MiddleWeb

When direct instruction runs past a seventh grader's minutes-long attention span, more explanation rarely produces more learning. Gail Boushey and Allison Behne offer five research-based strategies to hold the attention of middle schoolers, even with a scripted curriculum. The post Your 7th Grader Can Focus for 12 Minutes first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Creativity for Learning is a book that teachers at any level of experience, in any subject, can use to build engaging, thought-provoking activities that advance student learning. Teacher Chris Wagner found its tools for teaching and assessing creative thinking especially helpful. The post Strategies to Nurture Kids’ Creative Thinking first appeared on MiddleWeb .

This year Jay Wamsted fulfilled a dream shared by many teachers – he finished and published a YA novel. "My career isn’t all that unique," he says. "The lessons I’ve learned, the stories that inform my book – they’re of the same stuff that makes up every teacher’s classroom." The post Writing a Novel Helped My Career Make Sense first appeared on MiddleWeb .

In a digital world where oral communication is showcased and being well-spoken increases chances for professional and social success, take the time to give all your students an effective voice. Erik Palmer has tips to help students understand content, audience and presentation. The post Helping Students Become Skilled Digital Speakers first appeared on MiddleWeb .

STEM by Design maintains a sharp focus on developing a genuine STEM program. Topics include diverse recruitment, developing STEM challenges, engineering design, life skills, tech integration and more. For all grades 4-8 STEM educators, says teacher educator Michelle Schwartze. The post The Tools You Need to Reach STEM’s Potential first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Rather than let challenging job demands take precedence over principals’ mental health and their professional and personal growth, Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn lay out keys to developing self-coaching strategies that benefit principals and their communities. The post Self-Coaching Is Key to a Principal’s Success first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Technology in our classrooms isn't the enemy, writes Dr. Sonya Murray-Darden. Substitution is. Teachers can't control how seductive the tools become. They can control whether the thinking still happens in the room. When students do the thinking themselves, learning accelerates. The post Why We Have Smart Tech & Shrinking Brains first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Understanding multilingual students, their languages, histories, and cultures, is foundational to making content comprehensible and meaningful. Equity, says Valentina Gonzalez, lives at the intersection of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and students’ seeing themselves valued. The post Equitable Instruction for K-8 English Learners first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Thanks to an extensive career as a teacher, principal and district leader, Jen Schwanke can testify that the vast majority of middle school educators feel deeply connected to the unique journey of adolescent learners. She believes MS principals should be drawn from that pool. The post Building a Pipeline for Middle School Leaders first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Move to learn! Prevent those mid-class energy slumps with movement and active learning strategies. Master teacher Kelly Owens describes 10 engaging, low-prep activities she uses to re-energize every student – from the quiet to the restless – to be their best all class long. The post 10 Movement Ideas to Avoid Mid-Lesson Slump first appeared on MiddleWeb .

In "Intentional Moves" Elisa B. MacDonald lays out ready-to-use strategies for team leaders, insightfully describing to readers how her 10 moves will play out within different team dynamics. After four years as a team leader, reviewer Katie Dunkin still keeps the book handy. The post Moves to Help Team Leaders Impact Learning first appeared on MiddleWeb .

When schools give students the chance to tinker, create, test ideas, and solve interesting problems, classrooms become places of curiosity and innovation, writes author and STEM curriculum expert Anne Jolly. Makerspaces can help bring that kind of energy into STEM learning. The post Using Makerspaces to Boost STEM Curiosity first appeared on MiddleWeb .

When math tutors create space to connect, speak and reflect, students not only gain confidence in their math skills, they strengthen their empathy and resilience and leave their sessions feeling capable, supported, and truly seen as learners, says tutoring expert Halley Bowman. The post 3 Tutoring Moves That Enrich Math Learning first appeared on MiddleWeb .

With authentic scenarios, well-sequenced tasks, and teacher supports, Real World Math is a classroom-ready resource. Whether your goal is to deepen engagement, build understanding, or spark curiosity, the book brings math to life in a way students and teachers will appreciate. The post Authentic Scenarios to Engage Math Students first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Dina Strasser’s 7th graders like the idea of "Warm Demanders" once they’re introduced to the concept. Their lunch-time conversation has Dina musing about the research and the impact of friendly teachers who require participation in diverse and not-so-diverse classrooms. The post Teaching: What It Means to Be a Warm Demander first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Understanding how sentences work is a reading skill, not just a writing skill, researchers tell us. When students understand how sentences are built, they read better. So, argues Patty McGee, grammar instruction is in fact reading instruction, and we should treat it that way. The post Grammar & Reading Are One Subject, Not Two first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Rather than treating writing as a sequence of isolated assignments, in "Goal Setting in the Writing Classroom" Valerie Bolling shares a structure for a continuous, student-driven process shaped by clear goals, routines, and informed choices, writes reviewer Melinda Stewart. The post Building Student Agency in Writing Classrooms first appeared on MiddleWeb .

A Professional Learning Network offers a practical, sustainable way to grow as a teacher. Dr. Curtis Chandler shares a summer game plan to build your own PLN by starting small, staying consistent, and developing interactions that strengthen your practice and your well-being. The post Never Stop Learning: Growing Your Own PLN first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Teaching math through inquiry can be excellent. It's a goal to aspire to. But for many struggling students, jumping straight into pure inquiry without any explicit instruction first can be paralyzing. Juliana Tapper's Math Wars model helps teachers find the happy (gray) medium. The post Be a Shade of Gray in the Either/Or Math War first appeared on MiddleWeb .

Artful AI in Writing Instruction models productive and reflective approaches to using AI where student voices are centered and human thinking trumps artificial intelligence. The book is a roadmap for teachers with examples, lessons, and moments of reflection, writes Michele Haiken. The post A Human-Centered Approach to Using AI first appeared on MiddleWeb .