| All About the Middle Grades |  |
- What the common core means for math instruction
 Instructional coach David Ginsburg in this blog post shares a video in which David Coleman, co-author of the Common Core State Standards, explains how the standards will change mathematics instruction. Ginsburg identifies six general changes, including a focus on fewer topics, a focus on connecting mathematics topics across grade levels and an expectation of math fluency. Students also will be required to use math in specific situations and to "achieve fluency and conceptual understanding/application." Education Week Teacher/Coach G's Teaching Tips
(6/30)
- A list of contemporary writing forms for today's teachers
What we teach our students should be authentic and purposeful, writes veteran English/language arts teacher Susan Lucille Davis. In this blog post, Davis shares a list of 16 contemporary writing forms she believes need to be addressed by today's writing teachers. That list includes professional texts, photo captions, reviews, collaborative documents and citizen journalism. Getting Smart blog
(6/28)
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| Tweens & Young Teens
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| Classroom Innovation
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- Middle-grades students attend STEM Camp in N.C. district
About 50 middle-grades students last week attended a summer STEM Camp sponsored by North Carolina's Cumberland County schools. The camp had students taking classes in electronics, forensic science, solar energy and computer programming, led by instructors from Fayetteville Technical Community College. "One of the things we want the kids to come away with is that there is science and math in just about every career," said Pam Gibson, college tech prep coordinator for Cumberland County schools. The Fayetteville Observer (N.C.)
(7/2)
- Texas middle-school student creates prize-winning video game
A Texas middle-school student recently won first prize in a national contest sponsored by Green Ribbon Schools to promote creative learning on health and environmental topics. Austin Brightly, who entered the contest as part of his school's computer applications class, created a video game called Vege-Wars, in which a middle-school student fights a war against unhealthy fast foods and teaches others about better eating choices. Austin American-Statesman (Texas)(free registration)
(7/1)
| Technology & Connected Learning
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- Why it's time to stop debating the merits of education technology
 In this blog post, middle-grades teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron tries to persuade teachers to use classroom technology. As part of her rationale, she writes that technology is mandatory as part of the Common Core State Standards and helps students develop the skills to collaborate, innovate and communicate. She also writes that technology use should occur daily and that in-school use is important in closing the technology gap among students. "Using technology must be the given. It shouldn't be debated anymore. It cannot be about 'if' a teacher adopts technology, but 'how,' " she writes. Edutopia.org/Heather Wolpert-Gawron's blog
(6/28)
- Under what conditions does online learning work?
While some school districts have adopted online learning programs, there remains the question of under what conditions such technology-driven education is effective. One study, published in December by the U.S. Department of Education, finds that an online program led to greater access to Algebra I courses by eighth-grade students. However, the students ultimately had less contact with their online teachers than had been anticipated, and there was more reliance on proctors than expected, write co-principal researchers Peggy Clements and Jessica Heppen. T.H.E. Journal
(7/2)
| Middle Grades Leadership
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- The changing role of a school principal
Not all of the increased accountability faced by today's educators is bad, writes K-5 principal Peter DeWitt in this blog post. On the positive side, Common Core State Standards, along with mandates for teacher and administrator evaluations, have changed the principal's role. That role changed from perceived disciplinarian to a leader who guides teachers, helps students, communicates with parents, models innovative educational practices and creates a culture of respect in the school. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education
(6/27)
| MiddleWeb News
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Free webinar for new middle-grades teachers
MiddleWeb is hosting our first-ever webinar at 3 p.m. Eastern/noon Pacific on July 30, co-sponsored by Stenhouse Publishers, Eye on Education and Powerful Learning Practice. The 90-minute session will feature some great guests: author and middle-grades teaching expert Rick Wormeli; author, blogger (Edutopia, Tweenteacher) and eighth-grade English/language arts teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron; and Education Week contributor and middle-grades literacy and special-education teacher Elizabeth Stein. Registration is limited. Details here!
| MiddleWeb Recommends
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How my homeroom became a home
MiddleWeb offers an excerpt from a soon-to-be finished book by educator, blogger and activist Jose Vilson, who writes about a memorable first year teaching in his native New York City. Vilson recounts important career lessons learned from students in his seventh-grade homeroom: professional focus, flexibility and sensitivity to students' values and culture. Read on.
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Ed resource impresario Larry Ferlazzo tells all
ELL and social studies teacher Larry Ferlazzo is the Internet's impresario of education resources. He tells us the story behind Websites of the Day (his great act of curation) and talks about his Classroom Q&A blog for Education Week, his four books, and more. A MiddleWeb interview.
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 | Solitude is the salt of personhood. It brings out the authentic flavor of every experience."
--May Sarton,
Belgian-American writer
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