Jana Davidson teaches seventh-grade science. Every day, she observes students entering her classroom stressed out. Many of them feel overwhelmed. Anxiety has become quite common thanks to the pressures of social media and a pandemic. When I asked Ms. Davidson how she helps her students manage their stress, she told me she assumed the best
Read More… from The Diamond Secret: Preventing Pressure from Becoming Stress
When I first began teaching 48 years ago, I believed that the right type of motivation could encourage middle level learners to respond to any reasonable task. I didn’t wish to be insincere because students in middle school do not respect a teacher who uses the bad-tasting prescription medicine approach to addressing curriculum: “It’s really
Read More… from “I’m a Poet”: Motivating Students the Write Way
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Teaching active listening in an age of information overload When Taryn Kralik moved from teaching fifth and sixth grade in a self-contained elementary school classroom to eighth grade ELA after ten years, she knew she needed a different approach. She had a class of reluctant readers, English learners, and just reluctant learners in general. Frequently
Read More… from Using Podcast Circles to Engage Reluctant ELA Learners
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We’re in the home stretch – the end of the school year is in sight. There’s no sugar coating it, this has been another challenging year. While we hope that next year brings more of the calm and routine that our young adolescents crave, in the meantime how we can use the remaining days of
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Do you ever dread when it’s time to review for an assessment? More importantly, do your students? Tara Maynard, a middle grades math teacher and 24-year veteran of the classroom, has been crafting review activities for decades designed to provide meaningful practice without totally boring students. We sat down with her to ask what makes
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As you enter the classroom, the lights are dimmed and a dozen students are scattered throughout. Some are folding origami; another is using a wood burning kit to etch a magnificent dragon plaque. Others are reading quietly. You have entered the “Calm room.” It’s one of four rooms that 6th graders at Olmsted Falls Middle
Read More… from Play, Move, Calm, Think: An Advisory Approach with Student Choice at the Center
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Read More... from AMLE Celebrates Inaugural Schools of Distinction
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Read More... from Reimagining School – What should it look like and who is it for?
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