Welcome to 糖心vlog and the Middle Grades!
糖心vlog is all about middle school & the middle grades — with a sharp focus on teaching and learning in grades 4-8. Click to learn about our work and what we have to offer, and find out how to get involved.
Teaching and learning in grades 4-8
Have Fun and Celebrate as the School Year Ends
Teacher fatigue at the end of the year is real and well earned, writes middle grades veteran Megan Kelly. “Still, you and your students have spent a significant amount of time together and it merits celebration.” Kelly shares three favorite “final days” activities at her school.
Are You “GPSing” Your Students in Math Class?
When we over-guide our math students, we don’t build understanding, we replace it, writes veteran teacher, author and math coach Pamela Seda. “We want students who, after leaving our class, can find their way – not students who are dependent on a voice telling them where to turn.”
Helping Students Build & Use Prior Knowledge
Using personal anecdotes, educational research, and practical strategies, Kelly Gallagher offers both a call to action and a guide for educators invested in students’ literacy development as he explores the connection between background knowledge and reading comprehension.
Teaching ELA Students to Annotate with Purpose
Whether they’re annotating for current engagement or as preparation for discussion and writing assignments, students benefit from knowing the purpose of their notes. Seventh grade teacher Laurie Miller Hornik shares steps to help students understand the power of annotation.
Engaging Math Students in a Thinking Classroom
After her close study of insights from three leading math educators, Kathleen Palmieri took “a deep dive into what I had been doing in my classroom and flipped the stage to create a Thinking Classroom for my students.” See examples of how she’s moved from theories to practice.
Amplify Student Voices & Inspire Social Change
Teaching Storytelling in Classrooms and Communities calls on educators to trust in the power of student narratives and to create learning environments where stories become a launching pad for critical reflection, social change, and community-building, writes Melinda Stewart.
Build Your Resilience in Just Two Minutes a Day
Brief reflections every day can help you build your resilience skills, write Carol Moehrle and Gail Boushey. They suggest a practice concentrating on balance, calm, adaptability, happiness, and joy to quietly change how you experience everything teaching asks of you.
What We Can Do When Students “Skim Read”
Across classrooms, it is increasingly common to see students skim instead of read, search instead of think, and move quickly through text without following how ideas connect. This is not simply a motivation issue. It’s a cognitive one. Veteran educator Holly Durham has a cure.
Creating a Classroom of Young Problem Solvers
Mona Iehl provides a practical framework to ignite math learning for elementary students, says fifth grade teacher Kathie Palmieri. Iehl’s book offers a structured, daily routine that makes word problems less scary and builds confidence, connections, and wonder in each session.
AI Help with Assessment Saves Me Valuable Time
What AI has done in its teacher assistant role this year has been transformative for teacher leader Katie Durkin. It’s helped her save time by generating ideas for formative assessments, giving her more time to provide students personal feedback – “a feat for any English teacher.”
