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6-8 Middle School

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

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A female teacher in glasses is sitting at a desk with a tablet in front of her looking up towards a young boy. The young boy is wearing a green shirt and is standing to her left.

Resources for Using iPads in Grades 6-8

Looking for advice on integrating iPads in middle school classrooms? In this curated guide, we’ve compiled resources to help you find apps, learn about best practices, and explore ideas for engaging activities.

Still Can't Remember All Their Names?

How using multiple modalities to teach can help you remember student names -- and the activities are Common Core aligned.

The Art of Managing Middle School Students

Administrator Ben Johnson offers up tricks of the trade for working with middle school kids.

Projects to Engage Middle School Readers

Beth Holland turns to apps that can engage middle school readers in a deeper understanding of narrative elements, character study, and author intent.

Common Core ELA Resources for Middle School Educators

Implementing Common Core English in middle school is going to be a challenge. Matt Davis curates some of the best resources online that can help update existing content.

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How to Manage Cell Phones in the Classroom

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How Do I Extend My Best Learners?

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Do Standards Kill Creativity?

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Getting Everyone on the Same Page

Mon, 09/18/2017 - 10:00
6 1,227 views

Nine Strategies for Reaching All Learners in English Language Arts

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10 1,036 180,050 views

How to Manage Cell Phones in the Classroom

Wed, 06/17/2015 - 06:00
416 1,570 197,666 views
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High school students read novels in class.
Article

Getting Everyone on the Same Page

Reading a novel together as a class builds community, pushes everyone to do the work, and still allows for differentiation.

6 1,227 views
Two students look at their phones in class.
Article

3 Tips for Managing Phone Use in Class

Setting cell phone expectations early is key to accessing the learning potential of these devices and minimizing the distraction factor.

8 652 11,004 views
Three school students crowded around a computer.
Article

Start the Year With Collaboration

Try these effective strategies for having students participate in group work from the very beginning of the school year.

1 455 3,589 views
Three students discuss information they’re reading on a laptop.
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Teaching Adolescents How to Evaluate the Quality of Online Information

Use these strategies to help middle and high school students identify relevance, accuracy, bias, and reliability in the content they read.

1,934 666 views
Cover images of the nine graphic novels in the article
Article

Powerful Graphic Novels for Middle School

Great for readers of all literacy levels, these nine nonfiction titles work in English language arts, social studies, and science classes.

260 2,323 views
A young girl imagines that a pile of small boxes on a table are a house complete with electricity, with a plane and hot-air balloons flying above.
Article

Stirring Students’ Imaginations

Three strategies for helping upper elementary and middle school students develop their mind’s eye.

2 264 2,158 views
A teacher shares a book with young students.
Article

Doorways Into Activism

Books can give children an entry point to taking action in the outside world by providing examples of how to address bullying, bias, and injustice.

300 369 views

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Article

Bell Ringer Exercises

Edutopia blogger Todd Finley presents an overview of bell work - short, focused exercises to help students make the most of valuable classroom time.

28 109 368,890 views
Article

8 Strategies for Teaching Academic Language

Edutopia blogger Todd Finley explains how academic language differs from social language and offers eight specific strategies for teaching the vocabulary that students require to succeed in the Common Core and on the SAT.

36 1,635 356,415 views
Four kids around a desk as one points to something
Article

Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement

Blogger and English teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron asked her eighth grade students what they find most engaging in the classroom.

60 24,705 323,778 views
Article

5 Tips for Teaching the Tough Kids

Guest blogger Josh Work shares five techniques for dealing with middle school students who present ongoing discipline issues. His underlying theme is recognizing these kids as adolescents seeking ways to cope with stress or complicated lives.

74 2,012 250,815 views
photo of teacher in front of an engaged classroom
Article

6 Engaging End-of-Year Projects

Consider one of these six engaging and creative student projects to wrap of the school year.

20 5,886 243,685 views
Article

Motivating the Unmotivated

A simple, no-cost video chat program motivates unruly, disengaged elementary and middle school students through relationships with high school students who demonstrate the value of education.

36 2,495 234,060 views
Article

Don’t Listen to Music While Studying

Guest blogger David Cutler, a history, government and journalism teacher, asks us to face the music about whether or not listening our favorite tunes while studying actually helps our concentration.

27 6,040 233,439 views

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