Middle school career exploration is an important thing to integrate into your curriculum or school programs. Think for a second, how many people do you know that don’t love their career?  I’m sure you’re thinking of a specific person or a few people right now, maybe even yourself.  The number of people that are unhappy with their career choice is growing every day and it’s a problem that we can help with as middle school teachers. It all starts with middle school career exploration. Careers are always evolving and growing into new opportunities and we need to assist our students in ..read more

Have you ever tried a space digital escape room with your students to help them explore and enjoy space? Space is a beautiful, vast landscape of stars and constellations, planets and meteors. With our feet rooted firmly on Earth, it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to be out in space.  Surely, it’s only something an astronaut could do, right? With that in mind, have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel to the International Space Station?  With this digital escape room, you won’t have to wonder!  Digital escape rooms are great for students because they are no ..read more

April Fools Day pranks can be a disruption for teachers everywhere. Pranks, jokes, and generally riled-up students can make for a crazy environment. But if done intentionally and well, April Fools Day pranks can also be fun and enjoyable for both students and teachers. Today, let me make some suggestions so you can make this day a success. April Fools Day Pranks to Pull on Students Students are not the only ones who enjoy pulling pranks; it can also be a lot of fun for teachers to pull them as well. It goes without saying that pranks should never be anything cruel, embarrassing, mean, or deme ..read more

Monday, March 6th –  50% off Bundles   Media Literacy Bundle 2 – Consumer Awareness Lessons Help your students develop a deeper understanding of consumer awareness and media literacy with this engaging 10-lesson bundle. These lessons can also be used as sub-plans or to supplement your Social Studies, Geography or Science curriculums.  Topics Include: Composting Myths DNA Testing Fake Products Food Prices in Northern Canada Plastic Waste Product Returns Shrinking Products Smartphone Addiction Smartphone App Privacy Expensive Shoes Article of the Week Non-Fiction Articles Bun ..read more

While not a new topic, the need and desire to address social justice concepts and teach lessons with social justice components are taking greater and greater prominence in many classrooms.  Teaching social justice in the classroom can lead your students to become social advocates and learn that they can lead to change in the world. This guest blog post was written by Rebecca Gettelman, who is a middle and high school teacher from the Midwest. She has been teaching for over eleven years. These important and timely lessons can help develop more socially aware and justice-driven students an ..read more

Are you looking for Refugee novel study lessons?  The novel Refugee by Alan Gratz weaves three different voices together – Josef, a Jewish boy escaping the concentration camps in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl who sets out on a raft to America in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy immigrating to Europe in 2015. This blog post contains affiliate links that are of no cost to the reader. If you make a purchase through the provided links this blog will receive a small commission to help with the financial costs of maintaining the site. Refugee Novel Study Unit Overview Use this novel ..read more

Teaching women’s history month in middle school does not need to be challenging. Check out the resources mentioned in this blog post.   This blog post contains affiliate links that are of no cost to the reader. If you make a purchase through the provided links, this blog will receive a small commission to help with the financial costs of maintaining the site. What is Women’s History Month? Why is it Important?  While the fight for the equality of women started as early as the 1900s, Women’s History Month was originally a week-long celebration in Sonoma County, California. It wa ..read more

Effective teaching strategies are key for every classroom teacher.  Every so often, even the most experienced of teachers run into teacher’s block (you know, the equivalent of writer’s block, but for those in the teaching profession) and need help getting out of it. We need to try something new (or new to us) or something that we used to use but have forgotten about. But where do we start?   If you ever find yourself in this sort of situation, these tips can help you. I am going to run through a list of effective teaching strategies and assessment ideas that can make great addi ..read more

Have you thought about assigning a middle school biography assignment to your students? In the blog post, Why Teach Biographies?  I explained why teaching biographies in middle school is important. Students at this age are often very interested in themselves and their friend groups and sometimes forget to think about the world around them and the people within it. This blog post explains 5 reasons why teachers should consider adding this genre to their class reading lists or unit plans.  What is a Biography Assignment?  To understand a biography assignment, you need to know wha ..read more

Finding Canadian authors to read in class can sometimes be challenging as they are not always as widely publicized as some other authors.  If we want our students to become well-rounded readers, we need to expose them to a variety of authors. This variety of authors gives students exposure to different writing styles and topics.  This blog post contains affiliate links which are of no cost to the reader. If you make a purchase through the provided links, this blog will receive a small commission to help with the financial costs of maintaining the site. Reading a variety of Canadian ..read more