When the author offered the option of writing an article for "Voices from the Middle" to her seventh- and eighth-grade language arts classes, some students were unwavering in their preference to stay on the steady, familiar ground of writing a letter to a peer about a book they had read and loved. Noah McCord, Tobin Feldman-Fitzthum, and…

The authors interviewed 17 middle school reading and language arts teachers as part of a larger study on an evidence-based intervention called Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR). CSR is a multi-component reading instructional model combined with cooperative grouping and peer discussion. We show from the teacher interviews that CSR has benefits…

New literacies are affecting the ways that we choose to spend our time in teaching and learning. In this article, Hagood describes the work of nine middle grades teachers' explorations of new literacies, including digital technologies and pop culture, and their implementations in their content area instruction. She also highlights some of the…

Word Links, an effective strategy for developing students' vocabulary, is based on four principles. It provides contextual and definitional information; offers repeated exposure to words and opportunities to practice them; encourages students to think about relationships among word meanings; and involves active engagement in learning tasks. Yopp…

A classroom teacher reflects on the benefits of professional development leading to improved and energized student writing. Although traditional professional development sparked interest and encouraged modifications, the support of a teacher inquiry group as ongoing professional development provided the impact needed to effect significant change…

Writers thrive when they are motivated to work hard, have regular opportunities to practice and reflect, and benefit from a knowledgeable teacher who knows writing. Student feedback to lessons during writing workshop helped guide Nancie Atwell in her quest to provide the richest and most efficient path to better writing.

Writing comes to life when students remember to watch for and express detail--name names. Examples from favorite authors, classroom exercises and discussion, and practice with absolutes and appositives all support students as they focus the "camera" on vivid descriptive elements. (Contains 3 figures.)