Middle School Teaching Units » Classroom Activities http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com Middle School Teaching Units Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:44:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Using Trade Books in the Classroom http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/using-trade-books-in-the-classroom/ http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/using-trade-books-in-the-classroom/#comments Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:08:31 +0000 admin http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/using-trade-books-in-the-classroom/ Looking for a way to encourage your students’ interest in a topic?  Trade books can provide the needed spark.  Trade books, which are primarily designed to entertain and inform outside the classroom, can be used successfully in the classroom to heighten motivation in your students.  Trade books cover just about every topic under the sun, so you can probably find a book that will align with your curriculum objectives in such a way as to help your students see the applicability of the topic. Students may show a keener interest in the lively way a trade book presents material over the stilted writings in a textbook.  While textbooks cover a topic in a prescribed way, a trade book may introduce or expand upon a topic by including it in a fictional setting, or alternatively, a non-fiction account from real life.

Classroom activities can be built around the book’s topic, so in addition to the reading practice and vocabulary development, all types of offshoot activities can be developed.  Depending on the book, there may be several ways to explore the concepts presented in the story or account.  Possibilities for math, science, social studies, geography, history, economics, and more may exist using the book as a jumping off point.  Here are some ideas on how to use a trade book in the classroom.

Interest is fundamental. Since the primary reason for introducing a trade book into the classroom is to create interest in a topic, look for books which tell a story which is engaging.  Humor helps since many children enjoy humor and they may read with more attention if it is presented in a funny way.  The book can still present serious topics and ideas.  Another tip is to select books which address the interests of your students’ age group.  Elementary students tend to like stories about animals, children their own age, and fairy Continue Reading

]]> Looking for a way to encourage your students’ interest in a topic?  Trade books can provide the needed spark.  Trade books, which are primarily designed to entertain and inform outside the classroom, can be used successfully in the classroom to heighten motivation in your students.  Trade books cover just about every topic under the sun, so you can probably find a book that will align with your curriculum objectives in such a way as to help your students see the applicability of the topic. Students may show a keener interest in the lively way a trade book presents material over the stilted writings in a textbook.  While textbooks cover a topic in a prescribed way, a trade book may introduce or expand upon a topic by including it in a fictional setting, or alternatively, a non-fiction account from real life.

Classroom activities can be built around the book’s topic, so in addition to the reading practice and vocabulary development, all types of offshoot activities can be developed.  Depending on the book, there may be several ways to explore the concepts presented in the story or account.  Possibilities for math, science, social studies, geography, history, economics, and more may exist using the book as a jumping off point.  Here are some ideas on how to use a trade book in the classroom.

Interest is fundamental. Since the primary reason for introducing a trade book into the classroom is to create interest in a topic, look for books which tell a story which is engaging.  Humor helps since many children enjoy humor and they may read with more attention if it is presented in a funny way.  The book can still present serious topics and ideas.  Another tip is to select books which address the interests of your students’ age group.  Elementary students tend to like stories about animals, children their own age, and fairy Continue Reading

]]> http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/using-trade-books-in-the-classroom/feed/ 0 Midlink Magazine: A Must Have Subscription for the Middle School Teacher http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/midlink-magazine-a-must-have-subscription-for-the-middle-school-teacher/ http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/midlink-magazine-a-must-have-subscription-for-the-middle-school-teacher/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:48:15 +0000 admin http://www.middleschoolteachingunits.com/midlink-magazine-a-must-have-subscription-for-the-middle-school-teacher/

The apparent purpose of the Midlink Magazine sight is to be an outlet for students, ages eight to eighteen, to submit and review art and writing. It is an award-winning magazine that is nonprofit It is sponsored by North Carolina State University and the University of Central Florida.

Its bullets include newest articles, table of contents, web honor roll, search strategies, cool schools, teacher tools, archives, our mission, and who we are The editors of Midlink are very successful teachers, grades K-12, who have produced this website as they say, “by students, for students-ages 8-18.”

The content of the site appeals to all teachers of grades K- 12 because of excellent accuracy and utility. When one clicks on teacher tools, for example, findings include clickable topics such as: Helping students cope with terrorism, grant money and funding hotline, and resources for educational leaders and policy makers, and collaborative learning.

The site is very user friendly and includes a variety of graphics that are cute and clickable. Another example would be under teacher tools, whereby you can search a variety of topics including: rubrics, graphic organizers, teaching resources, copyright guidelines for web publishing, and much more.

Many of these resources can be used to manage web activities, publish web projects, and evaluate your classroom activities. As a teacher, I am also allowed to suggest a site for the editors to review If they believe my site is focused enough, they may choose to include it in their links directory.

I found the accuracy and utility of the site to be in-depth and user friendly. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues.

The ease of navigation and the overall appeal of the site are good I would rate it a seven out often on a scale of one to ten. My only suggestion is that sometimes the clickable teacher planning Continue Reading

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The apparent purpose of the Midlink Magazine sight is to be an outlet for students, ages eight to eighteen, to submit and review art and writing. It is an award-winning magazine that is nonprofit It is sponsored by North Carolina State University and the University of Central Florida.

Its bullets include newest articles, table of contents, web honor roll, search strategies, cool schools, teacher tools, archives, our mission, and who we are The editors of Midlink are very successful teachers, grades K-12, who have produced this website as they say, “by students, for students-ages 8-18.”

The content of the site appeals to all teachers of grades K- 12 because of excellent accuracy and utility. When one clicks on teacher tools, for example, findings include clickable topics such as: Helping students cope with terrorism, grant money and funding hotline, and resources for educational leaders and policy makers, and collaborative learning.

The site is very user friendly and includes a variety of graphics that are cute and clickable. Another example would be under teacher tools, whereby you can search a variety of topics including: rubrics, graphic organizers, teaching resources, copyright guidelines for web publishing, and much more.

Many of these resources can be used to manage web activities, publish web projects, and evaluate your classroom activities. As a teacher, I am also allowed to suggest a site for the editors to review If they believe my site is focused enough, they may choose to include it in their links directory.

I found the accuracy and utility of the site to be in-depth and user friendly. I would recommend it to my friends and colleagues.

The ease of navigation and the overall appeal of the site are good I would rate it a seven out often on a scale of one to ten. My only suggestion is that sometimes the clickable teacher planning Continue Reading

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