Compelled by student interest and her search for more meaningful class discussion, teacher Elaine Insinnia found support from technology coordinator Eileen Skarecki for introducing chat room discussions about class reading. The results were more engaged students, deeper discussions, and more egalitarian participation. Along the way, Elaine learned…

In spite of the mountain of information and educational resources available on the Internet, there are plenty of dangers awaiting unsuspecting middle schoolers. Educating students "and parents" about these dangers can protect our students and put adults' minds at ease. Through pamphlets, informative Web sites, and a series of exercises, Adelman…

The dilemma of promoting young adult literacy gripped the authors' seventh-grade class last year as never before. In an attempt to obliterate the students' reluctance to reading, the authors looked to technology to help motivate the students and break down their resistance to reading. This article describes the authors' successful integration of…

A self-proclaimed technophobe, Kuroly takes the plunge with his eighth-grade class. As a group, they learn PowerPoint, research poets on the Web, and record favorite poems, all of which results in a triumphant series of PowerPoint presentations on favorite poets.

Sifting through the myriad "idea" technologies (such as multiple intelligence theories or Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development) and "product" technologies (such as PowerPoint or digital cameras) can be overwhelming, but Bednar persuades us that it's not about having the most recent technology, it's about using what works for "your" students in…

Two teachers reflect on their combined experiences in teaching middle school, teaching preservice teachers, and teaching online in order to adapt and apply strategies for bringing positive experiences in a computer-based environment to middle grade students. The result is five valuable lessons, each of which is explained theoretically and…

One specially important aspect of the inquiry process is helping students to find existing sources of data, including sources on the Internet. This obviously involves the essential issue of evaluating and judging the usefulness of Web sites. In this article, the author presents several Web sites which help students evaluate Web sites.

Fu highlights the large percentage of students in our classrooms for whom English is a second language and recommends strategies for helping them to adjust and to succeed in mainstream situations. Advice such as "Just teach from where they are," "Diversify instruction," and "Recognize that oral language development is essential," among others,…

Teachers who are facing multiple languages and cultures in their classrooms for the first time may be fooled by the English Language Learner who has become proficient in English. That competence in social communication may disguise difficulty with understanding and generating academic language. Through two profiles of middle school students who…

Jim Burke is a master at making pedagogical principles accessible with practical teaching aids, most notably graphic organizers. In this article, he asks two questions, "What can teachers do that makes a difference for all students, that meets them where they are and helps get them where they need to be as reader and writers--as students?" and…

It's not enough to present students with multicultural literature. The potential impact of such literature stems from honest and deep discussion, and that can only take place in a room where respectful, trusting relationships have been built. The author offers principles and strategies for establishing those relationships, nurturing those…

Using an Around the World unit to introduce students to over 30 nations, Wilson proposes "trail mix" over "melting pot" as a metaphor for multiculturalism in this article. Students kept a travel journal as they explored different cultures, and a school-wide celebration of diversity included trying out the dress, music, and language of each.…

In this article, the authors discuss the benefits of using multi-voiced journals as a teaching strategy in reading instruction. Multi-voiced journals, an adaptation of dual-voiced journals, encourage responses to reading in varied, cultured voices of characters. It is similar to reading journals in that they prod students to connect to the lives…

A student who confesses he is gay and a teacher who must hide her sexual identity make us question how much has changed in the past few years and what we need to do hasten change now. (Contains 8 resources.)

In this article, the author describes how he successfully taught gay rights in his middle school class. He also relates how he finally came out with his real sexuality to his students. He also describes how a stuttering student named Malcolm explained to one of his classmate the reason why his teacher felt a need to reveal his true sexuality. An…