Dr. Seuss is always appropriate!

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/politicaldrseuss/seuss_fla.html

Teaching students how to "read deeper" can sound daunting. But one way to introduce this task and simplify it as much as possible is by using everyone's favorite children's author, Dr. Seuss! Who knew that many of Dr. Seuss's books contained underlying political and social themes? Take for example, The Sneetches--can you see the anti-Semitic undertones Seuss tries to get across to his reader?

The website above is a great tool for "The Political Dr. Seuss" and a great way to ease students into reading for deeper comprehension by using easy, fun books they already know and love!

Poetry for Middle School Students

Students of all ages often struggle or shy away from reading or writing poetry. It is a difficult task to tackle, but I think if it is presented in a positive way, students could really learn to love it.

*One way to introduce poetry is to emphasize to students that they encounter poetry everyday...through music! Listening to and dissecting the lyrics to favorite songs is a great way to start. Then students could even try their hand at writing lyrics.

*Since poetry is an expressive art form, teachers could use a book such as Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. This book is about a teacher that inspires his class to write poetry to express their feelings through the written word. Who knows, maybe it could work for your classroom too!

Newbery Medal and other outstanding books!

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal.cfm

This website documents the latest Newbery Award Winners as well as other award winning books for students!

Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Crash by Jerry Spinelli is another great book for middle school students. Crash Coogan, a popular jock has always picked on his neighbor Penn Webb for not being cool enough. But Crash develops compassion during the course of the story and begins to realize the errors in his ways. This book is a great read for adolescents who struggle with social pressures, which seem to go hand in hand with psychological development during the middle school years. Boys especially will love this book because of the male protagonist and focus on athletics! I read this book with a eighth grade boy I was tutoring who proclaimed he hated to read, no matter what! But he really got into Crash, and had a hard time putting it down!

Middle School Tips

I found this video on YouTube and learned that a middle schooler made it. It actually contains some pretty impressive advice, especially from the mind of a middle schooler. This particular middle schooler appears very well versed in the development of adolescents at this time...she even taps into all five of the key areas of adolescent development.

To me, this seems like a fantastic teachable moment...maybe the creation of a video or slideshow could be assigned to eighth graders. They could give tips to fifth graders who will be entering middle school shortly and need help and guidance on what to expect in middle school.

Middle Schools in Italy

A few months back I traveled abroad to Carpi, Italy where I had the amazing experience of working in an Italian Middle School alongside an Italian English teacher. Needless to say this was the best experience of my life, but I also learned A LOT! While there and reflecting back now, I realized/realize that adolescents everywhere really are exactly the same.

Middle School in Italy consists of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade similar to many middle schools in America. Because of this, the Italian students were going through a lot of the same issues as Americans kids.

Physically, of course it's the same! Italians go through puberty and all that fun stuff just the same!

Intellectually, the students appeared very curious, especially having an American in their class. They loved active learning such as dancing to the YMCA and playing baseball outside over lectures and worksheets.

Psychologically, the students seemed moody and self-conscious but also optimistic. It was obvious that they were searching for identity too, perhaps even more so than students in America. This is because high schools in Italy are specialized so students must know their career path by the end of eighth grade! A lot of pressure for fourteen year olds!

Socially, the Italian students were very active. The small town of Carpi consists of about 60,000 people so it seemed that everyone in the school knew everyone else. It was a nice small community atmosphere.

Morally, the Italian students I worked with were very idealistic. They seemed to have a good grasp of right from wrong and the direction they wanted to go in life. In general, Italy is a very close-knit, family and community oriented place and the morals really reflect that.

All in all, the middle schoolers in Italy seemed exactly the same as the middle schoolers I have been in contact with in the US. They too are just as worried about fashion, fitting in, and identity!

Holidays are every day!

http://www.brownielocks.com/month2.html

This is a link to a website that documents what holiday/observances take place on each and every day of the year. It also tells what observances occur monthly and weekly throughout the year. Just kind of a cool website that may inspire some teaching ideas or writing ideas! :)

For example, September is Self-Improvement Month...especially during a time as crazy as adolescence, if this was used as some sort of writing prompt, middle schoolers could reflect on how they could improve themselves psychologically, socially, morally, etc.

Criss Cross--A great book for Middle Schoolers!

Lynn Rae Perkins follows the lives of a group of adolescents in her Newbery Award winning book Criss Cross and taps into realistic, universal truths about children at this age. The theme of the adolescents going through a metamorphosis at this time in their young lives runs throughout the book as they encounter new changes and complications they must overcome. At this age, adolescents are going through many transformations--physically, intellectually, psychologically, socially, and morally--and Perkins taps into all of these characteristics in her book. The characters in this book constantly struggle with issues of their future, finding themselves, as well as the physical and emotional changes they meet along the way. Perkins does a fantastic job portraying the American adolescent by writing about topics that they can relate their own lives to. I know that when I read this book, I had flashbacks to my own middle school experiences! Any middle schooler would enjoy this book because they can relate to any of the numerous authentic issues brought up by Perkins.