Your teacher training may have provided sound theory and a collection of instructional techniques, but it's often the practical details that can make day-to-day survival difficult in your first days, weeks, and years of teaching. For new teachers or those just new to the middle-school environment, here is an invaluable resource from the author of Meet Me in the Middle that will help you walk in the door prepared to teach. Oriented toward the unique experience of teaching grades 5 through 9, Day One and Beyond delivers proven best practices along with often-humorous observations that provide a window into the middle school environment. Based on his many years of research and experience in the middle school classroom, Rick offers frontline advice on: practical survival matters, such as what to do the first day and week, setting up the grade book and other record keeping, and what to do if you only have one computer in the classroom;classroom management, including discipline, getting students' attention, and roving classrooms;social issues, like the unique nature of middle-level students, relating to students, and positive relations with parents;professional concerns, from collegiality with teammates to professional resources all middle-level teachers should have.Content and instruction are important, but so are the practical matters that enable sound teaching practice. Day One and Beyond shows middle-level teachers how to manage the physical and emotional aspects of their unique environment so they can do what they've been trained to do: successfully teach young adolescents.

Your teacher training may have provided sound theory and a collection of instructional techniques, but it's often the practical details that can make day-to-day survival difficult in your first days, weeks, and years of teaching. For new teachers or those just new to the middle-school environment, here is an invaluable resource from the author of Meet Me in the Middle that will help you walk in the door prepared to teach. Oriented toward the unique experience of teaching grades 5 through 9, Day One and Beyond delivers proven best practices along with often-humorous observations that provide a window into the middle school environment. Based on his many years of research and experience in the middle school classroom, Rick offers frontline advice on: practical survival matters, such as what to do the first day and week, setting up the grade book and other record keeping, and what to do if you only have one computer in the classroom;classroom management, including discipline, getting students' attention, and roving classrooms;social issues, like the unique nature of middle-level students, relating to students, and positive relations with parents;professional concerns, from collegiality with teammates to professional resources all middle-level teachers should have. Content and instruction are important, but so are the practical matters that enable sound teaching practice. Day One and Beyond shows middle-level teachers how to manage the physical and emotional aspects of their unique environment so they can do what they've been trained to do: successfully teach young adolescents.

Describes a framework for teaching based on the PRAXIS III criteria which identifies those aspects of a teacher's responsibilities that promote improved student learning; exploring twenty-two components, grouped into the four domains of planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities.

Comparing the co-teaching relationship to a marriage, this resource offers a lighthearted yet comprehensive perspective on setting up, conducting, and maintaining a successful co-teaching partnership.

Following on the heels of the bestselling Fires in the Bathroom, which presented the insights of senior school students to teachers and parents, Cushman turns her attention to the crucial and challenging early senior and late primary school ages. Cushman joins forces with adolesecent psychologist Laura Rogers and presents feedback from a diverse range of students offering insight on what it takes to make classrooms more effective and how to forge stronger relationships between younger adolsecents and adults.

Differentiated instruction is a nice idea, but what happens when it comes to assessing and grading students? How can you capture student progress, growth, and soft skill development and still provide an equitable grading environment?' An internationally recognized expert on grading practices, author Rick Wormeli revisits these questions in this thoroughly updated second edition of Fair Isn' t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.' Wormeli reflects on current grading and assessment practices and how they can exist with high-stakes, accountable classrooms. Important and sometimes controversial issues are tackled constructively in this book, incorporating modern pedagogy and addressing the challenges of teaching diverse groups of students across all learning levels.' Middle- and high-school educators will easily recognize' gray areas of grading and how important it is to have a shared school vision. In this second edition, new sections address sports eligibility, honor roll, descriptive feedback techniques, and gifted/talented students.' Previous chapters on test questions, redos/retakes, grading scales, and grading effort and behavior have been revised extensively. This important book clearly explains the principles behind best grading practices so that you' re ready for all grading questions or scenarios that you may encounter in your classrooms and schools.

This book helps you make sense of the data your school collects, including state student achievement results as well as other qualitative and quantitative data. Easy-to-use templates, tools, and examples are available on the accompanying downloadable resources.