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Classroom Protocols

Fostering relationships, management, and learning with expectations and structures Classroom management is essential in structuring an environment conducive to learning. Sprick (2009) explains that educators need to understand how to shape behavior so they “can make effective decisions and take appropriate actions to help students learn to behave responsibly” (p. 16). Middle school educators often

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Care, Consistency, and Content

The 3Cs of classroom management in the middle school English language arts classroom Introduction You can be the greatest teacher of English language arts content but never be able to teach it if classroom management issues plague your classroom. The fact of the matter is that good classroom management is essential to a successful classroom.

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Don’t Pick Up the Rope

Why it’s not worth getting into a struggle with students It was the summer of 1998. I lived in a two room apartment with my now husband. The shower was in the kitchen. We drove clunker cars, scrounged change for take-out, and let me tell you, we were living our best life. We were young,

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Getting to Know Our Students

A successful school year starts—and continues—with knowing well the students we serve One of the highest forms of respect around the world is to prove to someone that we really know them, and that we see them as worth knowing. We can connect with the grumpiest of individuals when we prove such things, and, of

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Middle Schoolers Must Play

Students share about their engagement in and ownership of their own play time “Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.” —Heraclitus (554 – 483 BC) As middle school educators, we see a growing population of adolescents who struggle with executive skills and social problem-solving. We believe the

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Beginning with Growth Mindset in the Math Classroom

Facilitating rich discourse to engage students and develop confidence Through education, teachers influence change in their students’ mindsets, which in turn can help students become successful individuals (Yeager & Dweck, 2012). We believe that the best teachers guide, motivate, and inspire their students. Teaching mathematics effectively is crucial to developing students who can solve problems

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AMLE Celebrates Inaugural Schools of Distinction

AMLE recognized its inaugural class of Schools of Distinction earlier this month, in conjunction with the organization’s 49th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The twelve schools were selected for their fervent commitment to implementing the essential attributes and characteristics of successful middle grades schools. In addition to being celebrated during a special awards ceremony, each

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Reimagining School – What should it look like and who is it for?

Cornelius Minor and Kass Minor help #AMLE22 attendees find their bottom lines as educators Cornelius and Kass Minor believe that kids don’t just learn in school. They become. It’s an attitude reflective of what we know about middle grades best practice, making them the perfect keynoters for #AMLE22 and our return to in-person conference. We

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Kindness is harder than it looks.

Houston Kraft reminds #AMLE22 attendees that connection doesn’t happen by accident. Houston Kraft, author and co-founder of CharacterStrong, took the main stage at #AMLE22 yesterday for his keynote address on Deep Kindness. From the outset, he made clear that he had a mission for those in attendance. “If we want more kindness on our campus,

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