There is a wealth of empirical, historical, and theoretical literature on school reform, types of reform initiatives, and the educational change process. Middle grades practitioners and advocates are intimately familiar with the list of the essential components that must be present for schools to effectively educate young adolescents. Over the…

This article offers an overview of the framework that Sampson County Public Schools (North Carolina) used to critically reflect on the current state of their middle grades schools. The article also highlights the changes that resulted from the district-wide analysis and the ways in which these changes led to a significant increase in the academic…

Homework is an important way for teachers to develop relationships with their students' parents and other caregivers. The learning activities teachers assign for homework provide parents a window into the content and skills their children are learning at school. Parents have a chance to participate in their children's schooling by…

Today's Generation Z teens need to develop teamwork and social learning skills to be successful in the 21st century workplace. Teachers can help students develop these skills and enhance academic achievement by implementing cooperative learning strategies. Three key principles for successful cooperative learning are discussed. (Contains 1 figure.)

The recipe for success of Strive Preparatory Charter School (formerly West Denver Preparatory Charter School) is not a secret. This summer program, turned four-campus, middle level phenomenon, is proving to satisfy the appetite of parents hungry for a change in their children's educational opportunities. The intent of this article is to share a…

The focus on grades and what they represent happens in every middle grades classroom--some students completely understand the concepts when reviewed, but perform poorly on the quiz; some gifted students score high on tests but appear bored in class. With the current emphasis on school accountability by standardized test scores, middle level…

It is not unusual for people to attend their high school or college class reunions, but who would want to go back and visit their old junior high? After all, this is a time that most people overlook or want to forget. However, it was a meaningful time for this author, and laid the foundation for whom he had become. It was during his junior high…

As young adolescents, middle grades students experience a wide variety of changes related to their cognitive capabilities, social and emotional well-being, and use of self-regulation strategies. Authentic performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to realistic problems to create products or performances--consistent…

Notebooks are commonly used in middle school classrooms as a place for students to record information delivered via lecture, classroom discussion, or independent work. A primary reason teachers ask students to use notebooks is to capture and organize information. In many cases, students are expected to use these tools with little direction,…

Explicitly communicating objectives is a tenet of effective instruction for students with learning difficulties, yet the practice is often overlooked in research. This case study of a novice middle school geography teacher illustrates how the qualitative and quantitative differences in the ways a teacher communicates the learner expectation can…

This article discusses the pedagogical practices of a middle level English teacher who teaches reading and writing skills creatively and recursively. By providing varied ways for students to construct knowledge and repeatedly grapple with difficult concepts, this teacher sustains an environment of collaborative inquiry whereby students internalize…

Every day in classrooms across the country teachers are using district, state, and federal standards and assessments to prove their effectiveness, monitor students' progress, and understand students' strengths and needs. Jobs depend on student achievement, and in today's age of accountability, assessment scores define what students…

Purposeful and strategic connections between schools, families, and communities are critical characteristics of effective middle level education. Area-based initiatives (ABIs) have been particularly visible family-school-community policy developments in recent years--especially the federally funded "Promise Neighborhoods," which attempt…

This article discusses the use of self-assessment to chart the course of students' learning. Rather than experiencing school as a journey on an unknown sea to an unknown destination, it is possible for students to use formative self-assessment as a navigational chart and compass--to know where they are going, how they are going to get there, and…

Two noteworthy organizations have joined forces in a commitment to meeting the unique cognitive and affective needs of high-ability and high-potential learners. The National Middle School Association (NMSA) joined with the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) in producing a joint position statement (NMSA/NAGC, 2004) concerned with…