Awesome Website for Middle School Students and Those About to Start in the Fall

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/school/middleschool/index.html 

I am familiar with pbskids.org because my children have grown up watching public television.  However, I was stunned to find this awesome website that is perfectly tailored for students getting ready to enter middle school this fall.  I don't know if the website will change as the school year progresses (hopefully) or if it remains this transitional tool.  This website has it all, games, chats and "tests".  This website fits perfectly within the scope of This We Believe.  The overall look is super friendly and welcoming.  The site addresses every listed interest and concern of the middle school student; family, friends, emotions,body, home, school and money.  Not only does this website present information, it empowers the students to make their voices heard by blogging, voting and chatting.  Although there is no substitute for a live adult as an advocate and mentor, this website offers advice and contact information to hotlines, organizations and volunteer opportunities.  You can even see the entire site in Spanish.  This website was truly made for the student transitioning into middle school.  Way to Go PBS!!!!!                      Gina Elliott

Middle Level Article

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleGround/Articles/February2011/Article3/tabid/2328/Default.aspx

Differentiate Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Tools

I really enjoyed reading this article on differentiating instruction.  In this article, several middle level teachers talk about their favorite tech tools for differentiating class instruction.  One of the tools mentioned in the article was Audacity.  My multimedia kids use Audacity for several projects and really enjoy it.  The article also mentioned several tools for students who have difficulty taking notes, have difficulty reading, and who are visual learners.   I found several tools that I will try to incorporate into my classroom.  This article fits within the scope of This We Believe under multiple learning and teaching approaches.  All students learn differently and as teachers we need to incorporate different approaches that will accommodate all students.  Technology is one of the many ways to do that and seems to get students excited about learning.    ~Wendy Marney

Middle School Article

www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/education/22middle.html?ref=thecriticalyears

This article discusses the difference between two schools in New York. One school ranges from Kindergarten to 8th grade while the other ranges from 6th to 12th grade. The article focuses on whether it is beneficial to have a middle school program to prepare students for the future or if it would simply be better to allow them to stay in their elementary school for an additional three years where they are comfortable. This article fits into the scope of This We Believe because it addresses the essential attributes because the 6th-12th grade school is challenging the students to look forward to their futures. It also empowers them to be ready for college. This article also addresses culture and community because the kindergarten-6th grade school had an adult advocate (Randi Silverman) that a boy knew he could always count on. I really enjoyed this article because it discusses some of the things we have even talked about in our chat sessions about middle school. 

-Shay Eddings

Middle Level Website

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html

This website is a great tool for educators, families, and students.  For educators, it gives sample lesson plans, helps locate resources aligned with state standards, and gives professional development ideas.  For families, the website offers downloadable activity sheets, videos, and suggests readings that parents can do with their kids.   For students, the website offers several different interactive learning games to play.  This website fits within the scope of This We Believe through leadership and organization and culture and community.  Teachers need to find as many professional development opportunities as possible so they can be better prepared to teach their students.  This website offers several professional development ideas.  This website encourages family involvement by finding reading materials that parents and children can read together as well as activity sheets they can do together.  Students need an adult to guide them and encourage their success especially at the middle level.  ~Wendy Marney

Group Project Article from NMSA

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleLevelInsider/Articles/GroupProjects/tabid/2418/Default.aspx

There is a lot of good information in this short article from the May issue of Middle Level Insider.  Susan Mulcaire relates the benefits as well as the frustrations that we all encounter when attempting group projects.  The best part is that she gives several strategies for supporting our students in this endeavor.  This article fits within the scope of This We Believe because being able to work successfully within a group is a life skill that students need to function successfully at all levels of society.  This article pinpoints those life skills and provides resources for sharing them with our students.    Gina Elliott

Middle Level Podcast

www.anniefox.com/fc.html

I was actually looking for a middle school blog when I stumbled across this awesome podcast!! Annie Fox interacts with a variety of people about a variety of issues with middle school aged children. The issues range from ADHD to fitting in to moms seeking advice. I was blown away by the site because it is geared mainly towards parents. The name of the podcast is Family Confidential. This podcast can also speak to a variety of listeners as I am not a parent, but still found the issues addressed to be geared towards educators as well. This podcast fits into the scope of This We Believe because it addresses some curriculum related issues as well as behavioral issues, etc.

-Shay Eddings

Middle Level Webquest

13 Colonies 

This interactive Webquest fits within the scope of TWB through the characteristics of educators using multiple learning and teaching approaches and the curriculum is challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant.  

This Webquest is a great way to get students involved in their own learning. It is appropriate for middle school students because they are able to work more independently.  They are guided in the learning of the original 13 colonies are tested about their knowledge.  There are so many students whose learning styles are visual and virtual that Webquests are easy for them to understand.  They have fun while learning!  This Webquest is also challenging their knowledge because they are exploring the web to teach them about the colonies.  They are in charge....along with the guidance of the Webquest maker!

Sarah Shewmaker 

Middle Level Podcast

http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=59203

For this podcast, Gayle (Davis) Andrews was asked to talk about significant lessons from the past that today’s middle level leaders must not forget as we move into the future. This podcast fits within the scope of This We Believe through several characteristics under all three areas: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Leadership and Organization, and Culture and Community.   Andrews states that we must not forget these three terms: voice, choice, and connection.   We need to be sure that we are building a curriculum around students’ interests, backgrounds, and culture.  Students need to be able to see the relevance and understand that what they are learning is important.  Middle schools need to build a collaborative community not just between teachers but between all faculty and students.  Teachers, administrators, nurses, and counselors must be readily available to help students.  Relationships are an essential part in getting anything accomplished at the middle level.  ~Wendy Marney

Middle Level Video

High School Graduation, Truancy, Drop Out, and Middle Level Education

http://www.schooltube.com/video/b3c4a98eb0a43b9f5faa/High-School-Graduation-Truancy-Drop-Out-and-Middle-Level-Education

This is a short video that shows the connection between effective middle level practices and their impact on student success in high school.  This video fits within the scope of This We Believe under Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment as well as Culture and Community.  As teachers we need to be sure we are offering high quality academics that are appropriate and challenging for middle level students.   We need to motivate our students to succeed and want to do well in school.  Students need to feel that school is a safe and supportive place for them to come and enjoy learning.  The school should include community involvement to help prepare middle level students for high school, college, and their future.  ~Wendy Marney

Middle School How-To Website

This website is great for middle school teachers! It fits into the This We Believe because it provides several great ideas for organizing and executing the many responsibilities teachers have. I found many helpful resources while exploring this site including several "How-to" articles on the left side of the page. A link to the very helpful site Rubistar is posted. I had been introduced to Rubistar as a UCA student so I was excited to see it listed on the site. There is also a link for teaching forums, ready-made rubrics, and a broadcasting system that includes free lessons. All in all, I believe any middle school teacher would LOVE this website and find it most helpful!
Shay Eddings
http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/middle-school-web-resources

Homework Blog

http://kvmshomework.blogspot.com/

This is a great, simple little site from a Canadian school whose aim is twofold. 
The first is to help keep parents informed about homework assignments, upcoming projects and tests.  The second is to serve as a refresher and reinforcement for students regarding assignments and tests.  The layout is simple and straightforward, great for parents and students. 

This blog fits within the scope of This We Believe by empowering students to take responsibility for their assignments.  They can access the blog for more information on an assignment as well as due dates.  The biggest benefit I see in this blog is its ability to easily actively involve families in the education of their children.  I have been told that some parents are intimidated by teachers.  This site would allow families on their own time schedule and at their own pace to stay informed on the expectations placed upon their student.  This is a fairly easy way to for the school to take the initiative in involving and educating families without having to man a desk twenty-four hours a day. 
       -     Gina Elliott

Middle Level Website

MiddleWeb

This website for middle level is a resourceful tool for teachers and parents.  This website fits in TWB scope by providing ongoing professional development that reflects best educational practices. This is a website that gives teachers and parents lists of websites and articles that they can read to better their teaching skills.  Teachers can not only read articles about classroom management, but find the key to parent-teacher relationship success. This website should be bookmarked or added to favorites by every middle school teacher.  With one website, you are linked to a ton of other websites! Bettering yourself as a teacher will only better your students!

Sarah Shewmaker

Middle Level Podcast

Motivating Young Adolescents

In this podcast, Jack Berckemeyer is joined by Kim Campbell and they discuss ways to motivate middle school students.  

This podcast fits within the TWB scope.  The characteristic that it fits is that leaders are committed to and knowledgeable about this age group, educational research, and best practices.  As teachers we need to know the latest strategies in helping learners.  This podcast is teaching teachers about motivating their students. They need to know their students outside of academics, care for them, and be familiar with their culture.  Times are changing and so are the students.  Teachers need constant and updated professional development in order to keep up with the students ever changing attitudes and learning styles.  
Sarah Shewmaker

WOW Webquest!

http://www.can-do.com/uci/lessons98/Nutrition.html

What a great fun tool!  This webquest is like an interactive worksheet with internet research wrapped all in a neat little package.  The goal of this webquest is to help middle level students make wise choices about the foods they choose.  It doesn't lecture and tell them what is good and bad.  Instead, it leads them through the fast food chains websites to do their own research on the fat content of different food choices.  The student then compares their findings with how much fat is recommended per day and week for their specific age group and sex.  WHAT A GREAT USE OF MATH!
 
This webquest falls within the scope of This We Believe by empowering students to take responsibility for choosing healthy foods and knowing which choices are better than others.  This webquest is the epitome of student centered active learning.  Students are gathering information from different sites, analyzing the data and making cause and effect determinations.  This curriculum is challenging from the math standpoint and is a great use digital technology.  I want to go out and find more webquests that address other topics that fall within my lesson plans for next fall!        - Gina Elliott

Student Produced Video Promotes FBLA

http://www.thinkcybis.com/media/player_wide.cfm?video=FBLA-MLPROMO&title=FBLA%20-%20Middle%20Level%20Promotional%20Video

This exciting video offers middle level students the opportunity to join an organization which falls within the scope of This We Believe  due to the empowerment opportunities it provides for students.  FBLA activities provide students with varied activities in which to experience success and acquire the knowledge and skills they need to function in society. 

The video also shows how the club falls within the scope of "Culture and Community" within This We Believe.  FBLA provides opportunities for students to partner with businesses and charitable organizations within their community.  These partnerships allow students to take responsibility as a citizen and feel good about doing their part in making their community a better place to live.

A chapter of FBLA would be a great addition to the middle school family of  opportunites for success. 
- Gina Elliott

Middle School Journal Article

Teaching Mathematics and English to English Language Learners

In this middle school journal article, it discusses the many ways to help ELL students to comprehend math terms that are used in the classroom. This fits with the TWB characteristic about educators using multiple learning and teaching approaches to accommodate diverse learners.  In the article it stresses how teachers need to use a two-for-one teaching strategy to help ELL students learn content vocabulary.  ELL students along with other students need visual aids, manipulatives, and meaningful experiences. These strategies will not only help ELL students with their academic language but their social language as well. Students also need for teachers to preview the new vocabulary, validate their responses, and give feedback.  All these strategies will prepare ELL students for the lesson and help them better understand the new words taught.  Their learning environment is critical for the success of learning a new language.
Sarah Shewmaker

Meaningful Cartoon

http://www.glasbergen.com/education-cartoons/?album=4&gallery=85

I loved this cartoon and it relates to This We Believe for three reasons.  First, teachers are life-long learners and in most instances are highly qualified to teach.  Ongoing professional development is a continuous activity for teachers which give them opportunity to work with their colleagues to improve the learning experiences for their students.  In addition, the very first essential attribute for successful middle grade schools is to take into consideration the nature of these young adolescents.  For the most part, they are in love with their technology.  The more we can incorporate technology into our instruction and assessment, the better we can relate to our students.  Finally, we educators must value the diversity of our students.  We have chosen this unique age group and the more we can relate to their interests and "speak their language", the better chance we have of making that positive impact on their lives.
~ Gina Elliott 

Middle Level Blog

http://lmsblogs.org/

 This is a link to a middle level blog that a social studies class created at Leawood Middle School.  The teacher and the students are able to make posts and comment on posts.  The blog discusses interesting facts related to social studies and the teacher also lists assignments and advice for students.  The blog fits within the scope of This We Believe because students and teachers are engaged in active, purposeful learning.  Since students are able to have a digital conversation through the blog it places them at the center of the learning process.  The blog also incorporates multiple learning and teaching approaches through the use of technology.  It is an exciting way for students to learn and keep up to date with their social studies class.  ~Wendy Marney

Great Podcast on Active Learning!

NMSA Podcast


I just listened to this great podcast (my first by the way) from the National Middle School Association about a new book written by Cally Stockton called Minds in Motion, Active Learning for the Creative Classroom.  This Spanish teacher from Colorado made a collection of her wonderful activities as a gift to her student teacher and has now published them in this book. 

This book fits right within the scope of This We Believe in many ways:
1.  Leadership and Organization - This book would be great professional development with it's wonderful suggestions for improving the students learning experiences. 
2.  Culture and Community - The first few activities within the book are for the first weeks of school  and can be used to help the students get to know each other as well as aid the teacher in getting to know here students.  These activities would aid us in creating that safe, supportive, inviting school environment.
3.  Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment - The author comments on how she allowed the students to discover the value of group learning on their own by first having them do a short assignment alone and then allowing them to collaborate.  Some of the activities she discusses in her book were either student designed or improved. 

Not only do I highly recommend this podcast, I also am going to look for this book.  I think it will be a great addition to my tool chest of resources that I pull from to engage my students a challenging curriculum. - Gina Elliott

Middle School Video

Three Laws of Motion

This video about the Three Laws of Motion fits within the TWB scope.  The characteristic that the video fulfills is Educators use multiple learning and teaching approaches.  The video is targeted towards visual and auditory learners.  The graphics are appealing to the middle school age and uses examples that they can relate to.  Teaching students using different learning styles accommodates to their diverse skills and abilities. This digital tool is great to use to get students attention, making their learning experience more exciting and different.

Sarah Shewmaker

Middle School Cartoon

This cartoon supports the This We Believe article because as educators we need to remember to keep our assessments authentic and relevant to the students. If we bore them with basic T/F questions, multiple choice questions, etc., they will soon lose interest in the material we are covering.  At times, tests similar to the one in the cartoon are necessary. Then again, there are other times when we need to differentiate not only our tests, but our teaching styles. This cartoon all goes back to the fact that students need to feel the information is important to THEM... not just something to learn because "they have to."
Shay Eddings

Middle School Cartoon

This middle school cartoon fits within the characteristics of This We Believe.  In the section of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment is says that students and teachers should be engaged in active, purposeful learning.  In this cartoon the teacher is speaking in front of the class and the student is just sitting in his desk.  As teachers, we have to remember in order for students to comprehend material and to enjoy learning, we have to get them involved and engaged in the classroom. Bring the geography of the world inside of the classroom by getting everyone to participate.
Sarah Shewmaker

Middle Level Cartoon

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_r2TtSmJiALM/R-wrjfKjHhI/AAAAAAAAAAU/K617TuiRl0c/s400/ed5%2Bcartoon.gif

This cartoon fits within the scope of This We Believe because educators need to use multiple learning and teaching approaches.  In this generation students are so technology savvy that schools need to keep up to date.  Fortunately, a lot of schools are able to have smartboards instead of chalkboards which incorporates more technology into the classroom.  All kids have different learning styles and we need to try to accommodate them.  Most of the time technology intrigues student learning.  ~Wendy Marney

Middle Level Blog

http://moranmustangs.org 
     This blog links fits within the scope of This We Believe.  Culture and Community is the goal of the blog by actively involving families and the community in the education of their children. This particular classroom is initiating involvement of the families by being accessible at any time. The blog is also allowing others from the community to be involved in learning. Classroom around the world can participate in their projects and upload videos of their learning. 
     This blog is developed by 8th graders in from CT.  It is also a way for the parents to stay in touch with what is going on in the classroom.  The blog is also used to also keep the classroom students updated on current classroom assignments. This is just a creative way to keep connected while at home or work. Parents and others are included in the classroom in an interactive way! 
     I found this blog easy to navigate through and it was also appealing to the eye.  I found it great that students are learning from other students around the world.
Sarah Shewmaker