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Blogs on Middle (6-8)

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Top Five iPad Apps for Teaching Across All Content Areas

Andrew MarcinekFebruary 26, 2013

Tags 1:1 Implementation, Free School Supplies, Technology Integration, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Ever since I was a kid, I loathed back to school commercials. They always showed parents gleefully skipping through aisles of pencils and notebooks as the kids, sullen and dejected, sluggishly followed along. It's a scene we are all too familiar with, and one that creates a negative stigma around school. But what if that scene were flipped? What if the kids were happy and eager to get to school? Is that possible after roughly 90 days of sun and fun? It is, and at Burlington Public Schools, we have seen it over the past two years during our iPad launches at the high school and middle school.

From Inspiration to Red Carpet: Elementary Book Trailer Project

Bill BassFebruary 22, 2013

Tags Media Literacy, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), English Language Arts, Visual Arts

In honor of the Oscars, here is the first of two excerpts from From Inspiration to Red Carpet: Host Your Own Student Film Festival by William L. Bass, Christian Goodrich and Kim Lindskog. The project below is for a video book trailer.

Ideas for Digital Citizenship PBL Projects

Andrew MillerFebruary 21, 2013

Tags Digital Citizenship, Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

More and more, we're hearing the term "Digital Citizenship." I think we should simply call it "Citizenship."

In our increasingly connected world, what it means to be a citizen is contextualized by more than just our countries and communities; we are global citizens. Part of being a citizen these days is manifested in what we do digitally, and because of that, I will adhere to the term "Digital Citizenship" -- for now. I hear parents, teachers and community members talking about their concerns over their children's online behavior, and rightfully so. I believe it is our job as educators to teach and assess Digital Citizenship, and I also believe PBL is a great way to target this objective in an engaging and authentic way.

After the Cheering Stops

Mark PhillipsFebruary 21, 2013

Tags Mental Health, , Middle (6-8), High (9-12), Physical Education

I grew up loving basketball, and Alan Seiden was the best high school basketball player I've ever seen. He was also my neighbor and a classmate at Jamaica High School in New York City. One of the most indelible memories from my youth is watching Alan hit one beautiful jump shot after another at Madison Square Garden as he helped lead our team to the city championship. The New York Times compared him favorably to the basketball legend Bob Cousy. He went on to St. John's, became one of the greatest stars in the history of that university's basketball team, and was a two time All-American. He also played briefly in the pros.

Beyond the Book Report: Ten Alternatives

Elena AguilarFebruary 19, 2013

Tags Curriculum, Literacy, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

In my last post I described 10 ways to cultivate a love of reading in kids. I want to expand on that theme by suggesting 10 alternatives to the book report. I'm not a fan of book reports; I don't think they are an effective way for a student to demonstrate understanding of a book and I don't think they help students enjoy or appreciate reading.

Oscar Week Special: Seven Teaching Resources on Film Literacy

Matt DavisFebruary 18, 2013

Tags Current Events, Integrated Studies, Lesson Plans, Media Literacy, Open Education Resources, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

The Academy Awards are just around the corner, and there are a number of nominated films that can be great teaching tools for educators this year. It looks like it might be a big year for Steven Spielberg in the classroom and on Award night -- his Lincoln has been nominated for 12 Oscars, including Best Picture.

Creating Schoolwide PBL Aligned to Common Core

Eric Isselhardt, Ph.D.February 11, 2013

Tags Common Core Standards, Project-Based Learning, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Green Street Academy is a two-year-old public middle and high school in urban Baltimore, Maryland. One of the school's focuses is to embrace the green eco-sustainability movement and the new career paths it will generate. Like most schools, GSA is designed around extremely high academic standards that capture students' imaginations, stimulate their curiosities and inspire their successes. Unique to our program, though, is that last year we began the process of transforming the entire school to a true project-based learning (PBL) environment by the end of this school year. Here, are some of the transformation experiences -- both positive and negative -- we've had since beginning the shift.

Where MOOCs Miss the Mark: The Student-Teacher Relationship

Matt LevinsonFebruary 8, 2013

Tags Online Learning, Technology Integration, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

The mistake about MOOCs (massive open online courses) is that they discount the central component of effective teaching -- the relationship forged between student and teacher.

Edward ChenFebruary 6, 2013

Tags 1:1 Implementation, Parental Involvement, , Technology Integration, Middle (6-8)

Part of a building successful 1:1 program is building partnerships with the entire school community, especially parents. At The Nueva School (and possibly at your school, too), we have found that some parents may have inadvertently relinquished their parental authority when it comes to all things digital. Here's a reflection from one of our parents:

Creating a Family Media Agreement: How to Have the Conversation

Matt LevinsonFebruary 5, 2013

Tags Media Literacy, Parental Involvement, Technology Integration, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8)

One of the best and most important approaches to take in handling media use among children is for families to sit down together and create a family media agreement.

The virtue of this approach is that it enlists all stakeholders in a conversation and empowers and invites kids and parents to think about what they do with media, when they are on media, how they engage with media and how often they use media at home.