Show What You Know: PBL to Portfolios · 08 Show What you Know: From PBL to Digital Portfolios ... 28 Tag It—“Graffiti” ... Check out Dru's blog

amle.org

VOL. 4 NO. 2 | SEPTEMBER 2016 Association for Middle Level Education

Cultivating Connections with Diverse Families 18

DIGITAL FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TOOLS 42

Show What You Know: PBL to Portfolios 08

Contact Big Ideas Learning for more information at 877-552-7766 or visit us online at

BigIdeasLearning.com.

®

Middle School and High School ProgramsBY RON LARSON AND LAURIE BOSWELL

oooooon onononon

Distributed exclusively byHoughton Miffl in Harcourt

Big Ideas Math is a rigorous math program built to increase student engagement and inquiry through dynamic activities and scaffolded

instruction. The Dynamic Assessment System gives students an opportunity to interact with technology-enhanced items by completing homework and

assessments online.

Project-Based Learning Differentiated InstructionSTEM/STEAMCulture and ClimateLiteracyMathematicsProfessional Learning CommunitiesTechnologyStandards-Based Grading SchedulingRTI/MTSSClassroom Management Student Motivation and Engagement LeadershipTransition to and from Middle School AssessmentSocial StudiesEnglish Language LearnersInterdisciplinary CurriculumBullying PreventionAnd many more!

Topics for Every Middle Grades Educator

amle.org/annual

Texas Partners in Education

Everything Middle Grades

Attend the most comprehensive middle grades conference in the world. AMLE2016 is the can’t-miss annual event for all middle level teachers, administrators, curriculum directors, counselors, and professors.

Registration includes:

• Your choice of more than 500 sessions

• The chance to earn up to 22+ contact hours

• Lunch on Monday and Tuesday

• Passion, collaboration, and camaraderie with fellow middle level educators!

Save by sending a team or group!Call Chuck at 800-528-6672

4 ASSOCIATION FOR MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATION amle.org

Contents

VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2 | September 2016

21 Making Introductory Lessons Higher-LevelIntroductory lessons are anything but.

By JOANNE KELLEHER

11 History Alive: Engaging Students in CosplayingStudents learn by dressing up.

By NEFERTARI yANCIE & JEREMIAH CLABOUGH

cover story

08 Show What you Know: From PBL to Digital PortfoliosOpen new doors to teaching and learning.

By AMBER CHANDLER

features

24 Students Helping Students SucceedStudent assistants provide instructional support.

By DOUGLAS STITH

15 Getting Students Excited about Analytical WritingMotivating students to improve their writing.

By JOy MUSHACKE SMITH

18 Cultivating Connections with Diverse FamiliesMake all families feel welcome and connected.

By BROOKE B. EISENBACH, SUMMER CLARK, & AMy GOODEN

5AMLE Magazine · SEPTEMBER 2016

in every issue

Editor’s Note 06By PATRiciA GEORGE

TWB Focus Forum 07By DRu TOMLiN

Mentor Me 38Bathroom BreaksBy VALERiE BENjAMiN

Leadership Matters 39Lunchroom Lessons

By Nikki WOODSON

Hot Spot 42Digital Formative Assessment Tools

By BRyAN R. DROST

Making the Team 44Forging Partnerships

By ROBiN DEVER

Megaphone 46

32 Differentiating Structure, Not ContentMeet diverse needs by changing the classroom structure.

By GUy GAMBONE

35 Selecting Complex Texts with IntentionTips for choosing complex texts in the classroom.

By DOUG LEMOV, COLLEEN DRIGGS, & ERICA WOOLWAy

28 Tag It—“Graffiti” in the Classroom Classroom graffiti gives students a voice.

By SAMINA HADI-TABASSUM

For the latest resources and breaking news, follow AMLE on:


Mentoring MeWhen I began editing this magazine 14 years ago, many of you were in middle school—some of you were in elementary school. You might have had an idea that you wanted to be an educator, but I am willing to bet many of you weren’t thinking about teaching in the middle.

And look at you now! When I began my career in publications 30 years ago,

I was fortunate to join the staff of an education association that was committed to supporting the still-young middle school movement. Like many of you, I hadn’t set out to focus

on middle school education, but when the association launched a magazine for middle level educators, I jumped at the chance to be involved. That’s how I met my first mentors—folks like John Lounsbury, George Melton, Laurel Kanthak, Sue Galletti, Ron Williamson, Jerry Valentine, Howard Johnston.

You all know how important mentors are—whether you talk to them on a daily basis or simply read

an article they wrote, interact with them on social media, or attend conference presentations. They lead by example, reach out with support, ask the hard questions, and give you the feedback you need to grow.

When I took the helm of this magazine, which at that time was called Middle Ground, I was fortunate once again to be associated with an organization whose members are committed to young adolescents. I was able to learn from mentors like Sue and John Swaim, Rick Wormeli, Jack Berckemeyer, Tom Burton, Dru Tomlin, and so many others who have an indescribable passion for what they do and whom they serve.

With the October issue, I will be handing over the reins of AMLE Magazine to Joanne Previts, who shares your passion for middle level and brings vast knowledge and a fresh perspective. All my best to you all—thanks for making a difference in the lives of young adolescents and for being their beacons of light.

Patricia George, Editor

editor’s note

Published by the Association for Middle Level Education

(AMLE), 4151 Executive Parkway, Suite 300, Westerville, OH

43081, tel: 614.895.4730, 800.528.6672, fax: 614.895.4750,

www.amle.org. Copyright ©2016 by the Association for

Middle Level Education.

Materials in this issue may not be reproduced—unless

otherwise indicated—in whole or in part in any form or

format without special permission from the publisher.

Written requests may be sent or faxed to the address above.

AMLE Magazine (ISSN: 2329-8952 ) is a benefit of

professional membership in the Association for Middle

Level Education. Annual individual professional

membership dues start at $49.99. Annual school

membership dues start at $199.99 and cover an entire

building. Individual subscriptions are available as follows:

$74.99 per year, domestic; $89.99 per year, international.

Single copies are available at the following rates: $10

domestic, $15 international. Ohio residents should add

state sales tax. When changing address, please include

an address label (or copy) from a current issue. Articles,

commentary, and editorial material in AMLE Magazine

represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily

reflect official AMLE policy; nor does acceptance of an

advertisement imply AMLE endorsement. AMLE and the

logo are registered servicemarks of the Association for

Middle Level Education. Printed in the United States.

Editorial Office: Joanne Previts, Editor, Georgia College,

CBX 071, Milledgeville, GA 31061-0490, tel: 614.895.4730,

800.528.6672, e-mail: [email protected].

Postal Information: AMLE Magazine is published nine

times a year (August, September, October, November/

December, January, February, March, April, May) by AMLE,

4151 Executive Parkway, Suite 300, Westerville, OH 43081.

ExEcutivE dirEctorWilliam D. Waidelich

EditorPatricia George

SENior dESigNErCynthia Ritter

PuBLicAtioN MANAgErDawn Williams


Food for Thought: Four Essential AttributesAs we joyfully create with our pedagogical whisks, ladles, and colanders, we must never lose sight of what we hope our educational meal will be. While the 16 Characteristics of Successful Schools outlined in This We Believe are the key ingredients for an effective and amazing middle grades program, our students deserve more than our adherence to a prescribed recipe. They need us to ask really good questions and be prepared to wrestle with the answers we receive.

For example, what should we keep in our minds and hearts as we serve them up every day? Looking again at This We Believe with these questions simmering in the cognitive crock-pot, the answer is clear. The four Essential Attributes help us set the table for our service, and they provide direction as we support all learners—because young adolescents deserve an education that is:

1. Responsive: Using the nature of young adolescents as the foundation on which all decisions are made. It’s imperative that we understand who our students are, so learning experiences can also be developmentally responsive. Fortunately, by scanning the pages of This We Believe (pp. 53–62) and digging deep into the mental files of our own middle school memories, we can adjust the menu and serve our students more responsively. Our learning environments should be open educational buffets with intriguing options and choices. They should be collaborative spaces where educational meals can be actively co-created with the cooks in the kitchen and with fellow diners. And our classes should be social places where diners can talk about their meals, eat each other’s educational plates, and write their ideas in bold letters on the tablecloths.

2. Challenging: Recognizing that every student can learn and everyone is held to high expectations. We must ensure that every student is challenged as they dine with us. We must push back against the pre-packaged, pre-portioned dishes of mediocrity and menial expectations. Our students don’t just deserve more; they are more. By working together on interdisciplinary teams and with students themselves, we can create educational menus full of great content, rich ingredients, strategies that challenge everyone. When we do that, we create great middle schools that drive up engagement, drive down disruption, and drive learning forward.

3. Equitable: Advocating for every student’s right to learn and providing challenging and relevant learning opportunities. When we ask students to enter our educational restaurants to dine on our daily dishes, we must have equity in mind. Opening our doors means every student has a seat at the classroom table. The joyous mission we face with equity is how to give our students every opportunity, how to provide them with every chance, and how to engage them in learning experiences every day that meet them where they are—while propelling them where they can be.

4. Empowering: Providing all students with the knowledge and skills they need to take control of their lives. The goal of any effective and amazing middle school should be to empower young adolescents so they can sit at any table, take on any challenge, and respond intelligently to anything or anyone on their lifelong learning journey. It isn’t enough that we feed and fill them with exceptional educational dishes—that simply makes them full. Rather, our duty should be to help our young adolescents remain intellectually hungry, to help them use the cognitive and social utensils they need long after they’ve left our doors.

DRU TOMLIN is director of middle level services for AMLE.

[email protected]

THIS WE BELIEVE FOCUS FORUM in every issue

DRU TOMLINDIRECTOR OF MIDDLE LEVEL SERVICESCOLUMBUS, OHIO

More on This We Believe at amle.org/twb

EXTRA! Join us on Twitter to discuss how to make middle school concepts work! September 22nd on #mschat from 8-9pmET!

EXTRA! Check out Dru's blog at www.amle.org/ABCs.


My son’s birthday party this year was at one of those bounce house places with children hopped up on orange soda and birthday cake. In the midst of the chaos, one of the workers approached me—not with the news of some disaster, as I immediately feared, but with a smile and a huge hug. “Mrs. Chandler!”

Teachers who live in the community where they work experience this all the time—hugs and greetings from past and present students. However, this was different. This time the student was Austin.

I had Austin in seventh and eighth grade almost a decade ago. He was the unreachable brilliant one who would ace a test but never seemed to be listening and certainly didn’t bother with homework. He never cared to impress me or anyone else—that is, until I assigned my first project-based learning activity.

We were wrapping up two years together and needed to shake things up, so I announced, “You are going to present to our class a ‘How-To’ of anything you’d like. You can teach us to make brownies. You can teach us to juggle. You can inspire us to try something new! You must create a PowerPoint to go with your presentation.”

cover story

Show What you Know: From PBL to Digital Portfoliosone student’s enthusiasm can open new doors to teaching and learning.

By AMBER CHANDLER

Of course there was a barrage of questions, which I expected. But I was not prepared for Austin to raise his hand. He never raised his hand. When I called on him, he asked, “Can I build a website?” I was so taken aback that the honest answer came out: “Well, I guess you can. But I don’t have a clue about that.”

Shining StarOn presentation day, using our brand new whiteboard, my students showed us how to do all sorts of things utilizing PowerPoint presentations with too much animation and too many sound effects. At times the presentations were overwhelming. This was new to all of us, so I took it all in stride.

When Austin’s turn came, I asked, “Are you ready?” which was unfortunately what I used to say to students whom I thought had not done the project.


Austin approached my computer and quickly typed in a website address. His website—which he created—was designed to teach us how to play the game Minecraft, which no one had heard of yet. To say that we were in awe is an understatement. I watched my students sit up a little more and lean in, amazed by what an eighth grade student—a decidedly non-academic student—knew and could do.

Given the chance to do something he knew and loved, Austin (or AJ as his nametag now read) opened my eyes to the possibility of digital learning before I knew there was a name for it.

Learning TogetherEvery year after that, when we launched into the project-based activity, I shared Austin’s website as an example, saying, “You can always give something

like this a try.” Student interest in “going digital” was slow at first. A few students created a website and others did Prezis instead of PowerPoints. Then these digital projects really caught on and everyone wanted to do them. Unfortunately, I really didn’t know enough about digital presentations to help them.

I knew that had to change, so I taught myself how to use Prezi, and Haiku Deck, Canva, and other presentation tools, and was able to guide my students who wanted to use them for their presentations.

Then I tackled the website-building project. Thanks to the ease of Wix (a free website builder that is quite intuitive) I was able to create a pretty decent class website, which I used to communicate with parents and students. The more I used it the more comfortable I was with the idea of incorporating a website into a project.

“Austin, you will be so proud of me!” I gushed. “Guess what my kiddos did for their final projects this year? Built a website. I mean, we only used Wix, not programming or coding or whatever you call it, but you inspired this. Remember your Minecraft project?”

AJ did remember, and he told me he was “a full-on computer geek” in college. “Websites are a great start for eighth graders,” he went on. “Like a portfolio, you know, like art students. You need to get them into this stuff. It's the next language.”

And, there you have it. Once again, a student showed me the way. It was in that noisy moment that I decided my students in the fall must have a digital portfolio because if nothing else, isn’t it my job as an ELA teacher to make sure they are able to communicate—with a “new language” nonetheless?

Going DigitalBased on my website lessons learned (see p. 10), I’m launching my yearlong Digital Portfolio Website

I watched my students sit up a little more and lean in, amazed by what an eighth grade student—a decidedly non-academic student—knew and could do.


assignment for my new eighth graders this year. In these first few weeks I’m helping students set up an e-mail account (which most don’t have) and a Wix account, and teaching them some basic aesthetics of web design. Now that I have a little more confidence in this digital realm, I am happy to share my “cheatsheet”:• Less is more. Too many pictures and/or too

much text is distracting.• Use a color scheme and be consistente.• Cut and paste from Wix into Word for spell check.

(A major downfall of Wix is the lack of spell check.)• Use animations and music sparingly, and don’t loop

it. Once is appealing; more than once is annoying. • People read in an “F” pattern, so avoid placing

important text or information in the bottom right-hand corner.

• Drop-down menus are great. We are going to have pages for Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Creating, and Innovating. Students will decide as we move through the year where to post their assignments.

• Videos are a great way to capture a learning experience. I’ll record and send to my students to add to their webpage. The website becomes the tool by which to tell their

“learning story.” We’ll end our year by reflecting and setting new goals for high school.

Speaking the LanguageAs I get beginning-of-the-school-year butterflies thinking about 100 eighth graders creating websites, replete with the positives and pitfalls, I’m forcing myself to remember AJ’s observation: “It's the new language.”

I’ve heard that the best way to learn a new language is immersion, so here we go...

AMBER CHANDLER is ELA department chair at Frontier Middle School in Hamburg, New York. She is the author of The Flexible ELA classroom: Practical Tips for Differentiated instruction in Grades 4–8. She will be a presenter at AMLE2016 (www.amle. org/annual).

[email protected] @msamberchandler www.amberrainchandler.com

www.doyoudifferentiate.com

Lessons Learned

i survived my first website assignment. Here are my primary lessons learned (with many more to come, i am sure!):

Positives

• They were so engaged that it was hard to pull them away.

• Mini-lessonsworkwell.Theold “Ido,wedo,youdo”worksgreat.

• Theyactuallyaskedformoretimetopresent their websites because some made videos that they wanted to include.

• Theyhadasuperquicklearningcurve,astheyquicklysurpassedmyWixskills.

• ThehighschoolteachersIknowareexcited that they are coming to them with this type of tech savvy.

• Studentsaremorethanwillingto help each other.

Pitfalls

• Youcan’tassumetheyknowanythingabout web design. Remember how i mentioned too many animations and sound effects? it is even messier when theystartexperimentingwithweb-builder tools.

• There’sabalancebetweenthe“haveatit” approach and direct instruction, and this balance is different for every class.

• Findingthetechnologyandtechnologytimetheyneededwasafull-timejob.Iwas careful to never assume they had technology at home.


features

History Alive: Engaging Students in CosplayingWeaving the fun of cosplaying with social studies gives history a life of its own.

By NEFERTARI yANCIE & JEREMIAH CLABOUGH

Every summer, thousands of comic book fans make the trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, for HeroesCon. During this three-day convention, hundreds of fans dress up like Batman, Stormtroopers, Spiderman, Iron Man, taking on the persona of their favorite superheroes.

The process of dressing up, creating props, and acting as a character from comic books, video games, or movies is referred to as cosplaying. Cosplaying interjects a great deal of energy into the comic book convention scene, and has the potential of doing the same for your middle grades social studies classes—


the difference being that instead of posing as pop culture icons, students dress up and assume the roles of historical figures.

At its core, cosplaying is a form of role playing. People become one of their favorite fictional characters for a couple of days and do their best to act in that role. In adapting the components of cosplaying to social studies, students must complete meaningful research about a historical figure before being able to become that individual. This allows students to gain a deeper understanding of an historical figure’s values.

Cosplaying activities in social studies also have the potential to positively alter the classroom dynamic. Through the performance aspects of these activities, students become actively engaged in their learning.

Here are three cosplaying activities for the middle school social studies classroom, including the steps to implement each of the activities and an example script.

Abraham Lincoln Gets Some Couch TimeEvery weekday, millions of people turn on their televisions to watch Dr. Phil cross-examine his guests and ask that iconic question, “Well, how’s that working out for you?” Viewers are riveted as guests tell their darkest secrets, expose their deepest vulnerabilities, and boast about their greatest achievements.

What if historical figures were on Dr. Phil’s proverbial couch? By the end of the hour, the historical figures likely would be more “human” and not just names in the pages of a textbook.

With this cosplaying activity, groups of students work together to produce a talk show featuring an historical figure. Using primary and secondary

sources, students research their figure and then work together to develop questions and answers.

The students present their talk show to their classmates. The show has four hosts—each one is responsible for asking questions about a specific topic, such as culture, government, the military, or even gossip. Another student assumes the role of the historical figure.

The student playing the role of the historical figure should wear a costume that is representative of the time period and character. (This does not exclude the four hosts from wearing costumes as well.) See the sidebar on page 14 for a script that includes Justinian and Theodora as guests.

This activity provides students the opportunity to research their topics in depth, which leads to deeper analysis and engagement. As students dive into their topics, they become more invested in historical figures’ lives and begin to empathize with them. This is especially true for the students who are acting the part of the historical figure. To “be” an historical figure, students must understand the person’s character and values. It is not enough to know accomplishments and important dates; students should know what motivates the historical figure, making him or her three-dimensional.

Going to HistoryCon San Diego ComicCon has become the comic book enthusiast’s pilgrimage. Every summer, fans travel to meet the stars of the newest films and to see the newest merchandise from toy companies. Not only can fans dress up as their favorite superheroes and villains, but they have the opportunity to listen to panels of actors talk about what it’s like to be their character.

In this activity, history meets San Diego ComicCon as students assume roles of historical figures and create their own panels where they discuss and debate historical issues.

Each panel consists of five historical figures and one moderator. Teachers might consider providing students with a list of people to choose from based

Cosplaying activities in social studies also have the potential to positively alter the classroom dynamic. Through the performance aspects of these activities, students become actively engaged in their learning.

As students dive into their topics, they become more invested in historical figures’ lives and begin to empathize with them.


on the particular topic of the panel, although they don’t necessarily have to be from the same time period. For example, a panel discussing democracy could include the ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the U. S. Founding Father James Madison.

Each group chooses a topic and develops a script that reflects historical figures’ perspectives on that topic. The script should include the moderator facilitating the conversation. Students work together to research how each person would have viewed the selected topic to ensure historical accuracy. All students on the panel should be dressed to represent their chosen historical figure.

When asked to think like historians, students must be able to acknowledge the importance of multiple perspectives. This activity allows students to create a script that shows their knowledge about issues from different viewpoints. Through research, they may find that factors such as social class, politics, religion, and culture influence how historical figures view certain issues.

This activity provides an opportunity for students to see there are multiple perspectives around a topic and that our perspectives influence how we interpret the world around us.

The Vikings: Looking for a Few Good Men and WomenWander through a comic book convention and you’ll see groups of costumed participants recruiting attendees to join their Klingon, Stormtrooper, or

Ghostbuster team. Imagine historical groups holding their own conventions to persuade people to join them.

In this activity, students adopt the roles of members from historical groups and attempt to persuade the audience to join their cause. The teacher breaks students into five-member groups and assigns each an historic faction. For example, one group may be the Vikings and another may represent the Egyptian pharaohs. Students must research different aspects about their assigned group and develop a recruitment script. (See the sample Viking recruitment script on page 14.)

Convincing others to “join” their group requires that students use persuasive writing to make convincing arguments on why their group has advantages over others. The ability to make persuasive arguments is a life skill that students must have to be successful in any career vocation.

History Alive!The nature of social studies instruction has changed over the past couple of years. The recent education reform movements of the Common Core State Standards and the C3 Framework by the National Council for the Social Studies place a premium on student-centered instruction that promotes students using their higher-order thinking skills.

The three cosplaying activities presented here reflect this type of social studies instruction. Students do in-depth research about historical figures and have an opportunity to present their information in a way that is engaging and illustrates their understanding of people, places, and events. Students can use their creativity while becoming invested in the content, class activities, and learning process.

NEFERTARI yANCIE is a middle school social studies teacher at William J. Christian K–8 School in Birmingham, Alabama.

[email protected]

JEREMIAH CLABOUGH is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

[email protected]

Justinian and Theodora make a regal entrance as guests on the Let's Get Real talk show.

EXTRA! Check out a webinar with Jeremiah Clabough about instructional strategies at www.amle.org/webinars/clabough.


Viking Recruitment Activity Script

Viking 1: you there! come and let us tell you our story. Afterwards, there will be no doubt you will pickuptheVikingshieldandarmorandjoinusonour many adventures!

Viking 2:Ifyouseekadventures,riches,andtoseenew lands, this is the life for you.

Viking 3: Ifyouenjoyhavingsongsandstorieswritten about your deeds, this is the life for you.

Viking 4: Ifyouwantkingsandarmiestocowerand shudder in fear at the mere mention of your name, this is the life for you!

Viking 5:Ifyou’rescrawny,faintatthesightofblood, and have no adventurous spirit… (long pause)… who cares! you can man the oars on our great ships! This is still the life for you!

Viking 2:Vikingshavebeenwidelymisrepresentedinhistoryaspillagers.Ok,maybeweearnedsomeofthat,butthat’snotallweare.

Viking 4: We have been called barbarians and uncivilized, but this is unfair. We were ahead of our time when it came to ship building. The ships thatmadenationsshakeinfearwhenseenonthehorizonswereworksofart.Ourboatswerefast,light, and easy to navigate.

Viking 1: So true! When people were running around in horror trying to escape us, did anyone stop and appreciate the technology that got us to theirlandssoquickly?(Shakesheadsadly)Wehavebeensomisjudged.

Viking 3: Also,tobecalledbarbariansbytheso-called civilized nations of Europe is ironic! in 840 A.c.E. Lothar, the son of the deceased emperor ofFrankia,paidustoraidhisbrothers!Suchin-fighting!Hewantedustoweakentheirdefensestomakeiteasierforhimtooverpowerthem.Wewouldneverdothistoourbrothers.Who’sreallythe barbarian?

Viking 5:Yes,theseFrankishcowards,pretendingto be rulers, began to pay us not to raid their lands. Realkingswouldfight!ThatistheVikingway!Soofcourse,wetooktheirmoneyandraidedthemanyway!(EveryVikingcheers.)

Viking 4: But best of all, we have the best funerals ever! We put our loved ones on a boat, set them on fire, and put them out to sea! Then, we spend the rest of eternity in Valhalla fighting evil with Thor. yes, that Thor! The one with the cool hammer!

Viking 3: So come! join us and live a life filled with adventure!!!

History Talk Show Script

Host 1 (Culture): WelcometoLet’sGetReal,whereHistory gets real!

Host 2 (Theodora’s Contribution): We are honored to have as our guests the great rulers of the Byzantine Empire, Emperor justinian and Empress Theodora!

Host 3 (Gossip): Yourmajesties,wearesohonoredthat you decided to bless us with your presence today.

Justinian: We are glad to be here. We are always willingtoletoursubjectsknowthatwe,theirrulers,want to be a part of their lives.

Theodora: yes, even if it is through this type of show. (Looksarounddisdainfully)

Host 1: Emperor, the writer Procopius describes you asakingwhocanbekindyetcruel.Hesaysyoutakepeople’spropertyandwillgiveittobarbarianstobribetheminordertokeepthemawayfromtheByzantineborders. Emperor, what are your thoughts?

Justinian: Procopius is not the most trusted source. i have made decisions in the best interest of the empire. Imayhavepaidbarbarians,butitkeptmysubjectssafe from their invasions and burning of villages. Did Procopius mention this? i will definitely not be questionedbythelikesofProcopius!

Host 2: Emperor justinian, please do not upset yourself!Myqueen,youhavebeenknowntocalmthe emperor down on some occasions, such as in the aftermathoftheNikaRiots.Canyoutellusaboutthat?

Theodora: Myhusbandjustneededareminderthat,as royals, we were not going to run from our city. We wouldratherdieinourroyalrobesthanliveinpeasants’clothes. As a result of my timely speech, we stayed, fought,andtookbackourgreatcity.

Host 3:Well…EmpressTheodora,weknowyouhavea…let’ssay,questionablebackground.Imeanyouwereanactress,correct?Hmm….Doyouthinkyourbackgroundmakesithardforyoursubjectstotakeyouseriously?

Theodora: Iprefertolookforwardtothefuture.Godhasseentoforgetmybackgroundandsohasmybelovedhusband. i am most fit to rule and have done great things during my time on the throne. That is what matters.

Host 4 (Law): Well said. Emperor justinian, what do youthinkpeoplewillsayaboutyouasarulerwhentheylookattheJustinianCode?

Justinian: They will say that i wanted an empire where justicewouldbetheruleoflaw.Ilookedatmyempireandsawtherewereconflicts.Astheruler,itwasmyjobto fix the problems. i did this not only for my people but for all of the future generations to come.

Host 1:Thisisallthetimewehavetoday!Thankyousomuchforjoiningus,yourmajesties,onLet’sGetReal,where history gets real!


Getting Students Excited about Analytical Writingimagine students wanting to improve their writing—just because!

By JOy MUSHACKE SMITH

What if students improved their writing because they wanted to, not just to get a good grade? What if their motivation to do better was fueled by teacher conferences and quick feedback?

That fantasy could be closer to reality than you ever imagined.

At Danville Middle School in Danville, Pennsylvania, our path to improved writing began with changes to our state-mandated assessments. When Pennsylvania’s Department of Education unpacked the text-dependent analysis (TDA)


question, it sent an enormous ripple into the stress pond for both teachers and students.

Text-dependent analysis questions call on students to synthesize answers based on specific evidence within a reading passage and demonstrate their ability to interpret the meaning behind that evidence. Students must construct a well-written essay to demonstrate their analysis of the text rather than simply summarize the content.

We pushed our students and ourselves to master text analysis in writing, but after the first year, our results were mediocre at best. At worst, the students began to hate writing and we were all stressed out. Clearly, our plan needed work.

Working TogetherPart of the frustration we felt stemmed from students’ inability to do what we asked of them. We expected our middle school students to analyze, yet we had not taught them the concept of analysis. For years, the push had been on comprehension, but it stopped short with the deeper literary analysis through writing.

Our initial throw-it-all-at-them-and-hope-for-the-best plan had proved unsuccessful for the majority of our students. So last year, we started with the basics, modeling our expectations and creating graphic organizers to help students map out the steps required for the reading analysis. We

also included another key component: interdisciplinary collaboration.

When the language arts and social studies teachers began to discuss the TDA and its ramifications for all

of us, the blurry line between content areas slowly vanished. We adopted the “divide and conquer” mentality.

Our first step as a team was to develop a common language. Students no longer needed to guess what this teacher wanted in an essay versus what the other teacher wanted. Our students heard a unified message about the importance of writing with an academic focus. We were on the same page. And so began what was in many ways a learning process for us all.

Baby StepsWe started slowly. The language arts team collaborated to write the first TDA of the year. We read three passages as a class, and teachers modeled

how to construct strong introductory and body paragraphs. We presented students with the state grading rubric and evaluated state-released samples that we scored and discussed as a class. When they were able to analyze the work of others, students were closer to being able to recognize and emulate the components in their own writing.

Students typed their first TDA response and, with the convenience of Google Classroom and Chromebook technology, language arts teachers printed their essays without their names and distributed them with detailed scoring rubrics that focused students on the specific skills required in each paper.

These essays were shared with groups of students wielding colored pens—perfect for positive reinforcement or gentle revision suggestions. For three days, students pored over their classmates’ work, focusing on specific aspects of the writing and comparing them to the state evaluation tools.

During this exercise, small groups were able to discuss their opinions, compare responses, and recognize both good and poor examples. More than one student remarked, “I have a new respect for what you do for a living, Mrs. Smith,” after muddling through a paper with typos and sentence structure issues.

When students got their original papers back, now covered in multi-colored comments from their peers, they set about revising them with renewed enthusiasm. Their only grades at this point were for class participation—a reward for a job well done when it came to wearing the editor’s hat.

Teachers collaborated across the curriculum to develop text-dependent analysis questions. A rubric made expectations clear.

EXTRA! Check out a video with Joy Mushacke Smith at www.amle.org/am/smith.


depending on how excited or tired the grader has become).

We do very little, if any, line editing. As writers and teachers, and teachers of writing, it was difficult to train our brains to overlook glaring errors at first, but the reality of the state’s holistic scoring process dictates that teachers be more concerned with content and analysis than the finer details of perfectly placed commas. Also, students who are not strong writers don’t see their page saturated with purple ink, and therefore don’t get discouraged from continuing to improve their essays.

After we score the essays, we divide and conquer again to review TDA results with individual students. They are eager for our undivided attention and task-specific conversation. As teachers using the same language, graphic organizers, and expectations across the board, we are sure our students are well-versed in what we expect, striving to improve, and seeing the evidence in their scores.

With manageable goals, even the students who struggle the most are making strides without feeling overwhelmed. The key is baby steps. Through scaffolding, we target the small pieces—structure and solid thesis statement writing—before moving on to analysis. More advanced writers get a nudge toward strengthening transitions and varying word choice.

The Home StretchAs a final push before test season was upon us, the students filled out a bar graph charting their progress on TDA writing for the year. They honed in on the areas where they continued to struggle, but they also celebrated their accomplishments—and there were many.

Whether the standardized test results prove that our strategy worked is almost irrelevant. We have witnessed the progress, celebrated individual milestones, and instilled strong writing skills and structure in our students.

Although we have scored their TDAs, we have not counted them as grades to include in their average. No one seems to ask, and no one seems to care.

JOy MUSHACKE SMITH is a seventh grade language arts teacher at Danville Middle School in Danville, Pennsylvania. Her awesome middle school team includes fellow language arts teacher Pelle Nejman, who contributed to this article, as well as social studies teachers Rebecca Blansfield and Christy Yohe, who helped develop the content discussed in the article.

[email protected]

Building BlocksIt was in social studies classes that students sank their teeth into their first “independent” TDA. By this time, our four-person social studies/language arts team had revamped the previous graphic organizer for writing and developed a student-friendly rubric that made expectations clearer for students and grading easy for teachers. The rubric also threw in a few tips for those students who struggled along the way:

1. A checkmark system for “observable skills.” (Did your teacher see a thesis statement? Was a graphic organizer completed?)

2. A column for identifying “skills to practice” in order to improve.

3. The all-important ownership section where students complete the sentence, “On my next TDA I will…”

Along with the ownership piece, one of the most valuable aspects of this collaborative effort has to do with the one-on-one attention students receive after each TDA. It may seem impossible to get 100 student-teacher conferences done within a short time period (we work with an average one-week turnaround time for grading and conferencing), but somehow we make it happen. Part of that success comes from expertly managing class time; the other part calls for maximizing “free” time during the day like advisory and RTII classes where groups are smaller and students can use that time for revision as needed.

Key Ingredients to Success and SanityHow can teachers fit “one more thing” into an already overflowing to-do list? We work together. We split the team of 100 students into two classes each, and we alternate who grades which classes after each TDA so we can track all students’ progress.

Something miraculous happens to teachers when the daunting task of scoring 100 essays is cut in half. It’s like a rush of adrenaline. Suddenly, the marathon has become a half marathon, and we just scarfed up a box of energy bars. Sure, it’s still 50 essays, but the TDA rubric that’s student-friendly is also kind to teachers. It makes scoring essays much less painful. We use a system of checks: • Thesis statement: That gets a circled “T” on

the paper.• Text-based support in the form of a quote: That

gets a circled “Q.”• Well-placed analysis: That gets a circled “A”

(and sometimes even a few exclamation points


Cultivating Connections with Diverse Familiesopportunities abound for teachers to make connections with diverse families.

By BROOKE B. EISENBACH, SUMMER CLARK, & AMy GOODEN

features


As we welcome students into our classrooms each year, we are reminded of the important role families play in our students’ education. We listen as administrators discuss the importance of community and parental involvement. We attend workshops that share strategies for engaging families and absorbing the rich culture our students bring into our classrooms.

But, how much of our involvement with families is lip service and how much is our honest attempt to cultivate connections?

It is well-documented that strong home–school connections are essential for the academic success of all learners, yet many of us struggle to engage families, especially linguistically and culturally diverse families. In light of the achievement gap that disproportionately affects this population, improving home–school connections should be at the forefront of every teacher’s mind.

Getting to Know ThemOur work should begin by finding ways to learn about and from the families of our students and communities in which we teach.

We need a strengths perspective. As Lisa Delpit suggests in her book, Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, we must learn to see and appreciate what our students’ families and communities do know and do bring with them rather than focusing on what we perceive they don’t know or don’t have.

To see their strengths, we should first reflect on the way in which our own culture and

background affect how we interpret the experiences and stories our students and their families bring. To inventory our own attitudes, we can create checklists to determine our biases, take privilege walks to recognize subtle inequities that may shape our families’ experiences, keep reflective journals, and participate in ongoing discussions with others who can challenge our assumptions and push us to see differently.

Then we can begin to learn about and from our families and communities. Several strategies can give us access to their unique knowledge and perspectives and open our minds to the assets of their cultures, experiences, and languages.

Begin the year with a take-home questionnaire that includes such items as, “What are your goals and expectations for the year?” “What is some background information you would like for us to know about you and your child?” “What are some concerns you may have?” “Where is your family from/where have you lived?” Sometimes these questionnaires are sent home, but they can be done virtually or during face-to-face conversations and conferences.

Get to know families through back-to-school night community-building activities. These activities, such as reenacting a sample morning meeting with parents/guardians, using icebreakers, or encouraging open conversations about questions, concerns, and perspectives, are ways to encourage families to share and get to know one another.

Integrate families and community members into the curriculum. We might invite family

and community members into the classroom to teach students about their cultures, knowledge, or skills. Many teachers use the “interview a family member” activity as part of curricular connections; others create curriculum units around the family, such as collecting folktales, writing memoirs, or exploring history from the perspectives of adults who lived during the historical period being studied.

Through this work, we learn and grow as teachers and our families and community members feel appreciated for their strengths. These efforts can change attitudes and improve the comfort levels of parents and guardians as we continue to engage them in the classroom.

Classroom Communication Strategies Families of English Language Learners (ELLs) and students of color often face cultural, linguistic, and other barriers as they try to become involved in their children’s education. Becoming familiar with our students’ families, establishing communication, varying communication techniques, and gaining a cultural orientation are all important communication strategies.

Establishing Communication. Once we become familiar with the diversity reflected within our students and families, it’s time to work on developing a strategy for communicating with them.

First, promoting welcoming and engaging environments for diverse families is critical to establishing successful

EXTRA! Check out a webinar with Paul Dunford about en-gaging families plans at www.amle.org/webinars/dunford1.


communication. When we make an effort to reach out to families in daily interactions, we are doing more than participating in small talk—we are establishing trust. When we encourage two-way communication, we demonstrate our concern and value for their input.

Varying Communication Techniques. The next step to effective home–school communication with linguistically and culturally diverse families is to vary our communication techniques. We must communicate information to parents and guardians in culturally and linguistically responsive ways.

We ask families about their preferred language and method of communication and communicate with them in that way. Even if we do not speak the home language, we can locate someone in the school or community who is willing to help translate.

Although many families prefer online communication in this world of technology, we cannot assume all families have regular access to the Internet. Home visits, informal conversations at drop-off and pick-up time, phone conferences, newsletters, and bulletin boards are other means of communication.

Designing Parent Education Events. Another powerful communication strategy is to develop an action plan for educating linguistically and culturally diverse families about the ways they can support their child’s academic achievement and provide them with information about school resources, routines, and expectations. Translators should be available in the languages represented in the school community.

During orientation events, we can suggest ways parents and guardians can acquire skills and knowledge necessary to participate in their children's educational process, including strategies for navigating the U.S. school system, tips for promoting their child’s academic progress, school resources (access to libraries and labs), parent-teacher conferences, standardized testing, and the benefits of reading at home.

Forming a Philosophy of Practice. Finally, we want to find ways to infuse this practice into our personal philosophy. We want to reflect on our efforts to incorporate families into our classroom. Do we take into account cultural factors when crafting our lessons? What do our classroom materials and décor say about the representation of diversity? Are we incorporating our students’ families and community within our assessments?

As we consider the way in which our classroom reflects the culture that surrounds us, we must consider our own cultural identity. How is our personal identity influencing our interpretation of diversity? In what ways is our own lens filtering our interpretations?

What assumptions do we need to question?

Once we’ve taken an honest look at our practice, it’s time to shape our philosophy. We want to start at the interpersonal level by making necessary adjustments for the cultural and linguistic diversity of our students. Considering our approach to holidays, classroom directives, and similar, often taken-for-granted instructional techniques, can go a long way to shaping our philosophy of practice.

In addition, we want to foster a sense of community within our classroom. We want to teach our students to value their culture and the diversity of others in daily classroom activities and dialogue.

Finally, we want to move beyond a mentality that views diversity only through holidays, language, and heroes. If we want to implement multicultural/anti-bias education into our philosophy, we must make it a daily practice to weave our students’ cultures throughout our lessons.

Our classrooms are is filled with rich diversity. It’s important to cherish this diversity and allow students and families to see the value they bring to our daily interactions.

BROOKE EISENBACH is assistant professor of middle and secondary education at Lesley University.

[email protected]

SUMMER CLARK is assistant professor of elementary literacy education at Lesley University.

[email protected]

AMy GOODEN is assistant professor of TESOL and bilingual education at Lesley University.

[email protected]

As we consider the way in which our classroom reflects the culture that surrounds us, we must consider our own cultural identity.


Making Introductory Lessons Higher-LevelMake introductory lessons opportunities for higher-level critical thinking

By JOANNE KELLEHER

One of my favorite administrative responsibilities is visiting classrooms and observing lessons. I view those visits and the follow-up conversations with teachers as opportunities to share ideas and expand our thinking about what good teaching entails.

Recent conversations with teachers got me thinking about introductory lessons—the lessons that introduce a new unit. These lessons sometimes lack opportunities for students to activate higher-level thinking—the rationale being that the students

don’t know enough of the content yet to develop sophisticated thoughts about it.

On the surface, this seems to make sense. How can students talk about XYZ if they don’t know anything about XYZ? But when you approach planning with the


belief that the students can’t make meaningful contributions to the learning process, the result can be a teacher-directed lesson with little student engagement.

On the other hand, when a teacher’s goal is to inspire deep thinking about a topic, the introductory lesson can become a

portal into another way of seeing the world. The way you invite

students into that experience should be as carefully crafted as the experience itself.

To encourage students to ascend to the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and to fostering critical thinking in your introductory lessons, consider these suggestions.

Select strong essential questions. Engaging lessons begin with the planning process. Using a backwards design, start with an essential question that gets to the heart of the topic at hand. Essential questions are designed to stimulate ongoing thinking and inquiry and raise further

questions; they are arguable, with multiple plausible answers.

Units and lessons that are designed around thought-provoking questions present multiple opportunities to engage in critical thinking, even from the very first lesson. For example, the essential question How are stories from other places and times about me? encourages students to compare, examine, connect, judge, and decide as they begin reading a new text.

Activate prior knowledge. Prior knowledge is a major determinant of the inferences students make about new information. Students may not have detailed content knowledge at the outset, but don’t assume they have nothing to bring to the table to help with their understanding of the content. Ask yourself, “How can I use what the students know and care about to bring them into the lesson?” Introduce students to new learning through language, themes, and emotions.

Use metaphors and analogies.Metaphors and analogies can provide an entry point into new topics and concepts through connections to the familiar. Reframing the Declaration of Independence as a break-up letter, assigning real-life occupations to the parts of a cell, or comparing memory to a filing cabinet can facilitate the learning process.

Immerse students in the theme of the unit. From their own lives, or even from their time spent in the cafeteria, students know about conflict and peace, disappointment and success, loyalty and betrayal, fairness and inequity. Through a carefully selected array of picture

books, video clips, speeches, and stories that illustrate a theme, you can help students identify and relate to the common thread that runs throughout the content. Then, you build on the theme by supplying the vocabulary and the content-specific details.

Tap into the students’ emotions.Middle school students are nothing if not emotional! Brain research shows that at this age, the limbic system, which regulates emotions, exerts a strong influence on the young adolescent’s thinking. Emotions drive attention, which drives learning, memory, problem solving, and just about anything else.

So if the students cannot access the content in a new unit just yet, engage them through an emotional connection. In the context of an emotionally safe learning environment, provide learning experiences that evoke the students’ feelings of empathy, compassion, curiosity, outrage, even carefully constructed confusion, and engage them in a way that fosters higher-level thinking.

For example, begin a unit on social injustice by displaying a gallery of provocative photographs, cartoons, slogans, or icons that suggest some form of inequality in order to spark a

...when a teacher’s goal is to inspire deep thinking about a topic, the introductory lesson can become a portal into another way of seeing the world.

...if the students cannot access the content in a new unit just yet, engage them through an emotional connection.

EXTRA! Check out a webinar with Susan Edwards about active learning strategies at www.amle.org/webinars/edwards.


meaningful discussion that segues into the unit.

Have the students develop a rule. Another way to introduce a new topic is to give students several examples of the focus of study, whether it is mystery novels, equivalent fractions, or Spanish adjectives. Working together, students can identify patterns, categorize, make generalizations, and develop a rule. This guided exploration will help them gain deeper understanding as they interact with the content and draw their own conclusions.

Incorporate problem solving. Sometimes students arrive at the key ideas of a topic through problem solving. An introductory lesson in which the students are presented with a problem can lead them into and through a discussion of solutions. The teacher, acting as a facilitator, can teach students to apply heuristics—general problem-solving strategies—to help solve the problem. Commonly used heuristics include making an educated guess, working backwards, drawing a diagram, or making a list.

Present a paradox.Presenting the students with a paradox that lies at the heart of a topic can draw them in as well. For example:• It is the nature of all living

things to adapt in order to survive. In the case of bacteria, we battle to destroy it, while it circumvents all our efforts and continues to attack us.

• Under the power of Eminent Domain, it is the right of a government to take private property for public use, but does the public good outweigh a citizen’s rights?

• When you divide a number, the result is usually a smaller number, unless you divided by a fraction, in which case the result is a larger number.

The paradox is not meant to be solved; rather, the discussion generated by the paradox can reveal some of the bigger concepts of the discipline, and the key points of the discussion can become a resource as you continue to study the topic.

Capitalizing on EngagementDeveloping a lesson that holds some relevance for students through its familiar themes, the work they’ve done to uncover meaning, its emotional impact, or its paradoxical nature creates an opportunity for you to pose higher-level questions. You can capitalize on the students’ engagement by asking them to explain, compare, infer, modify, or justify in the context of the familiar situation.

These strategies are not meant to be stand-alone activities—all fluff and no substance. When the introductory activities are based on key ideas, these ideas will come up over and over again throughout the unit. You can revisit those early discussions as a resource

and quote the students’ initial ideas, questions, and discoveries in subsequent lessons.

Of course, there are times when it is appropriate to have students engage in tasks that are less cognitively demanding, such as reviewing definitions, taking notes, or answering comprehension questions. These tasks represent foundational skills that are the building blocks of higher-level thinking.

However, it’s not good practice to generalize that a certain kind of lesson is automatically exempt from higher-level thinking. It is not fair to students to underestimate them or your lesson planning ability in this way. Rather than allowing the “introductory lesson exemption” to become your default, ask yourself these questions:• Is there any prior knowledge

the students might have, either curriculum-based or from their lives, that connects to this topic?

• Can this information be presented in the form of a problem to solve?

• Is there a big theme that the students can access?

• Is there a paradox at play?

When planning your introductory (and all) lessons, heed the advice of Norman Vincent Peale, who said, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”

JOANNE KELLEHER is assistant principal at William T. Rogers Middle School in Kings Park, New York.

[email protected]

When the introductory activities are based on key ideas, these ideas will come up over and over again throughout the unit.

EXTRA! Check out the book Active Learning in the Middle Grades Classroom at www.amle.org/books/edwards.


“So, you’re saying you think the length of the pendulum is the most important variable affecting its frequency. Do you have data you can show me that supports this?”

A question like that is common in sixth grade science classrooms across the country, but in my classroom, I’m not the one who is asking those questions—my

seventh and eighth grade student assistants are!

As a middle school science teacher for 29 years, I get defensive when I hear someone

Students Helping Students SucceedA student assistant program opens up opportunities for students and teachers.

By DOUGLAS STITH


I could also provide students with choices—and an opportunity to pursue something they loved.

The AssistantsMy plan was to give seventh or eighth grade students who had strong science knowledge and ability and exceptional interpersonal skills, an opportunity to move out of one of their current classes and into one of my sixth grade science classes to help me ensure all the students were learning.

When I pitched the idea to our building curriculum coordinator, she immediately enlisted the support of the assistant superintendent to run the program as a pilot. But the burning question was this: What class would seventh and eighth graders drop to become a student assistant in sixth grade science?

A fundamental element of my philosophy is that every class should be a potential receiver and a potential donor. In other words, no class is inherently more important than another. If Eminem showed great passion for music in middle school, and this passion kept him healthy, why couldn’t he drop one class—such as science—so he could spend more time in music? In the long run, how detrimental would it be for a student to miss an entire year of sixth grade science?

criticize middle schools or middle school students. So when my son became a high school freshman and started making negative comments about his middle school experience, I asked him to be specific about what caused those negative feelings.

There’s only so much teachers can do about the physical and emotional complications of young adolescents, but one of my son’s complaints caught my attention because it’s something that teachers do have control over: choice.

Knowing What They KnowMost middle schools offer students some academic choice, but not what my son would deem real choice. You can choose any language as long as it’s French or Spanish. You can choose any music class as long as it’s guitar or music appreciation. My son saw how much real choice awaited him in high school.

This “choice seed” sprouted in my mind during the summer months and took root when our superintendent spoke to district staff at the beginning of the next school year about famous people who experienced failure early in life, only to triumph later on. One story he shared was about rapper and songwriter Eminem.

Eminem’s personal struggles with drugs and poverty left him so discouraged he dropped out of high school. I started wondering whether he would have stayed in school had he been given the choice and opportunity to focus more on his interests and talents at school.

That gave me an idea. I could not only provide the one-on-one interaction my students needed to learn and understand science,

My philosophy is one thing; reality is another. I realize it is a rare middle school that would allow an exceptional trumpet player to drop math to become a student assistant in music. However, at Londonderry Middle School in New Hampshire, students can drop certain classes without having to make them up.

Our school provides more physical education minutes than the state requires, so students can opt out of PE and still meet state requirements. Music has no minimum minutes required per year, so music is another class students can opt out of to become an assistant.

Maddy and Jordan, my first student assistants, dropped physical education and general music, respectively. After a short time, Jordan and her parents decided that the student assistant program was so positive that she opted out of PE, too. Consequently, she became full time in my science class.

A fundamental element of my philosophy is that every class should be a potential receiver and a potential donor.

Maddy chose to drop PE in favor of helping sixth graders learn science.

EXTRA! Check out a video with Douglas Stitch at www.amle.org/am/stitch.


(Both Maddy and Jordan are involved in sports in and out of school, so dropping PE was a logical choice. Were they out-of-shape students addicted to video games, I would not have given them the option of dropping PE.)

Benefits and MoreAt the beginning of the year, two of my five classes had a student assistant (Jordon full-time and Maddy half-time). These students had recently completed my curriculum and had demonstrated high levels of understanding. Consequently, the sixth graders in these two classes received much more attention and feedback about their thinking than students in the other three classes.

With the help of these assistants, I could answer those questions I had struggled with: What is each of my students thinking? What do they understand? What concepts are they struggling with? Although I alone may not be able to interact one-on-one with each student during our 50-minute class, I can enlist the help of my assistants who can ask the questions,

provide the guidance, and encourage the students in the classroom.

Halfway through the school year, we added two more student assistants. Jillian was a seventh grader who opted out of chorus. Her chorus days were opposite Maddy’s PE days, so now the science class had an assistant every day. Cassidy was an eighth grader whose music and PE periods did not coincide with my science classes; however, Cassidy’s Advanced English teacher allowed her to miss most Monday and Friday classes so she could assist in my science class. Even though it had been two years since Cassidy was in my class, she had retained nearly all the science content!

In Their WordsWho gains more from this program—my students or my student assistants? I’m not sure, but I do know that both groups benefit. Here are some thoughts from the assistants and their parents:

Maddy: I started off struggling to know how to approach the students in a helpful, resourceful way, and now I am asking them

questions, giving advice, and helping them the way Mr. Stith helped me last year. I have learned how to tailor questions to meet specific needs and how to do so without telling students the answer.

Jordan: Being a student assistant is one of the best opportunities I have had in my academic career. It has reinforced my love of science and has been a truly rewarding experience. In addition, I have become so attached to the class, and I can't imagine my year without them. As a result of these kids and the program, I have discovered my passion for teaching and am now seriously considering pursuing a career in it. I learned so much from this program, and I doubt I would be the person that I am without it.

Jordan’s Mom: I have seen personal growth in Jordan. She has matured and has grown more confident in herself. She has always enjoyed science and done well in her studies, but this role is reinforcing all that she has learned and allowing her to help others understand and learn. She thoroughly enjoys the responsibility and the ability to work with students from a teacher's perspective.

Jillian was a sixth grader who opted out of chorus to share her love of science.

As a result of these kids and the program, I have discovered my passion for teaching and am now seriously considering pursuing a career in it.

Jordan became a full-time student assistant in the author's science classroom.


Jillian’s Dad: As a parent, I think it is wonderful that young students are given the opportunity to assist in the classroom. It not only allows students to "see"

Cassidy missed Advanced English twice a week to help in the science classroom.

the material for a second time, it also allows them to practice important leadership skills and gain personal confidence. In my personal experiences in high school and especially college, being able to explain something to another student was the best way to reinforce my own knowledge of the subject.

To the FutureSeveral of my colleagues and administrators have observed these student assistants in action and have come away impressed. When given opportunities to take part in high-level leadership positions, middle school students will thrive and grow.

As we explore the possibility of expanding the student assistant program, scheduling will likely be a major barrier. However, as educators committed to maximizing the middle school experience for all students, we will find ways around the barriers.

DOUGLAS STITH is a sixth grade general science teacher at Londonderry Middle School in New Hampshire.

[email protected] www.stithsonianscience.com www.stithscienceexchange.com

2016 AS-1

StudioJob #Date

LiveTrimBleedGutterPubP. Date

Stoeckel, PamelaA48037-7-2016 2:14 PM

None7.5” x 4.8125”NoneNoneALMENone

__________ GCD__________ CD__________ AD__________ CW__________ AE__________ Traffic__________ Proof

Approvals:

NoneScaled

Prudential Advertising973-802-7361

THEIR STORIES WILL AMAZE YOU. THEIR SPIRIT WILL INSPIRE YOU.

WE SALUTE THE 2016 PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY NATIONAL HONOREES.

They took on bullying, fed the hungry and worked tirelessly to help others facing health issues. They dedicated themselves to making a difference. And that’s why Prudential is proud to name these middle level and high school students America’s top 10 youth volunteers for 2016.

These National Honorees are among more than 115,000 youth volunteers The Prudential Spirit of Community has honored over the past 21 years at the local, state and national levels. The 2016 National Honorees each received $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies for their schools or organizations, and $5,000 Prudential Foundation grants for charities of their choice. Read their remarkable stories of service at spirit.prudential.com.

The application deadline for the 2017 awards is November 8, 2016.

© 2016 Prudential, the Prudential logo, the Rock symbol and Bring Your Challenges are service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.0292271-00001-00

T:7.5”

T:4.8125”

2016 ASCA_7.5x4.8125_with Applic.indd 1 7/7/16 2:14 PM


Tag It—“Graffiti” in the Classroom graffiti murals promote comprehension and student voice.

By SAMINA HADI-TABASSUM


graffiti-like fashion—with quotes, sketches, or simple words—their thoughts about how they are connecting to the text. There is no particular organization to the students’ images and words. They are simply written randomly on the graffiti board, which is often no more than a large piece of paper.

On the other hand, a graffiti mural is much more formal and systematic in terms of how students record their responses. On a graffiti board, students jot down ideas and sketch thoughts in small groups as they respond to a text; a graffiti mural requires the whole class to answer comprehension questions using sticky notes or tags—a slight variation of

a shared writing technique. Similar to graffiti boards, graffiti murals require a great deal of interaction, deep communication and comprehension, and a reinforcement of the shared purpose in the task.

Some see graffiti as vandalism; others see it as a work of art. Urban artists use graffiti to send political messages—as a form of meaning making in the larger society. Indiana University Professor David Hanauer suggests that graffiti offers marginal groups the opportunity to express themselves publicly.

In the middle level classroom, graffiti can make reading comprehension a personally contextualized, meaningful activity for all students—and especially marginalized students who are reluctant to speak up in class.

Making Meaning Kathy Short’s research emphasizes the use of visual literacy for meaning making—in particular the use of graffiti boards, which capture students’ thoughts and feelings as they delve into a text. Students record and share in

For English language learners, the graffiti mural provides comprehensible input by including new and diverse ways of looking at the text—well beyond merely circling the right answer. The graffiti mural is also an example of a tactile text that emphasizes a kinesthetic, touch-based approach to learning.

Finally, there is a sense of aesthetics involved in using graffiti murals, since the teacher must incorporate visual features and carefully examine the use of color, shape, depth, and alignment in its design. When designing the mural, the teacher keeps in mind

that it is a decorative piece of art that will cover the classroom wall, a representative image of the text itself, an interpretive canvas for students’ comments, an organizational tool for posing comprehension questions, and a transformative medium that

...graffiti can make reading comprehension a personally contextualized, meaningful activity for all students—and especially marginalized students who are reluctant to speak up in class.

Students answer comprehension questions by "tagging: the graffiti mural.

Graffiti murals incorporate features from the text. In this example, students answered questions about The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963.

EXTRA! Check out a video with Samina Hadi-Tabassum at www.amle.org/am/ tabassum.


invites students to construct meaning.

Designing a Graffiti MuralWhen incorporating a graffiti mural into the literacy classroom, the teacher takes a large piece of

butcher paper and decorates the paper with the title of the text, author’s name, and aesthetically pleasing images and motifs from the text. Students can help design the graffiti mural.

Then, the teacher writes 3–5 comprehension questions on the butcher paper, spacing them out appropriately. The questions should allow for divergent responses from the students rather than “yes/no” answers. The questions should be open-ended and encourage students to argue “why or why not” using specific details, arguments, and evidence.

After reading the selected text as a class—whether that is a nonfiction article, a piece of fiction, a painting, a piece of music, a poem—the teacher passes out sticky notes to the students, then reads aloud a comprehension question from the graffiti mural. Students write their response on their sticky note. The students do not write their names on the sticky note; rather like graffiti artists, they remain anonymous. Large sticky notes are preferable, and students should be encouraged to write on the back of the notes if necessary.

Students have at least 5–10 minutes to respond to each question. When the students are finished writing their responses, they come up to the graffiti mural and “tag” it by sticking their sticky note under the correlating question. The teacher can use a different color sticky note for each question and increase the aesthetic appeal of the graffiti mural as well as develop parallel constructs.

Once all the students are finished posting their answers to the first comprehension question, the teacher randomly reads

aloud a few of the responses, encouraging dialogue around the selected responses. The students do not need to identify themselves as the author of a particular response under discussion; rather, they can remain anonymous.

After each question has been answered and discussion is completed, the graffiti mural should hang in the classroom so students can read all the posted responses. Eventually, the graffiti mural should hang in the public hallway so literacy becomes meaningful and interactive.

Putting Ideas into PracticeIn one predominantly African-American classroom, the graffiti mural was used as a culminating activity around the book The Watsons Go to Birmingham— 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. After students read the book, the teacher created the “brown bomber”—the family car that plays a major role in the book—with brown butcher paper. She included motifs that were essential to the book, along with a photograph of the author in the driver’s seat. Instead of using questions, the

In a beginning-level Spanish bilingual classroom, the students responded to questions written in Spanish.

Using a Graffiti Mural

[ ] Post a large sheet of butcher paper onto your wall for the mural.

[ ] Decorate or have your students decorate the butcher paper with the coverofthebookandotherimportant features from the book.Drawmotifsfromthebook.

[ ] Ensure there is an aesthetic appeal to your mural so it shows creativity and imagination.

[]Placejusttherightnumberof reading comprehension questionsatvariouspointson the mural.

[ ] Have every student respond to the individual questionspostedonthemuralusingastickynote.Students should answer one questionatatime.

[]Makesurethestudentsdonot write their names on the stickynotes.

[ ] Encourage the students to use the entire space of thestickynotetowritetheirresponse—includingthebackif they need to.

[ ] Read aloud a few of the responses after each questioniscompleted.

[ ] Display the graffiti mural in the public hallway for everyone to see and read.


The teacher displayed the mural in the hallway outside of the classroom—the students’ work was now public art.

In a beginning-level Spanish bilingual classroom, the teacher decided to read Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type in Spanish (Clic Clac Muu: Vacas Escritoras). Because the story is about cows that type, she drew a beautiful picture of a cow on the butcher paper. Inside the cow, she wrote three comprehension questions in Spanish: • ¿Que problemas tienen los

animals? [What were the animals’ problems?]

• ¿Que problema tiene el granjero? [What was the farmer’s problem?]

• ¿Se resolvieron los problemas de los personajes? [Were the characters’ problems resolved?]

During the read-aloud, the teacher asked students questions that would prepare them to answer the comprehension questions on the graffiti mural. For example, she asked them about

teacher wrote three writing prompts that gave the students a springboard to dig deeper into the book: • The most exciting part of the

book was…• If I could be any character in this

book, I would be…because…• If I were the author, I would

have changed the part when…

The teacher outlined each of the prompts in a different color to correspond with the colors of the three sticky notes. In turn, this created a color-coded system to track and manage active student participation.

Because the students were able to stay anonymous, they were much more comfortable and confident in their writing, especially the boys. They also were more comfortable with the teacher reading their responses aloud as opposed to sharing their thoughts with the entire class. Every student wanted to participate, even students who were usually disengaged during the literacy block. Here are some student responses for the second prompt:• “I want to be Byron because

he did a lot of funny things in the book. He might have acted like a wimp in the beginning of the book but in the end he was tough.”

• “Byron because he is the oldest and he can tell the younger ones what to do.”

• “I would be Joey because I would want to write everything down in a notebook.”

• “I would want to be Joey because he told the truth to his mom all the time.”

each animal’s problems, since this was a question they would be asked later on the mural.

When the students were finished answering each question, they placed their answer under the correct question on the mural. Then, the teacher read aloud what they had written.

The newcomer students who were reluctant to write their responses felt more comfortable drawing them. Some labeled parts of their drawings and others wrote their entire response in Spanish. Students who have been in the bilingual program since Kindergarten used specific Spanish words from the text as they wrote—especially characters' names, spelling words, high-frequency words, and vocabulary words.

Including All VoicesThroughout my 20 years in urban education, I have observed too many classrooms in which students were asked to be quiet and observant during a literacy lesson. Marginalized students benefit academically from activities in which all students have a voice. The graffiti mural allows students to connect with a text, make meaning on their own, and share in the collective experience of responding to each other’s ideas and thoughts in a democratic and inclusive way.

SAMINA HADI-TABASSUM is assistant professor of literacy and elementary education at Northern Illinois University.

[email protected]

The newcomer students who were reluctant to write their responses felt more comfortable drawing them. Some labeled parts of their drawings and others wrote their entire response in Spanish.


Differentiating Structure, Not Contentchanging the classroom structure can be as effective as differentiating content.

By GUy GAMBONE


Konawaena Middle School was created as a school within a high school to meet the unique needs of the early adolescents. One of the outstanding features of this school is its commitment to the heterogeneous grouping of students.

When I began teaching at Konawaena Middle School, supported by a degree in middle level education, I understood that each student had a combination of strengths and challenges and that mixing these varied abilities not only created groupings that could support themselves academically but also reflected the true nature of the greater society.

However, I did not know how to challenge my high-achieving students when I also had kids in the class who read or computed at a second-grade level.

Throughout my first few years of teaching, I tried several strategies. Most of these had to do with “dumbing down” content so that it was accessible to lower-level learners. The thought behind these efforts was that it was important for students to get some understanding of the content, even if it was an elementary understanding.

Of course these efforts did nothing to challenge the abstract thinkers and naturally curious

students who made up the “top” of the class. In the end, none of the content-focused scaffolds made much of a difference in the success of my students. Struggling students still struggled and accelerated learners were still bored.

Early ExperimentationAfter about 10 years of teaching, some gifted mentor teachers and I began using performance tasks connected to simulations to measure student achievement. By constructing activities that allowed students to “walk in the shoes” of people associated with the different content subjects and measuring student understanding through a scaffolded set of assessment tools, we were able to challenge our high achievers to express their learning in ways that forced them out of their comfort zone while making the content concrete for everyone in the class.

My favorite example was a unit on immigration based on the experiences of people going through Ellis Island. Students assumed the identity of a European immigrant entering the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Students kept a diary and wrote a reflective essay, which we used to measure their understanding.

Although overall, the students’ writing displayed a wide range of performances, the experiences students shared were authentic and eerily reminiscent of the primary sources used throughout the unit. I understood that by scaffolding structures rather than content, we more effectively met the needs of all of our students.

Creating StructuresSince then, the influence of publishing companies and the

subsequent focus on standardized testing has put pressure on all of us to “teach to the test.” For a lot of new teachers, this has made heterogeneous grouping an artifact of the ’90s. They want to create “leveled groupings” that allow them to teach one thing in one way in each of their classes.

To me, this idea is based on a flawed presumption. In every class, no matter the level, the strengths and challenges for each student are unique. Given the ever-evolving creature that is the young adolescent, ideas that were successful on Monday may make little impact on Tuesday. The best we might do is to create structures within our classes and develop instructional activities that give all students the opportunities to learn.

Today, my classes are organized in table groups. In this way, students can have small-group peer discussions about questions before we discuss answers as a class. In fact, no question is discussed as a class without allowing for small-group discussions. Students who are quick to formulate answers can share them and students who may lack understanding can get clarification in a relatively low-stress format.

These groups are supported by a random-selection process using table colors and seat numbers. This holds all students accountable to share ideas they have generated themselves or ideas they heard. Groupings can be shuffled to allow focused instruction for the few students who need extra support in a specific skill.

I did not know how to challenge my high-achieving students when I also had kids in the class who read or computed at a second-grade level.

EXTRA! Check out an article about the importance of class-room structure at www.amle.org/am/tomlin.


this note taking is identical to that of the general education learners in the room.

The most important structures within my class are the hands-on learning experiences that my grade-level partner and I have developed to support textual information.

Without a concrete experience on which to hang content, I’m not sure any student can truly understand the topics that are covered. It is important to take time and plan for experiences that illustrate through active learning, ideas that are covered in the curriculum.

Experimentation, simulation, and dramatization are some of my favorite hands-on learning activities. These activities, however, must be connected

Another structure I’ve incorporated with the help of our special education department is the use of adapted notes. Konawaena Middle School is an AVID school, so we use the Cornell Notes template. The notes are taken directly from our class text—the language is identical to that of the text but there are blanks that must be filled in by students. In this way, students are exposed to formal academic language without having to struggle with summarizing information on the fly.

Lower-level learners are required to generate questions for each section of the notes and to use answers to these student-generated questions to summarize the reading. This process is valuable in that the end result of

to some sort of reflection that connects it to the content being studied. Without this reflection, and the thinking it requires to complete it, the value of the experience is greatly diminished.

Keys to SuccessIn the end, it is important to realize that no one strategy, structure, or technique is ever 100% successful 100% of the time. Flexibility and adaptability are the key to creating a classroom environment accessible to all learners.

GUy GAMBONE is a sixth grade social studies teacher at Konawaena Middle School in Kealakekua, Hawaii.

[email protected]


read. Reasonable diversity in genres and authors should be enough. But in fact, what students read shapes how well they read and how well they comprehend the topic in far more ways than what might at first seem obvious.

Common Core State Standards emphasize the importance of

Selecting Complex Texts with IntentionExploring the five plagues of complex text.

By DOUG LEMOV, COLLEEN DRIGGS & ERICA WOOLWAy

student interaction with complex texts. As teachers identify which texts to select for their classroom, they should be aware of some of the unique challenges—we call them plagues—of reading and understanding complex texts.

One of the most important aspects of teaching literacy in the classroom is text selection, the process by which teachers choose what their students will read.

For many teachers, text selection boils down to choosing something that will engage students and motivate them to


Plague 1: Archaic TextsCharles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist begins with a 98-word first sentence crammed with not only anachronistic words and phrases such as “to wit” and “inasmuch,” but also with the syntax of another era—as in “in this workhouse was born….”

People spoke and wrote differently 50, 100, and 200 years ago. They used different words, in different sequences, within different syntactical structures.

No amount of practice reading even the richest contemporary young adult fiction will prepare

students to be able to read those older texts, be they Oliver Twist or

the Declaration of Independence. However, the task will clearly be required of them in college, so it’s important that students be exposed to more dated as well as contemporary texts.

Plague 2: Nonlinear Time SequenceDonald Crews's book, Bigmama's, is a meditation on the nature of memory and time. The narrative subtly switches back and forth between recollections about a specific trip to the narrator’s grandparents’ house and recollections of a series of visits made over the course of several years. It’s the similarities of those trips—and just maybe the way the memory of them all blends into one—that make the book both a beautiful read and a challenging one. Even strong readers would struggle to tell you what happened when, making it a good choice for young readers.

Plague 3: Complexity of Narrator R. J. Palacio's popular youth novel, Wonder, uses six different narrators to tell its story. One of them is the protagonist, Auggie, a middle school student with severe craniofacial disfigurement. Auggie narrates three of the chapters; five other characters narrate a chapter each—each one in a different voice, and in one case, without uppercase letters and with idiosyncratic punctuation.

It's a useful book, first and foremost as an object lesson in kindness and understanding. But it's also a starter kit for understanding books with complex and potentially confusing narration. The challenges that narrators present can be tricky and, like the other plagues of complex text, can challenge students’ comprehension regardless of their skills.

Plague 4: Complexity of Story (Plot and Symbolism)Grace Lin’s Newbery Honor book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is a modern story that melds the tradition of Chinese folk tales with a western journey-of-discovery narrative. Lin describes it as a bit like The Wizard of Oz retold as a Chinese fairy tale, although the novel is more complex than that; it weaves fairy tales into the plot of the book. Characters tell other characters’ stories, and those stories are inserted within the novel—texts within a text.

Not only that, but the characters in the book, who are imagined to hear the fairy tales as the reader reads them, often react to the tales, which shapes the plot.

It’s recursive—the tales change the story; the book reacts to itself.

A plot that happens on multiple levels like this poses challenges to readers. This makes Where the Mountain Meets the Moon an especially good book to prepare students to read the complex narrative structures of William Faulkner, for example.

Plague 5: Resistant Text Some texts set out to be difficult to understand, often because part of the point is that the story cannot be told simply. Telling it stretches the bounds of the tools storytellers have available.

Consider the beginning of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, written in the form of a memoir of a fictional writer who, like Vonnegut himself, was taken prisoner in World War II and experienced the fire-bombing of Dresden firsthand, and has set out to tell the story of that destruction, but struggles to do so.

Many readers find Vonnegut exhilarating precisely because of these resistant elements. The elements create a thrilling narrative unbounded by traditional rules. But confused readers—readers unaware that a text might deliberate try to disorient them, readers who have never struggled with that disorientation—may in fact be confused by the premise, not comprehend that they are not supposed to comprehend, and fail perhaps even give up on the narrative. What to do here?

As the example of Slaughterhouse-Five suggests, highly resistant texts are often made resistant by the use of a combination of the other four plagues. Exposure to those elements will help students unpack even the densest texts.

EXTRA! Check out a webinar with Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey about close reading of complex texts at www.amle.org/webinars/fisher_frey.


seemed at the time—but which turned out to be transformative—instantly in many cases, years later in others.

A Balancing ActTo ensure students are ready for the rigors of college, teachers must give text selection greater attention and intentionality. This does not mean that every book needs to be selected based on a “maximum value for learning” calculation. Some should be; we hope many will. Choosing books for pleasure or on a lark is fine as long as the overall portfolio of books is intentional and balanced.

Thinking more deeply about aspects of the texts we choose for students does not exclude enjoyment as a criterion—even a major one. Part of the joy of teaching, in fact, is seeing the joy

Poetry frequently does not conform to the “expectation of logic” that is characteristic of (most) prose. Because of this, poetry can be an outstanding tool for preparing students for resistant prose. Imagine the benefits of a lighthearted reading of Lewis Carroll's “Jabberwocky,” a primer in filling in the gaps between tiny islands of meaning in a text, as a prelude to reading Slaughterhouse-Five.

Closely reading and unpacking short examples of resistant text are great ways to expose students to intense challenges without overwhelming them.

What About Student Choice? Do students benefit from occasionally reading exactly what they and they alone desire? Yes! But it is important to recognize that the books students read and study in school are finite—a scarce and valuable resource.

From middle school through high school, they will only read and discuss with their peers a handful of books. Because these few books form the foundation of their knowledge of how literature works within and interacts with society, teachers must select them like the precious resource they are. Teachers should consider not just whether each book their students read is “good” but also what the totality of the texts they themselves choose for students achieve as part of their broader education.

It is also worth reflecting on the fact that what students “like” or more precisely think they will like is inherently limited. We can all name a handful of texts we read against our better teenage judgment—infallible though it

Here at EF, we know the best way to help students develop confi dence and grow their global perspective is through experiential learning. For over 50 years, we’ve partnered with educators like you to create educational travel programs within their schools and districts.

From watching democracy come alive at the 2017 Inauguration in D.C. to getting an inside look into bustling New York City life, every destination comes to life with fun and educational moments—all at the guaranteed lowest price. Discover all of our tours at exploreamerica.com/tours

Want to connect in person? Stop by our booth at the 2016 AMLE Conference in Austin, October 9-12, to learn more about how you can take your classroom out into the world.

How will you inspire your students?

Explore America

efexploreamerica.com

FIND US AT BOOTH

#503

OC

TO

BE

R 9-12, 2016 • A

USTIN

, T

EX

AS

AMLE 2016

students derive unexpectedly from texts that surprise them.

DOUG LEMOV is managing director for the Teach Like a Champion team at Uncommon Schools.

@douglemov

www.teachlikeachampion.com

COLLEEN DRIGGS is director of professional development for the Teach Like a Champion team at Uncommon Schools.

@colleendriggs

ERICA WOOLWAy is chief academic officer of the Teach like a Champion Team at Uncommon Schools.

@ericawoolway

They are the authors of Reading Reconsidered: A Practical Guide to Rigorous Literacy (2016, Jossey Bass), upon which this article was based.


Any disruption can drastically shift the equilibrium during instruction—especially the “can I go to the bathroom?” requests that trigger a domino effect. The first student asks, then one by one, the rest chime in and before we know it, instruction goes right out the window.

As a former military wife, I’ve taught in several states and across a few grade levels. Here are two strategies I have found useful in a variety of school settings:

1. Develop a classroom management plan that sets realistic expectations and, most important, is easy to follow. I learned about Randy Sprick’s CHAMPS positive behavior support system while teaching in Kentucky. The CHAMPS system uses a chart that clearly displays expectations for every activity. CHAMPS stands for:

Conversation: Can students talk during the activity and if so, at what level? For example, 0=no talking, 1=whisper, etc.

Help: How can students ask for help? For example, “Ask 3 before me,” or raise your hand.

Activity: What will students be working on?

Movement: Where can students go during this activity? For example, sharpen pencil (yes), hall pass (no).

Participation: How do students participate in this activity? Independently? With partners?

Success: When students meet CHAMPS expectations, they will be successful.

Students can refer to the chart throughout the activity if they need a reminder about expectations. You’ll find lots of supplemental material about CHAMPS online.

2. Be consistent. Students need to know at the beginning of the school year that classroom expectations and rules are essential for creating a safe and effective learning environment. Make sure the same rules and expectations apply to everyone. Once students see that you stick to your rules and expectations without any budge, they will accept, and then appreciate the fact that you value instructional time and you will not tolerate any disruptions to impede learning. Their level of respect increases as well.

Although I might make this all sound easy, it’s not. We have different dynamics in each of our classes, making some classrooms easier to manage than others. The key is to be consistent. If you bend for one student, that becomes the case for a few students, then the entire class. The next thing you know, you’ve lost control.

At the beginning of the year, implement a classroom management plan that sets clear expectations that are effective yet simple enough that you can stick with them. This may take a few tries until you get it right. Find which ones work for your students.

VALERIE BENJAMIN is an ELA teacher at Ilima Intermediate, Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

[email protected]

“I get tired of students interrupting instruction to go to the bathroom or to their locker because they ‘forgot something.’ How can I keep students in their seats and focused—or at least decrease the number of interruptions?”

QUESTION

Valerie BenjaminTEACHER EWA BEACH, HAWAII

in every issue MENTOR ME


LE ADERSHIP MAT TERS in every issue

Lunchroom Lessons for LeadersBy NIKKI WOODSON

In the midst of a busy morning arrival time, a few middle school students greeted me as I walked through the crowded hallway toward the room in which my meeting was being held. “Sup Dr. W. Are you coming to our classes today?” one student asked.

I replied that I would try if I had time, but that I was there for a meeting. The student went on to tell me that he didn’t understand what we do in meetings all the time. When I explained that we meet so we can try to improve teaching and learning, he responded, “Ah man, Dr. W, you don’t need to have a meeting on that. Just ask me!”

Sitting in my meeting I reflected on this brief and casual conversation. I got excited at the thought of asking kids about their school experience, and decided to talk with students during their lunch period—the most informal part of their day.

I visited three different middle school lunchrooms, and although I blocked off a short amount of time for each visit, ended up staying longer than I expected. Not only did they provide me with rich information, they also asked me some very powerful questions about the process of teaching and learning.

My conversations with these amazing students in their own unfiltered middle school voices, shared here, offers much middle school leaders can learn from. However, the most meaningful learning for leaders comes if they replicate this activity in their own schools.

Question: What makes a middle school awesome? Describe the ideal middle school.Answers:• Freedom to be who I want to be.• Teachers who let us be in charge of our own

learning, they aren’t too teacher-like.

• Nice teachers who respect that we are going through things, just like they are as adults.

• Fun in the class, but not crazy. Teachers have to be sorta strict when needed.

• Choices at lunch.• Down time during the day so my brain doesn’t

overload.• When we can use our technology as a part of

learning, just like a textbook.• Snacks in class. I can’t focus when I’m hungry and

I’m a growing adolescent so I’m always hungry.• No bullies. Everyone just respects each other even

if they don’t like everyone.• Modified class times for those of us who learn

differently.• Sports at all grades.• Staff would understand the power of play.

Question: What is your favorite part of middle school?Answers:• All the activities I can get involved in. • Meeting new friends.• Lockers instead of cubbies like in elementary school.• When it is time to go to my favorite class during

the day.• Down time at

lunch.• Moving classes

instead of staying in just one all day like elementary school.

• Sports.• Times when I can be social with my friends.• Learning something new.• Getting my brain ready for high school.

EXTRA! Check out a video with Niki Woodson at www.amle.org/am/woodson.


Question: What is one thing you would change about middle school?Answers:• Lunch times. Some start too early and

some go too late.• More time during passing period.• Ease up on the dress code. We are just

expressing ourselves.• Add in more opportunities for free time.• Allow us to design the lunch menu sometimes

with the cafeteria staff.• Overall use more technology in classroom.

It’s how we are wired.

Question: What do you wish all middle school teachers knew about how you learn best?Answers:• We don’t always say when we don’t understand so

we don’t look dumb in front of our friends. Give us other private ways to say we don’t understand.

• Our minds move quick. Keep the activities changing all the time.

• We learn at different paces.• We feel things and have valid emotions that

impact our work.• We need to talk to learn.• Fun is required.• Different kids connect in different ways.• Group work like the real world.

Question: What advice would you give middle school administrators?Answers:• Give kids a clean slate coming from elementary

school.• Change up the lunch food and make it reflect

our cultures.• More community-building activities between staff

and students could make learning better in the classroom.

• Try more peer-led class activities.• Community service during school as a regular part

for everyone, not only during certain parts of the year or as a punishment.

• When you have to deal with a situation, stay on both sides until you hear everyone out.

• Take care of mean kids.

• Find and hire more teachers who look like me (African American).

• Don’t give up on us.• Take it easy on the fifth graders; the

learning curve is high.

Question: What advice would you give an incoming six grader?Answers:• Just do the homework.• Stay out of drama

with friends.• Practice lockers

before school starts.

• Come prepared.• Make good choices. They will find out if

you didn’t anyway.• Know your way around the school.• Get involved

right away with some activity that is of interest to you.

• Be aware of bullies, and know that someone hurt them before they hurt others.

• Meet new people.• Don’t get on teachers’ bad sides; it never

ends well when you do.• Be ready for the work.• Help out others around you.• Make the best of it, you are only a few years

away from the big beast, HIGH SCHOOL.

NIKKI WOODSON is superintendent of schools for the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a member of the AMLE Leadership Institute faculty, serves on the board of governors for International Baccalaureate, and is a co-founder of Change Makers International.

[email protected]

Bring Nikki Woodson to your school. Contact AMLE Director of Middle Level Services Dru Tomlin at [email protected] for more information.

James W. FrakesNikki C. Woodson

Is It Working in Your Middle School?A personalized system to monitor progress of initiatives

Association for Middle Level Education

Order today at www.amle.org/store

Now Available!

Is It Working in Your Middle School?How effective are the programs and initiatives at your school? Find out with the use of specific tools and through processes similar to those that educators use to evaluate student progress, including:

• Determining root causes of problems rather than treating symptoms• Setting clear and measurable goals• Gathering data• Interpreting data and drawing conclusions• Creating plans with specific, measurable actions• Monitoring progress and providing support where needed• Holding individuals accountable for implementation

Member: $12.99Non-Member: $16.99

EXTRA! Check out the book Is It Working in Your Middle School? at www.amle.org/books/woodson.

EXTRA! Check out AMLE'S Leadership Institute at www.amle.org/leadership.

James W. FrakesNikki C. Woodson

Is It Working in Your Middle School?A personalized system to monitor progress of initiatives

Association for Middle Level Education

Order today at www.amle.org/store

Now Available!

Is It Working in Your Middle School?How effective are the programs and initiatives at your school? Find out with the use of specific tools and through processes similar to those that educators use to evaluate student progress, including:

• Determining root causes of problems rather than treating symptoms• Setting clear and measurable goals• Gathering data• Interpreting data and drawing conclusions• Creating plans with specific, measurable actions• Monitoring progress and providing support where needed• Holding individuals accountable for implementation

Member: $12.99Non-Member: $16.99

in every issue HOT SPOT

42 ASSOciATiON FOR MiDDLE LEVEL EDucATiON amle.org

8 Digital Formative Assessment Tools to Improve MotivationBy BRyAN R. DROST

The silver bullet for closing the achievement gap these days seems to be formative assessment. In simple terms, formative assessment is any ongoing activity that helps teachers gain information about student learning—information they can then use to adjust their instruction and provide more specific feedback to students who are then motivated to reach their learning goals.

Although the definition is relatively simple, the complexity in practice is challenging—good formative assessments provide feedback, are motivating, allow for instructional adjustment, and are ongoing. That’s a lot for any classroom teacher to do and to do well amidst the chaos of a room full of seventh graders during the month of May.

Digital formative assessment tools can help you motivate students to practice learning goals as a natural and ongoing part of their daily workflow.

Here are eight free tools to help you integrate technology into your classroom, motivate students to learn, collect some data, and reduce your Tylenol consumption bills during spring—or for that matter, throughout the school year! For step-by-step how-tos for integrating each of the different tools into your curriculum, visit https://goo.gl/jpmele.

Tool 1: Padlet Padlet (padlet.com) is a virtual wall that students use to express their thoughts on a topic. In addition to written expression, you can embed audio and video and have students respond in the form of a threaded discussion. With password protection, you can use different padlets for different classes or groups of students.

For example, I have students define key terms and discuss areas of agreement and disagreement with what their peers have written.

Tool 2: RecapRecap (https://app.letsrecap.com) is a video-based formative assessment tool that allows you to pose a question, have students respond with a short video they’ve recorded on their cell phone, then provide them with feedback .

In the math classroom, have students explain how to solve a problem and then give them strategies they can use to improve their accuracy. Or if you are feeling a little daring, share the class videos and have students identify incorrect answers and analyze where the computations went wrong.

Tool 3: Today’s MeetToday’s Meet (https://todaysmeet.com) is a type of “backchanneling.” Backchanneling is a conversation that takes place alongside an activity or event. It’s perfect for use in the classroom when you are showing a video and want to find out what the students are thinking. Simply show the class a video clip and have students respond to a question via their device; students can even pose questions to you as they are watching.

Use it in the science classroom as a way to track understanding during a lab procedure. For example, ask students what will happen before they add chemical A to chemical B.

Tool 4: Active PromptActive Prompt (http://activeprompt.org) looks like a website from the early 1990s, but its power is amazing. Upload any image of your choosing and ask students a question about it. Students move a dot on their device to indicate their answer.

For example, in social studies, you might show a map of Africa and ask students where they think the


Nile River is. In language arts, display a complex text and have students indicate where they found their textual evidence.

Tool 5: Google Forms/Sheets and Flubaroo Flubaroo (www.flubaroo.com) is a great plug-in for Google Sheets that will help you quickly score student quizzes. Design a Google Form, share the link to the form with students, and have them answer the questions. When they are finished, go into your account and have Flubaroo grade students’ responses in less than a minute. Use the report feature to get all kinds of quick data about the students’ responses.

In the classroom, use this as a quick warm up and then break students up into stations with differentiated activities based on performance.

Tool 6: ZaptionZaption (http://zaption.com) allows you to take already-made videos, such as a YouTube clip, or your own videos, and publish interactive lessons and track student understanding.

Simply add questions to a video clip: multiple choice, check boxes, free response. You might even have kids draw a response. If you’re doing a whole-class lesson, you can use the Live mode so students can ask you questions while you are presenting. Want students to complete independently? No problem! Give students a link.

Use the reporting feature to analyze the data and find out where you are headed next in your lesson. (Please note that the free account gives you a limited number of reports.) You can also use Zaption’s database to find premade lessons.

Tool 7: Nearpod and Pear DeckNearpod (www.nearpod.com) and Pear Deck (www.peardeck.com) are similar tools that allow you to embed interactive formative assessment elements into a slide deck. Take an existing PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slide show and add upload it to the app. Give students the link—from your end, you can ensure that all students are on the same slide. In Pear Deck, you can even add a question on the fly. Question types range from drawing answers to multiple choice (the paid app gives you a few more choices).

Want to increase student involvement? Have them create the slideshow on a topic (a great review for final summative exams) and present to the class. You can use the data reports to track student mastery.

In PE, try uploading the steps to throwing a perfect curve ball. As students watch each step, ask them to demonstrate the step, then use the questions you’ve created to get their thoughts about the technique and why it will improve their pitch.

Tool 8: Quizlet LiveTeaching vocabulary? Using Quizlet Live (http://quizlet.live), students practice teamwork and communication skills while you check their understanding of important academic vocabulary.

Simply create an account, search for a premade deck of vocabulary terms or create your own (a minimum of 12), and give students the link. The app will group them into teams once they have logged in. Press “go” and the teams will compete to show their understanding of new terms. Students must be careful, as one wrong move sends them back to the beginning.

Fun and InformativeIn my own practice as a teacher and curriculum director, I have seen the power that formative assessment can bring to improving student success in the classroom. Using digital tools such as these not only motivates students, it also gives teachers valuable information with which to diagnose student learning.

While I can’t promise you that these digital formative assessment tools will close the achievement gap entirely, I can promise that you will have fun interacting with your students.

BRyAN R. DROST is director of educational services for Firelands Local Schools in Ohio.

[email protected]

EXTRA! Check out an article about formative assessment at www.amle.org/am/garrison.


MAKING THE TE AMin every issue

Forging Partnerships Outside the Classroom By ROBIN DEVER

Sometimes teaching can cause tunnel vision. Teachers often look inside their school district, building, or classroom for resources to help their students learn, neglecting the partnerships outside the immediate school community that can provide invaluable resources.

One such partnership was forged between a school district, a local park district, and a university.

In the BeginningThe partnership began at the university, where the middle childhood teacher education program applied to the Cleveland Foundation for grant money available to foster relationships between organizations within the community.

The next step was to find a partner in the community. The university teacher education program personnel approached the local park district because it had an Educational Learning Center (ELC) with classrooms and hosted school groups for field trips. The partnership made sense.

The park district had recently unearthed a set of artifacts from an old chair factory located along Jordan Creek and wanted to incorporate it into a learning

experience for students visiting the park. Having established this initial partnership, the program and park district asked a local school district to participate in this project as well.

The curriculum director and all of the fourth grade teachers and students in the district agreed to be partners on this project. The park district then invited these teachers and students to a day-long visit to the ELC as part of their curriculum.

Goals and Project Overview Each organization involved had the same overarching mission: to help students learn. However, each organization also brought its own goals to the table.

The school district is a large, suburban, high-poverty, highly diverse district, and its students don’t often have the opportunity to experience other environments. The primary goal of the school district, then, was to provide its students with a learning experience outside the classroom.

The goals of the park district were to expose students to the resources available in the parks and educate them about the history of the community.

The university teaching program’s goals were to give its students the opportunity to work with a different student population and learn to incorporate learning experiences outside the classroom into lesson plans.

Once each organization was on board with the project and the goals were established, the multifaceted, year-long project began.

First, the university students who would be planning and teaching the lessons took their science methods courses at the park’s ELC, where they could immerse themselves in the park setting and access the resources provided by park staff.

Using these resources, the university students developed an interdisciplinary unit based on the artifacts discovered at the site of the chair factory. The theme of this unit was how “place” shapes society, and it highlighted how the creek and local environment affected settlements, factories, and transportation using artifacts to draw conclusions. The unit included three sets of lessons for the fourth grade students to complete before, during, and after they visited the park.

In the spring, all the fourth grade teachers from the school district received a copy of the lesson plans created by the university students and park staff along


with a kit that included all the necessary materials for the unit. Teachers were asked to use the lessons and materials to prepare their students with foundational knowledge before they arrived at the ELC.

After the teachers had adequate time to use the kits, all of the fourth grade students (approximately 300 students) took a field trip to the park where park staff and university students led class for the day. After the visits, the fourth grade teachers completed the post-visit lessons with their students and took a survey about their experience with the project.

Types of LessonsThe unit as a whole covered multiple content areas and topics, but all material related back to the artifacts found at the chair factory. For example, students created their own water wheel models to discover how a water wheel produces energy. The university students and park staff then expanded on this experience to explore the difference between kinetic and potential energy.

Another lesson involved students reading actual letters written by a young girl who lived near the factory when it was in operation. This lesson gave clues to her daily life and social perspective. Students made ink using crushed berries which they loaded into fountain pens to write their own letters.

To explore the evolution of transportation, university students and park staff had the fourth-graders solve “movement scenarios.” For example, students had to create solutions to a scenario in which a tall tree falls over railroad tracks and blocks the train . After all the scenarios had solutions, students weighed the pros and cons of different modes of transportation and compared them to each other.

The final lesson involved using a bed sheet to represent an area of land. Students threw pom-poms into the air to simulate rain drops, observed where they landed on the sheet, and discussed where the water would drain and the role watersheds play in the environment.

Benefits of the ProjectWhen the project was complete, university faculty collected the evaluations from the fourth grade teachers and surveyed the university students to evaluate the benefits of the project.

Overall, feedback on the project was positive and all partners reported that their initial goals were met.

The fourth grade teachers said that the experience in the park and the accompanying lessons were a great opportunity for their students to make connections between the community and what they were studying in the classroom. They appreciated that the pre- and post-field trip lesson plans were accompanied by all necessary materials.

Feedback from the park district was also positive: the activities that were created based on the artifacts are now part of their permanent catalog of field trip options for other school districts. However, their greatest accomplishment was exposing students to the resources that the park has to offer.

The university students involved in the project also reported benefits, including the opportunity to work alongside park staff in an out-of-class environment while learning how to create opportunities for students to build upon in the traditional classroom. This dispelled their previously held beliefs that subjects such as science and social studies are best taught in a classroom that is teacher-led and based on a textbook.

The university students also reported that working with this diverse student population helped them better understand how students’ backgrounds can affect their learning.

Just the BeginningAn overarching result of this project was the relationships formed. Before this project, interactions among the participating groups were either nonexistent or limited in scope. During the experience of working together, each organization learned first hand about the resources the other had to offer and how to use these resources to meet their own individual goals.

A framework has been created to establish future partnerships with other organizations. As this network of community members continues to grow, so will the positive outcomes on student learning!

ROBIN DEVER is assistant professor/program coordinator at Kent State University-Geauga, Burton, Ohio.

[email protected]

EXTRA! Check out the book This We Believe in Action at www.amle.org/twb.


Megaph o neAmusing, interesting, and provocative comments from the field of education

“The problem with grit is that it privileges hard work over judgment; people with grit keep working even when they don't know why they're doing it…. Why should kids continue to do work just for the sake of doing work?”

— Dave Powell, professor, “When Having Grit is a Bad Thing,” EducationWeek, june 3, 2016.

“Seek out—and have—mentors. Listen to them. The late theatrical director Tyrone Guthrie once said, ‘We are looking for ideas large enough to be afraid of again.’ Embrace those new ideas. Bite off more than you can chew.”

— ken Burns, author and historian, in his 2016 commencement address at Stanford university.

“Everything I know says that we need to focus explicitly on eliminating external motivation and creating a context where intrinsic motivation can grow.”

— Bill ivy, middle school teacher and dean, “in Search of More Student Voice & Agency,” Middleweb, june 1, 2016.

“Never stop bragging about your students. Tell [education reformers] that the ones who don’t make it aren’t suffering from an achievement gap; they are suffering from an opportunity gap and that is something that the community needs to help us with.”

— Ferial Pearson, former teacher in the Omaha Public School district, in a “love letter” to teachers published in the Omaha World-Herald.

“I’m always enamored with students who present their own knowledge, not as a regurgitation of what they expect adults to see from them, but of curiosities they’ve explored and theorized upon.”

— jose Vilson, teacher, “This Post is Dedicated To All TheTeachersWhoSaidTheyWouldn’tAmountto Nothing,”atthejosevilson.com.

in every issue

School Improvement Assessment

Contact Dru Tomlin, AMLE Director of Middle Level Services at [email protected] for more information and to start your School Improvement Assessment process!

amle.org/sia

Strengthen and improve your school!Measure your school’s implementation of proven middle grades practices and get specific recommendations for improvement. Based on This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, the assessment focuses on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Leadership and Organization; and Culture and Community.

Why the AMLE School Improvement Assessment?

• It gives you the data you want.

• It refocuses the school community on characteristics that are important in educating 10- to 15-year-olds.

• It provides direction for strategic planning and ongoing school improvement

Choose one of three optionsfor taking the assessment,

starting at $499.

Get the free Pre-Check Survey at amle.org/sia!

AMLE sets up the easy, anonymous survey for your teachers and staff.

1

Your teachers and staff take the survey at their convenience!

2

AMLE collects and analyzes the data from your survey results.

3

AMLE sends a complete report with action steps & resources for your school based on your data.

4

5 AMLE stays connected to help you develop next steps for the bright road ahead.

5 Steps to Success

We've got

it all• gifts • wrapping paper • jewelry• chocolate • magazines • candles

• cookie dough • kitchen items • photo keepsake products

• personalized items • delicious delectables • specialty totes

• tumblers • and more

03/31 Minneapolis Away 4:00pm04/06 Concordia Home 4:30pm04/10 Russell Home 4:30pm04/14 SES Away 3:00pm04/16 Wichita Trinity Home 4:30pm04/20 Chapman Home 4:30pm04/21 Ellsworth Home 4:30pm04/27 Beloit Away 4:00pm04/30 TMP Away 4:30pm05/04 SES Away 3:00pm05/08 Inman Away 4:30pm05/11 Remington Home 4:30pm05/18-22 Regionals TBA05/28-29 State TBA

20% Off OrdersSame Day Delivery Available

$50 eGift Cards for $47.50 Order Online, Print & Redeem25% Off, Online Orders OnlyPick-Up & Delivery Available(Not Available in-store or by phone)

Receive a $25 gift card when you join or renew as a Sam’s Plus™ Member.*

HALF PRICE Appetizer With Purchase Of An Adult Entree [Excludes Sampler Platter; One Time Use Keytag • Keytag Must Be Surrendered At Time Of Use] 2750 S 9th St • SalinaExp. 12/31/2015 • ONE TIME USE ONLY q

FREE 16oz. Mudslide With Purchase Of A 16oz. Mudslide [One Time Use Only • Keytag Must Be Surrendered Upon Use] 2630 S 9th St • SalinaExp. 12/31/2015 • ONE TIME USE ONLY q

FREE Chips & Salsa With Purchase Of An Entree 156 S Santa Fe Ave • Salina • Exp. 12/31/2015 1-800-251-1542 gafundraising.com

Documents

Show What You Know: PBL to Portfolios · 08 Show What you Know: From PBL to Digital Portfolios ... 28 Tag It—“Graffiti” ... Check out Dru's blog