter: Job interview tips • Brain calisthenics • Learning outdoors • Future of ed tech • Web Tools Super Book • History as story • Eye-catching motivators • Quick text leveling • A year of NYT lesson plans. (free subscription)

Get Student Neurons Moving

When is sustained practice not just rote learning? When it focuses on perceptual learning. This NYT article on brain calisthenics describes how math/science modules using lots of problems can help students develop an intuitive ability to find correct answers. In a university study, Philly sixth graders working on fractions surpassed traditionally taught kids by nearly 150% and retained their skills over the summer. And teachers say the skills are transferable. From slicing fractions to sliming a microscope slide, students are establishing "positive feedback loops" that connect to other learning and deepen abstract thinking. Also: E/LA teacher Cindi Rigsbee's ideas about promoting more imaginative reading of fiction might apply. What do you think Katniss looks like?


From Stenhouse Publishers

Ready to reap the benefits of outdoor learning or expand your current efforts? Moving the Classroom Outdoors is your guide. Middle-grades expert Herb Broda brings you the best examples from dozens of schools and nature centers across the country, complete with illustrative photos and nuts & bolts advice. Preview the entire book online.

 

 

Prep for Your Job Interview

New and unemployed teachers: Would an insider's guide to preparing for a job interview be useful? Here's one straight from the National Middle School Association — a thorough step-by-step PDF guide, co-authored by two principals, that will help you shine. Joining NMSA might be a good idea too. For a less traditional, more assertive approach to job-hunting, don't miss middle school teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron's advice at her Edutopia blog: "How to Find Your Dream Teaching Job."

Engaged, Enabled, Empowered

Project Tomorrow’s report on The New 3 E's of Education focuses on the use and value of mobile learning, online and blended learning, and digital content. Over 40,000 teachers, librarians, and administrators responded to the nonprofit’s survey, explaining how and why they use ed technologies and what they find challenging. Nearly 300,000 students and over 40,000 parents have their say too. Also: check out the 2011 K12 Horizon Report, known for its annual predictions about the future of EdTech. The Mind/Shift blog has a summary with interesting quotes from the project's leader.

The Super Book of Web Tools

You've read the reports (above) — time to get busy. This no-cost guide at the Tech4Teachers site is a great reference to more than six dozen web tools educators are currently using in their classrooms. It's an ebook, divided into EL/MS/HS collections, plus sections on Skype in the classroom, best tools for ESL/ELL, blogging in elementary, social media for educators, teaching online, and more. Also see Edutopia's summer web tools collective and Webopedia's 30 examples of tools and open source software for students. Taken together, these resources make a perfect summer PD exploratory.

How to Solve the History Crisis

History expert Kenneth C. Davis, author of the popular Don't Know Much About… series, says history "is first and foremost story." Davis believes our frequent failure to engage students around the great stories of history is one reason why only 13 percent of HS seniors showed a solid grasp of the subject in the latest NAEP report. Another reason: We've moved history off the A-list of core subjects because it doesn't figure in most state accountability systems. What can we do? Focus on story, rely less on textbooks, use visual media, take field trips, "cross-pollinate" with other subjects, and stop prettying up history's truths. Also: Integrate 21st century teaching strategies. Have you see the CNN video of the history teacher using Twitter at an inner city middle school? Great idea, his kids say.

Ideas for Eye-Catching Motivators

Walking the halls of her Lowville NY middle school, Scholastic blogger Mary Blow finds plenty to motivate students. In the past year she and her teacher colleagues have created displays to recognize kids’ achievements in content areas and positive citizenship. Her post includes photos of seven eye-catching walls featuring candid shots, classwork and more. For more ideas about motivation, Mary Blow recommends the motivational tips found at this Carlton College webpage.

Check Text Difficulty on the Fly

Found a book that looks super for your content area but not sure about its reading level? Take a chunk of up to 1000 words, turn it into a .txt document, and plug it into Lexile’s Analyzer. Right away you’ll see how it fits into Lexile’s ranking system. And Lexile supports Common Core. With your guidance, students can also search for leveled books at Lexile’s Find a Book. We know you understand the downsides of overdependence on leveling algorithms and will challenge your readers.

A Year's Worth of NYT Lesson Plans

Those helpful people at the New York Times Learning Network have organized last year’s lesson plans into three big link collections based on content areas. A super article to bookmark. While the Network's lesson plans are on vacation until early September, other popular daily features continue. In July the New York Times summer reading contest for students begins. And NYTLN editors are also promising some Summer Surprises. Although the Times recently returned to a fee-based service, teachers can continue to use the Learning Network resources at no cost. And follow them on Twitter @nytimeslearning

MiddleWeb's New Resources (423)

From our newsletter: 10 top reads for new teachers • Story writing • School reform 3.0 • Summer reading • 'My practice teacher' • A civil war mystery solved • What new principals should know • Google's vast ed resources • Super solar system science. (free subscription)

10 Great Reads for New Teachers

We've scoured the web and our own archives to produce a diverse mix of excellent articles that can help new middle grades teachers not just survive but thrive. You'll find our 10 top picks (with a few optional extras) posted at the MiddleWeb blog. One early entry is titled "Important Things to Do Before Your Students Arrive." Don't wait until August for this one. (And if you're not a new teacher but know some, please share the link.)


From Stenhouse Publishers

Get your students crafting stories like a pro. In Writing Stories award-winning author Carolyn Coman (What Jamie Saw, The Memory Bank) offers sage advice and practical exercises on all aspects of fiction-writing—getting ideas, plot, setting, characters, dialogue, and more. Preview the entire book online.

 

 

A New Direction in School Reform?

Two recent national reports say the U.S. needs to rethink public school reform. After tracking the effectiveness of 15 test-based accountability programs over 10 years, a prestigious National Academies of Science panel found "little to no positive effect overall on learning" and too few safeguards to prevent subverting the system. A separate report by the National Center on Education and the Economy contends the U.S. education system "is neither coherent nor likely to see great improvements based on its current attempts at reform." It calls for less testing, statewide funding equity, emphasis on teacher professionalism, and more attention to successful international practices.

Relax with a Good Book

Choice Literacy’s Big Fresh Newsletter is loaded with ideas for summer reading of all kinds – professional, personal and young adult. When you're ready to settle in with a good book, at the beach or beside your own begonias, you’ll benefit from these suggestions by literacy leaders, which include fiction, nonfiction, even a picture book. Also: For the strong at heart, The Book Whisperer (middle grades teacher Donalyn Miller) has issued her 3rd Annual Book-a-Day Summer Challenge to fellow teachers. Luckily, "Any book qualifies including picture books, nonfiction, professional books, poetry anthologies, or fiction."

'My Student Teacher: I Learned So Much'

Middle grades teacher Sarah Henchey offers some takeaways from a year spent with her first student teacher. "I learned so much from being a bystander in my own classroom, watching someone else teach lessons I designed, and reflecting on difficult situations from her point of view," she writes. "We both worked hard to create a professional relationship that allowed us to comfortably seek each other’s guidance, input, and feedback." Henchey has five suggestions for other teachers who (like her) may be hesitant about sharing their classroom with a beginner.

A Civil War Mystery Solved

Did Southerners serving in the US Congress in 1861 abscond with hundreds of books belonging to the Congressional Library? A university librarian recently unearthed a New York Times report suggesting just that. Robert Lopresti of Western Washington University follows the story from the halls of Congress to the Times and back, showing how poorly sourced reports can blur history. Lopresti enjoys the history sleuthing and so will students who take this backward glance at the importance of media literacy.

Sage Advice for New Principals

Novice teachers won't be the only educators entering into rookie territory this fall — the move into a schoolwide leadership role can be equally unsettling. Here's a popular article by the leader of a regional principals center, who asked an array of school stakeholders what new school leaders needed to know. "Their responses were strikingly similar," she says, "and might serve as a guide for those beginning their journeys."

Get to Know Your Online Overlord

When you catch your breath, check out Google's astounding array of web-based services and consider their classroom potential. Maximum PC’s guide to 39 apps and services is a handy entry point. Among our favorites: We love Google Alerts, an easy-to-use service that pushes any sightings of information you define into your email inbox (provided you have no-cost gmail, of course). Some G-tools come with links for educators (Google Earth); some promise updates soon (Blogger). Take a look at SketchUp for free 3-D modeling. You can also scour Google Books for free (if often musty) full-text tomes and excerpts from many others. Google Scholar may come in handy as you resume work on that dissertation. If you haven't discovered Google Docs, you're probably not a 21st century educator. Did you know it can be connected to MS Office? Then there's the DIY Android App Inventor. And, long as this entry is, we've only shared a few wisps of Google's cloud.

Super Solar System Science

On Mars a year lasts 23 months. And that’s just how long NASA’s Year of the Solar System will run. Dating back to October 2010, the abundantly resourced project brings budding astronomers and science classrooms monthly units ranging from how planets came to be - to how to join a Night Sky Network club. Lesson plans stress hands-on learning backed up with spectacular visuals. Get ideas for using the materials, relate planets to Earthly locations, and learn about NASA’s exciting missions now underway from NASA educator Daniella Scalice. Or go straight to the NASA solar system source. June topic: Collisions.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (422)

From our newsletter: Globally competent tweens • Student speeches • Spider science • Summer books for kids • Collaboration awards • Finish the year strong • Project-based math • Parents in class • Help kids leave positive digital footprints. (free subscription)

 

Our Task: Globally Competent Tweens

What is global competence? In a recent article for NASSP's Middle Level Leader, Judith Ann Conk shares this definition: Global competence is the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance. Conk begins by describing a day in the school life of 'tween student Rosina, who is gaining the knowledge and skills to work in and be a good citizen of our global community. Conk identifies four pillars of a global curriculum: investigating the world; understanding & weighing multiple perspectives; communicating ideas; and taking action. She also tells how to access the resources of the Asia Society and learn more about its U.S. network of model International Studies Schools. Another NASSP article cites two additional resources -- Skype Education (for finding international school partners) and Kiva (the microloan project - see this teaching idea).


From Stenhouse Publishers

 

"Invaluable advice and tools for teachers who recognize the importance of teaching the art of speech" (Kelly Gallagher). Well Spoken is a practical guide to teaching students how to speak effectively, with practical strategies for crafting, delivering, and evaluating speeches. Preview the entire book online.

 

Science: Spiders with Venomous Fangs

What a perfect time of year to learn more about spiders. In the cool NC mountains where John lives, webs begin to proliferate as spring turns into summer and you really have to watch where you're going on hikes through meadows and along forest trails. We didn't know that some spiders don't weave webs -- that is, until we checked out some of the spidery sources Barbara Feldman has selected at Surfing the Net with Kids. And oh, those venomous fangs...a biological feature dear to any middle schooler. We also poked around the musty Smithsonian museum and found lots and lots of spiders -- as well as great lesson plans — news of powerful spidey webs — and images going back to 1582.

Ideas to Support Summer Reading

In our last newsletter we included an entry about the importance of summer reading. That got us to thinking about sources for books that could be loaned or given to students over the long break. Susan set out to find all the information she could on the Web. And while we didn't discover the motherlode, she did come up with a lot of useful ideas, including some excellent advice from teachers like Kelly Gallagher. Here's our post -- please add your own book acquisition strategies in the comments.

Awards for Outstanding Collaboration with School Media Specialists

Gale (the research company) is accepting applications for the Gale/Library Media Connection TEAMS Award through June 30. The biannual $2,500 award (plus other premiums and national recognition) goes to three teachers whose collaboration with school media specialists has helped promote learning, increase student achievement, and develop 21st century skills. K-12 public and private schools in the US and Canada are eligible to enter. Here’s the application form with more details.

Finishing the School Year Strong

How do weary teachers and students get a second wind near the end of school and cross the finish line still learning strong? Larry Ferlazzo has some good ideas, which are supplemented by reader's comments, at this Edutopia excerpt from his new book on student motivation. Among the tips: Ways teachers can recapture their own excitement for learning and maximize precious post-test classroom time with their students.

Can You Really Do Project-Based Math?

Let's be honest, says Buck Institute consultant Andrew Miller, designing project-based learning activities in math can be a different beast. “With the pressure of high-stakes testing and a packed curriculum, I often coach teachers who are nervous about giving time to a robust PBL project.” And with so many math standards, “it can be difficult to choose the right learning target(s) for the project.” Nevertheless, Miller has some excellent advice, beginning with the suggestions that we reframe our thinking about what “real life math” is all about.

New Teachers: When Parents Help in Class

Each year beginning in late spring, we roll out resources of special interest to novice teachers and others new to the middle grades. Here's our first offering for 2011, some useful advice from a Responsive Classroom PD specialist about working with parent volunteers. "Having parents involved in the life of the classroom will deepen the family-school connection. Just be sure you set up parents and students for success with some careful planning and explanation of what to do and expect," says Margaret Berry Wilson. (ASCD Express) PS: If you know of soon-to-be middle grades teachers, encourage them to subscribe to our MiddleWeb news. We'll point them to some real help.

Students Need Positive Digital Footprints

Do your students know enough about creating positive digital footprints on the Web? Middle school teacher Bill Ferriter discusses the importance of this unique 21st century skill and shares some ways he helps kids build good online reputations. The first thing he knows for sure: “Scare tactics...are not only ineffective at changing student behaviors, but they also prevent students from seeing digital footprints as potential tools for learning, finding like-minded peers, and building reputations as thoughtful contributors to meaningful digital conversations.”

MiddleWeb's New Resources (421)

From our newsletter: Nurture inventive thinking • 3-minute motivators • Blogging in the content areas • Big Help class grants • Deadly tornadoes • Math Focal Points resources • Why use Twitter? • Student writing contest • The Freedom Riders. (free subscription)

 

Help Students Become Inventive Thinkers

How can teachers promote inventive thinking across the curriculum? Here's a five-teacher action research project that engaged students (through social studies, science and language arts) in a search for solutions to important problems. The teachers soon discovered they were wrong in believing "that inventive thinking could be utilized by [only] a small percentage of the student population." This link leads to a wiki page with a summary of the project, visual media, and resource links. Teachers and students at Nagel Middle School in Forest Hills OH presented their results during a webinar, part of a PD experience supported by Powerful Learning Practice. If you'd like a chance to interact live with the Nagel teacher team, watch this webpage.


From Stenhouse Publishers

3-Minute Motivators is a collection of over 100 simple, fun activities that will help you use "a little magic" to take a quick break, engage students, and refocus them on the task at hand. You can browse Chapter 1 online.

 

Summer Reading: Starting Soon

What will your students read this summer? A 2010 Educational Leadership article suggests titles for kids of all ages that teachers will enjoy, too. Best of all, there are links to summer reading lists from ASLC (2011 Notable Childrens Books), NEH, and others. In a related EL article, "Becoming a Classroom of Readers," Book Whisperer Donalyn Miller has plenty of ideas about sparking student interest in independent reading — and a list of her sixth graders' Top 15 great reads. Next time: Ideas for building classroom lending libraries.

8 Tips: Get Your Students Blogging in the Content Areas

Sixth grade Kansas teacher Marsha Ratzel is always looking for better ways to teach, sometimes with technology. And she teaches three core subjects: math, science and social studies. Lately Marsha's been experimenting with student blogging. Her advice (at Ed Week Teacher) is to start with a group blog — and devote plenty of time to prepping students to be effective writers of non-fiction prose. Why do it? Blogging in the content areas pushes students toward higher order/critical thinking, sharpens technology skills, and creates a public audience. Or as her kids say: "It's fun." Visit Marsha's blog Reflections of a Techie to find out more about blogging and other stuff she's trying. She always responds to comments.

Big Help Classroom Grants

Big Help Student Achievement grants (sponsored by the NEA Foundation and Nickelodeon) go to K-8 public school educators, with a preference given to NEA members. The $5000 awards support classroom activities aimed at four key public concerns: environmental awareness; health and wellness; students’ right to a quality public education; and active community involvement. Application deadline: June 1. AND if you live in one of the 35 states with Dollar General stores, check out these literacy grants (deadline May 18).

Science & SS: Deadly Tornadoes

To experience a tornado "is a deeply personal event, an insult to ordinary life," says writer Mark Levine. As the nation mourns the hundreds killed by recent supercell twisters, and victims deal with the resulting destruction, we look at resources to augment students’ understanding of the weather phenomenon. A good place to start is the NYT Learning Network, where you'll find a what-where-why lesson plan and resources, including an animated map showing the spread of tornadoes during a deadly week in April. ALSO: Teachers will find extensive information at NOAA's National Severe Storms Lab and Storm Prediction Center. At the Weather Channel, this graphics-enhanced discussion of the terrible E-5 tornado (200+ mph) includes dramatic photos -- and expert Greg Forbes discusses the five worst previous events in U.S. history. Finally, Anderson Cooper interviews the U of AL student who filmed the destructive Tuscaloosa tornado.

A MiddleWeb Math Flashback

We first highlighted the Middle School Portal's Math Focal Points series in 2008-09. Developed at Ohio State U. in support of NCTM's curriculum guides, there are separate entries for Grade Five, Grade Six, Grade Seven and Grade Eight. Each offers extensive background information for teachers, PD video, and well-annotated resource and activities links. (In 8th grade, for example, Barbie Bungee helps teach linear function. Brave girl.)

Help in 140 Characters? Why Educators (Should) Use Twitter

Like some of the teachers described by the author of this Atlantic article, we were once skeptical about the potential of the "micro-blogging" tool Twitter to help us with our work. But guess what? We're total converts now. And you might become one too, after you read what Smithsonian curator Naomi Coquillon has to say about resource-oriented "tweets." Research shows that teachers adopt tools when they become convinced there are practical reasons for doing so. In the case of history, the reason can be found here: @explorehistory. And it's not just history - Coquillon offers several links (some to partner Thinkfinity) that can help teachers in every content area tap into the Twitter motherlode. For math & science, we recommend @msportal2. And you can follow us at @middleweb.

Freedom Riders: How Far Would You Travel?

A new documentary about the Freedom Riders of the civil rights movement comes to PBS on May 16 (American Experience). Media literacy expert Frank Baker tells us the companion website is "content rich" with an excellent teacher's area. You'll find digital media, primary source material, bios of participants, and a study guide (PDF) to help you lead pre- and post-viewing discussions. Baker also recommends this page at NPR. And we spotted an interactive Freedom Ride experience "How Far Would You Travel?" (grs 4-12) at Mississippi's Archives and History department.

MiddleWeb's New Resources (420)

From our newsletter: Real student motivation • Foster historical thinking • Everyday metaphors • Do your own web PD • Math activities & games • A comedy curriculum • Grants for new science teachers • Civil war resources • Poll: tell us what you like. (free subscription)

Help Students Motivate Themselves

Teacher and former community organizer Larry Ferlazzo offers sound and practical advice about what works (and doesn't work) in student motivation. Ultimately, he says, we cannot motivate kids. But we can help them become lifelong self-motivators and that could be the most valuable learning experience they'll ever undertake. This Ed Week Teacher article, excerpted from Ferlazzo's new book, received nearly 10,000 hits in the first 48 hours. Teachers are clearly hungry for motivation strategies.

From Stenhouse Publishers

Break free from the confines of lectures and textbooks in history with "Why Won't You Just Tell Us the Answer?" You'll get American history lessons that demonstrate ways to foster historical thinking through a question-centered, investigatory approach. Preview the entire book.

How Metaphors Make Meaning

Here's another good English/LA lesson plan from the New York Times Learning Network, exploring how metaphors are used in both writing and everyday life and help shape our reality. Students investigate common metaphors in poetry and song, analyze the use of metaphors in a variety of short texts and explore the metaphors they use in their daily lives. Lots of starter ideas and easy to adapt.

Web 2.0: Do-It-Yourself PD

Here's a great way to grow your Web 2.0 teaching skills. Educator-friendly EduBlogs is sponsoring the Teacher Challenge, a series of themed posts that guide participants toward goals like "30 days to get your students blogging" or "30 days to ensuring privacy and student safety on the Web." The challenges are led by teachers, including Sue Wyatt, whose own Kids in the Mid blog is a must-visit. This month's challenge introduces you to 30 web tools that can support good teaching. If you can't read the post 'til June, no problem. These are permanent blog posts, and they have the how-to detail you want.

Math in Motion

We don't usually feature resources that come with a price. But the MindShift blog had good things to say about the research-based Motion Math game available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch (and Android later this year). It's a few dollars and you can see the rave reviews for yourself. Suitable for all ages, from four up (tested by your MiddleWeb staff). For tablets, the HD version gets good reviews from teachers. We're feeling a little guilty, so here are a couple of great no-cost math resources touted in a recent review by the Harvard Education Letter: Hot Math and Cool Math.

You Could Use a Laugh

Take a break from the testing tedium. Or achieve equilibrium after the fact. A richly resourced NYT Learning Network blog post suggests ways to involve students in a study of comedy and what's funny. It's cross-curricular, there's a lesson plan, and the authors are sensitive to age-appropriateness. Lots of laughs, too.

NSTA Grants for Novice Teachers

The NSTA New Science Teacher Academy Foundation is a professional learning initiative promoting quality science teaching and improved teacher content knowledge. Maximum award: program expenses. Middle school science teachers entering 2nd or 3rd year of teaching are eligible if 51 percent of their classes are in science. Deadline: June 13, 2011.

Primary Sources: The Civil War

Core knowledge advocates worry that less than half of American teens can place the Civil War in the proper century. If so, that problem may be solved by the end of 2011, given the attention now focused on the war's sesquicentennial anniversary. Here are some good primary sources we've spotted: (1) The new Education Week series on Teaching the Defining Conflict includes the article "Primary Sources Breathe Life into Civil War," which offers many ideas, links and teacher voices. (2) Baylor U. has digitized the 1895 War of the Rebellion Atlas (searchable, with many maps and other materials). (3) The American South database aggregates primary resources from 23 research libraries in the Southeast. (4) Students can track events chronologically by visiting UNC’s The Civil War Day by Day, and (5) students may have a special interest in 700+ antique photos collected by teenage brothers in VA, one of whom wrote about their donation to the Library of Congress.

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