Experienced educators share short videos with effective strategies for anyone teaching or wishing to teach middle school classes.
Join Emily Yamasaki, an instructional coach, in discovering “Possible Sentences,” an engaging pre-reading strategy suitable for grades 2 to 8. This no-prep approach helps students predict content and activate prior knowledge. Emily shares valuable tips to optimize this strategy, including word selection and post-reading activities, making it an efficient tool for your classroom.
Discover an exciting reading strategy with Judy Garey, an author and theater professor from Ventura College. Inspired by acting techniques, this approach delves into character evidence and biographies, bringing literature to life for middle and high school students. Enhance reading and writing skills while fostering a deeper connection with texts. Join Judy for creative teaching insights!
Explore “The Writing Roadmap” with Margit Boyesen, a second-grade teacher from Cardiff Elementary in Cardiff, California. This powerful tool guides students through the writing process, from drafts to revisions. Whether it’s a narrative or a research report, this roadmap ensures students stay on track.
Unleash the potential of “Think-Pair-Share” with Jan Ferrer, a seasoned teacher and consultant. This dynamic routine amps up class discussions, promoting active engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking. Jan’s approach adapts to any grade level, subject, or class size, making it a versatile tool for both traditional and virtual classrooms. Elevate your teaching game with this proven technique!
Join Carisa Barnes, a seasoned Literacy Instructional Coach, to unlock the secret to conquering challenging texts with her strategy, “Chunking a Text.” Perfect for teachers in grades six through twelve, this technique can elevate reading comprehension in various subjects. Learn how to set reading purposes, craft engaging questions, and make sentences more manageable.
Join Cassandra Hayes, a math teacher in Fortuna Elementary School District, Fortuna, California, and a teacher consultant for the Redwood Writing Project, as she introduces an exciting math lesson to build algebraic thinking skills using “Visual Emoji Math Puzzles.” Suitable for third grade through high school, this math lesson fosters algebraic thinking. Replace variables with emojis for a fun twist.
Discover the “Four Corners” activity with teacher leader Jennifer Schafran. This versatile classroom technique encourages active engagement and builds trust and community. It can be a quick five-minute exercise or an extended lesson based on debatable statements. Watch your students discuss, listen, and even change their minds while making learning interactive and enjoyable.
Robin Walker, an educator from the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, shares the “Did You Know That..?” activity, a powerful tool for connecting with students from second grade to high school. In this simple exercise, students write freely in small notebooks, sharing thoughts, concerns, or experiences. The teacher responds, fostering open communication and building trust. It’s about giving students a voice and nurturing meaningful connections in the classroom.
Chris Lewis, an educator at Mountain View High School in El Monte, introduces the “See, Mean, Matter” strategy for analyzing political cartoons. This approach guides students through three steps: understanding the historical context, dissecting artistic techniques, and deciphering the cartoon’s message. This strategy enhances media literacy by helping students decode visual messages.
Charity Tanaleon, former band director at Norwood Junior High School, uses student-created music playlists as a way to learn more about students and engage them to reflect and express their emotions through music.
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