6-8 Middle School

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

Literacy
Scaffolding Complex Sentences
Sentence stems can be valuable in leading middle school writers to make inferences about course content.
Project-Based Learning
Agriculture Students Harness Innovation
Students in school-based farming programs are exploring everything from hydroponics to robotics to entrepreneurship.
How Learning Happens
Encouraging Academic Conversations With Talk Moves
Sentence starters that students use to join a class discussion encourage both academic thinking and social connectedness.
Literacy
Improving Reading Outcomes for Economically Disadvantaged Students
A teacher at a Title I school shares classroom and school-wide strategies to improve students’ reading trajectories.
Critical Thinking
Establishing a Culture of Questioning
When students consistently ask meaningful questions, they get comfortable taking the risks that lead to learning.
Collaborative Learning
60 Second-Strategy: Cooperative Learning Roles
Giving students randomly assigned roles in their group work helps ensure that they all participate.
Literacy
Discovering the Depth in Graphic Novels
Graphic novels can give middle school readers rich opportunities to explore literary themes and conventions.
Interest-Based Learning
Explorations: Making Curiosity Part of the Curriculum
Student-designed electives put kids' passions at the forefront of their learning.
Collaborative Learning
Learning on Their Feet
Vertical learning—a framework for high quality group work—showcases student thinking for everyone to see.
Design Thinking
Design Thinking: A Problem Solving Framework
Students learn to empathize with others around the globe while solving real-world problems.