6-8 Middle School

Explore and share tips, strategies, and resources for helping students develop in grades 6-8.

How Mentor Texts Provide Valuable Lessons Beyond Writing Instruction
The knowledge middle and high school students gain through reading mentor texts can strengthen their critical thinking skills.
Kara Douma
Formative and Summative Assessment in a Hybrid Classroom
Getting a true sense of students’ learning and discouraging cheating is tough when some students are in the room and some are at home, but it can be done.
Kasey Short
Better Ways to Measure Student Progress
Distance learning has forced many educators to take a closer look at traditional grading and contemplate better methods of assessment.
Matthew Campbell
Strategies to Encourage Students to Turn Their Cameras On
Incorporating SEL approaches, playing games, and giving students options can inspire them to show their faces.
Liz Byron Loya
6 Exercises to Get to Know Your Students Better—and Increase Their Engagement
Celebrating your middle and high school students' unique identities can bolster connections and improve performance in school.
Nora Fleming
8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom
Educators share their best synchronous and asynchronous strategies to boost student participation during online learning.
Emelina Minero
Is it Time to Drop ‘Finding the Main Idea’ and Teach Reading in a New Way?
Some schools are changing the way they teach reading—based on research that shows background knowledge is more critical to comprehension than general skills like ‘finding the main idea.’
Holly Korbey
5 Ways to Support Kids With ADHD During Remote Learning
Without the rules and structure of the classroom, students with ADHD are struggling. Here’s how teachers can help.
Katy Reckdahl
How to Keep Students Organized in a Hybrid Model
With the right systems in place and explicit coaching, middle school students are better prepared to stay on track with their assignments.
Kasey Short
Engaging Students in Virtual Instruction With the Camera Off
Giving students the option to turn their cameras off may make them more comfortable and open up new possibilities for teaching.
Katie Seltzer
7 Classroom Management Mistakes—and the Research on How to Fix Them
Whether our emotions get the best of us, or we fall into familiar but unproductive habits, here are 7 common classroom management mistakes, and what the research suggests you should do instead.
Youki Terada
How to Create Community in a Virtual Classroom
By establishing routines that address the challenges of online learning, teachers can help students in grades 3 to 8 feel a sense of belonging.
Susan Yergler
3 Tech Tools for Distance Learning and Beyond
These (mostly) free tools make it easier for teachers to connect with remote students and provide plenty of ways to engage them.
Stephanie Rothstein
Adapting an Effective Math Collaboration Activity for Distance Learning
An instructional coach and math teacher who developed a powerful model for student collaboration have tweaked it for the pandemic.
Ashley Taplin
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How to Strengthen Relationships With Older Students Online
During remote instruction, finding authentic moments of connection can be challenging, especially with middle and high school students. Here are five ways to strengthen relationships in virtual settings.