Rick Wormeli is the teacher you would like to have on your team or in the room next door.from the Foreword by Ed BrazeeDrawing on the wisdom of educators, researchers, and twenty years of personal experience in the middle school classroom, Rick Wormeli lays out a clear vision of what responsive middle-level teaching can be in Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle-Level Teacher.Both a "how-to" book and a thoughtful narrative on important topics, Meet Me in the Middle gives you successful strategies for addressing key middle-level teaching challenges, including:differentiating instruction;motivating early adolescents;teaming;teaching in block-length classes;using authentic and alternative assessment effectively;writing in all subjects;holding students and teachers accountable;involving parents;mentoring teachers;using games in the classroom;applying the latest in brain research;the National Board Certification process;understanding the young adolescent.Rick ignites the imagination and commitment of pre-service and beginning teachers and rekindles the motivation of veteran teachers who want to create a high-performance classroom. He effectively demonstrates theory with rich examples from his own teaching. Teacher educators and staff developers will find Meet Me in the Middle to be a wonderful handbook of best practices and insights to share with new teachers, including second-career individuals coming from other professions.
Author(s): Rick Wormeli
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 264
Contents......Page 8
Foreword......Page 10
Acknowledgments......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
1 Stoking the Fires Within......Page 22
2 Motivating Young Adolescents......Page 28
3 Brain Research Applied to Middle School......Page 40
4 Active Learning......Page 61
5 Games in the Classroom......Page 70
6 Accountability for High Standards......Page 80
7 Differentiated Instruction—Fitting the Lesson to the Learner......Page 89
8 Effective Assessment......Page 110
9 Planning for Block Scheduling......Page 123
10 Writing in the Content Areas......Page 137
11 Teaming......Page 156
12 Teacher Advisories—A Proposal for Change......Page 165
13 Outdoor Adventures......Page 171
14 Mentoring New Teachers......Page 185
15 Parents as Partners in Twenty-First-Century Learning......Page 192
16 National Board Certification......Page 198
17 The Truth About Middle School Students......Page 208
Appendixes......Page 214
References......Page 248
A......Page 254
C......Page 255
E......Page 256
H......Page 257
L......Page 258
N......Page 259
P......Page 260
S......Page 261
T......Page 262
W......Page 263
Z......Page 264
