The middle school years can be exciting and confusing for young adolescent students. Thus it is important for teachers, administrators, and school professionals to create a unique classroom and school culture that meets their needs. Creating a positive classroom culture that supports young adolescents through social, physical, and academic…

The dual pandemics of social unrest and COVID-19 during the summer of 2020 in the United States has produced a renewed sense of urgency and agency for the interrogation of curriculum in K-12 education and the development of culturally sustaining practices. This urgency has encouraged more teacher preparation programs and middle school leaders to…

Creativity can be cultivated in the classroom by the teacher through classroom management. The present research attempts to study middle school teachers' classroom management that attends to students' creativity. We interviewed twenty-one middle school teachers of seven disciplines about their classroom management to cultivate their students'…

Anxiety is a prevalent mental health concern in children and adolescents that can have a negative effect on their personal relationships as well as their academics. Teachers are in a position to assist in recognizing the signs of anxiety and supporting students in the classroom. Practical suggestions on how teachers can support middle school…

As the research on mindfulness expands to include school-based interventions, middle school educators across the country have implemented mindfulness in the classroom. However, similar to other social-emotional learning approaches, when implemented in the absence of cultural context and trauma-informed care, mindfulness can be weaponized. In this…

The task of providing all students an engaging education is a particularly difficult challenge in the middle grades as young adolescents are on the cusp of intellectual thought. Because they are forming their identities as students who will or will not go on to successfully complete high school or postsecondary education, their experiences with…

Students in the middle grades experience tremendous development in various domains. However, childhood trauma can significantly impede this development, further exacerbating the functioning of our most vulnerable student populations. This article aims to describe the use of trauma-informed teaching as a form of middle-level, social justice…

Investigated factors that motivate students to learn by interviewing six self-described underachieving middle school students and their teachers. Developed a theory for meaningful, engaged learning involving four key components: learning environment, experience, motivation, and meaning making. (JPB)

Describes a middle school mathematics project that incorporated the adult mathematics concepts of school finance. Discusses the lesson plans; the goal of teaching students to make, use, and understand frequency tables; and teacher notes on the use of a relevant, complex problem context. (JPB)

Previous research indicates pandemics have a traumatic effect on individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic has been traumatic for all students of all races and socioeconomic households. The pandemic has, however, intensified racial trauma by exacerbating racial disparities already existing in American society. Racial trauma has been linked to poor…

Discusses the use of Channel One television news broadcasts in the middle school classroom, focusing on the circumstances under which students learn from Channel One, attitudes toward Channel One, and implications for teachers who wish to make effective instructional use of the programming. (JPB)

Addresses "text potential" as a tool to make interdisciplinary connections between language arts and mathematics by identifying literacy standards and identifying literature that has text potential for teaching mathematics. Describes literature that highlights aspects of geometry and measurement, and discusses the power and potential of…

Describes how use of panorama theater to teach middle school social studies can aid in teaching the academic skills of defining a problem, locating and collecting data, organizing and designing tasks, drawing inferences, creating and building interpretations, revising and editing, and interpreting data. Presents a classroom example of a panorama…

Suggests that John Dewey's 1938 text can take teachers into the 21st century and provides valid advice on teaching decisions including philosophy of education, learning, and schooling. Describes Dewey's five tenets of a framework that can provide language arts teachers with guidance for conceiving of student-centered, whole-language schooling and…

Suggests the use of selected literature to explore the war in Vietnam with middle school students. Discusses the relevance of the war to contemporary students; presents an annotated bibliography of novels especially appropriate for middle school students; and suggests relevant class activities. (JPB)