Listen on: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY For some states, end-of-year state testing is still happening despite the craziness of this year - reopening, virtual schooling, hybrid learning, and all of the precautions to stay safe. Honestly, I felt frustrated, but as the leaders of our classroom, I thought it would be beneficial to dive into how to make the best of state test prep for ourselves ...
Strategies for Middle School Small Groups
Listen On: APPLE PODCAST | Spotify Middle school small groups are a favorite topic of ours over here at Maneuvering the Middle. If you are someone who hasn’t pulled a small group before, then I hope that this post gives you the confidence you need to get started. To learn more about small groups, click here. What is holding me back from trying small groups? There are 3 ...
What is The Grid Method?
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY On today’s podcast, Noelle had the opportunity to chat with Chad Ostowski about The Grid Method. Chad is the CEO of Teach Better and a former 7th grade Science teacher. He developed The Grid Method after the hardest teaching year of his life. Can you relate? If your students lack ownership of their learning, or if you are struggling to reach all of ...
How to Grade Less Student Work
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY When I was a student, I was highly motivated by grades, so when I first stepped into the role as teacher, I was shocked when one of my students threw away a graded assignment that I had just handed back. He didn’t look it over or ask me any questions; he just put it in the trash can. I had expected him to care that he had just failed. ...
4 Things I Always Do When Lesson Planning
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY Lesson planning is like cleaning the kitchen. You are never done. As teachers, we are both proactive and reactive in planning lessons. We plan ahead, then execute, then go back to our plans to edit when students are not mastering concepts. We. are. always. lesson. planning. It might sound like a complaint, but it is just a reality of ...
Advocate for Yourself, Teacher
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY Teachers are advocates. We discover a student has a need, we communicate the need to various stakeholders, and then we use our collective brainpower and resources to make sure that need is met. When a former student struggled to see the board, I worked with the counselor to help this student get a prescription and the glasses they needed. Teachers do ...
5 Tech Ideas for Student Engagement
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY #1 Blooket If you haven’t heard about the Blooket website by now, go look right now! It is a website with various games that are preloaded for you to play with your students. This is not a new idea, but what sets Blooket apart is the games are themed - so while your students are solving math questions, they are also unlocking ...
Free Digital Math Activities
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY Let’s talk about digital activities - specifically, free digital math activities! Maneuvering the Middle has digital math activities for 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, and Algebra 1. Let’s talk about what digital activities are, why we love them, and some ideas on how you can use them. Most importantly, you can try them out in your classroom ...
2 Tips to Set Students Up for Success
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY As teachers, we have all heard the statement “set students up for success” probably more times than we can count. Sometimes these statements can lose their meaning, but don’t let this one! If students feel successful in your classroom, then your workload will be less. Less make up work to follow up on and grade, less classroom management, less ...
3 Tips for Increasing Teacher Productivity
LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFYTeacher productivity is a topic I could talk at length about. I love optimizing my time, building routines, and checking off a to-do list item. Check out some of these methods that will save your time and your sanity. 1. GO SLOW NOW TO GO FAST LATER Teachers live in a very cyclical world. Most of the things that we do ...