chatboard - Teachers.Net

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

Middle School

MEMBERS

24 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

Middle School Teachers Chatboard

Future Middle Grades Teacher!

by Jane

Oct 10, 2012

I am a future middle grades teacher studying at Georgia Southern University! I am taking a class that requires me to join a Website and talk to other teachers. My concentrations are social studies and math. Can anyone give me advice on teaching these subjects or middle grades in general? What are your favorite things and least favorite things about this age group? Favorite topics to teach or any particular lessons you would be willing to share? Any advice will help!

Comment

(6)

report post

view previous comments

Jane On 10/10/12, Sara wrote: > On 10/10/12, Jane wrote: >> I am a future middle grades teacher studying at Georgia >> Southern University! I am taking a class that requires me >> to join a Website and talk to other teachers. My >> concentrations are social studies and math. Can anyone give >> me advice on teaching these...See MoreOn 10/10/12, Sara wrote: > On 10/10/12, Jane wrote: >> I am a future middle grades teacher studying at Georgia >> Southern University! I am taking a class that requires me >> to join a Website and talk to other teachers. My >> concentrations are social studies and math. Can anyone give >> me advice on teaching these subjects or middle grades in >> general? What are your favorite things and least favorite >> things about this age group? Favorite topics to teach or >> any particular lessons you would be willing to share? Any >> advice will help! > > I've taught every age and almost every grade and I like Middle > School. I don't like having the same group of kids all day > long so Middle School works well for me and yet I like that > I'm still teaching kids. I don't like the pressures that come > with high school - the college guidance counselors hound us to > death about 'grade inflation'. My favorite thing about this > age group is pretty much everything - I don't have a least > favorite thing unless it's that I have to give the 'deodorant > talk' more often than anyone would want to because the boys > don't wear it and should. > > Math is a difficult subject teach - our society ascribes great > importance to it and so do parents and at the same time, > nature did not intend everybody to be good at math. Some kids > hate math but we make them take it. > > Social Studies is a breeze to teach if you teach it in a > meaningful way and don't make it about memorizing names and > dates. Social Studies is the reality of people's lives - teach > it that way and it's more fascinating than any soap opera. > > Never give homework on weekends or holidays. Do your own > homework and you'll see it doesn't just take '20 minutes'. > It's not about you - it's about them. Leave your ego at home. > Take almost nothing personally. And if you the learner above > the learning, you'll find kids learn more. > Good luck.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your response despite your busy schedule and definitely will use what you told me!

Oct 10, 2012

report post

Mandy I have taught both high school (although it was a temporary position while the original teacher was on maternity leave) and middle school. I am currently in my 5th year of teaching middle school – grades 7 and 8.

Can anyone give me advice on teaching these subjects or middle grades in general?

These tips pertain to teaching in g...See More

Oct 10, 2012

report post

Mandy - typo Despite proofreading, I see that "Make you address it" should be "Make sure you address it."

There are probably some other typos in there too, so please forgive me.

I hope I've helped, Jane. Good luck. :)

On 10/10/12, Mandy wrote: > I have taught both high school (although it was a temporary > position while the ori...See MoreDespite proofreading, I see that "Make you address it" should be "Make sure you address it."

There are probably some other typos in there too, so please forgive me.

I hope I've helped, Jane. Good luck. :)

On 10/10/12, Mandy wrote: > I have taught both high school (although it was a temporary > position while the original teacher was on maternity leave) and > middle school. I am currently in my 5th year of teaching middle > school – grades 7 and 8. > > Can anyone give me advice on teaching these subjects or middle > grades in general? > > These tips pertain to teaching in general, not just middle > school, but here they are… > > Document problem behaviors, parent phone calls, etc. > Be clear and consistent with your rules and procedures. > Be organized (and try to keep the top of your desk clean, so you > can find what you need to find). > Be patient with yourself and your students. > Talk to other teachers, and ask for advice when needed. > Make friends with the secretaries – very nice ladies whose hard > work often goes unrecognized. They know the ins and outs of the > school and help get you what you need when you need it. > Do not grade everything for accuracy (check-in/effort grades are > fine and save time). > Reflect on what is going on in your classroom, but do not dwell > if something didn’t go as planned. > Try not to focus completely on school – find something else you > like and do it, so you don’t get too overwhelmed. > > These tips are more for middle school… > > Model and repeat (more often than not) with concepts and general > directions (high school students grasp things faster usually, > while middle school students need that reinforcement). > Do hands-on activities when possible (they love to be involved > and not just sitting there and writing). > Don’t give homework on weekends or holidays (it will save you > time too). > Don’t take any harsh comments personally – some students will not > like you or your subject and may say hurtful things. You can’t > please everyone. Try to let it go, and know that are several > other students who do appreciate you and what you do. > > What are your favorite things and least favorite things about > this age group? > > Favorite things: > > Middle-school students tend to bring more curiosity to the > classroom than high-school students. They tend to be more eager > to learn. > > You can be silly (i.e. dance and sing when presenting lessons) > with middle-school students, and most of them will enjoy it (and > some will even join in). High-school students are not usually as > amused. > > They make me smile/laugh with some of the things they say. > > Least favorite things: > > I did not have this issue with high school students although I’m > sure it exists (the 2 schools are in very different areas), but I > see a lot of dishonesty among middle-school students where I > teach now, and some students are, for lack of a better word, mean > to each other (and to teachers). Make you address it. > > Favorite topics to teach or any particular lessons you would be > willing to share? > > I teach Spanish, so I wouldn’t be too much help with math or > social studies.

Oct 10, 2012

report post

Debbie On 10/10/12, Jane wrote: > I am a future middle grades teacher studying at Georgia > Southern University! I am taking a class that requires me > to join a Website and talk to other teachers. My > concentrations are social studies and math. Can anyone give > me advice on teaching these subjects or middle grades in > general? What a...See MoreOn 10/10/12, Jane wrote: > I am a future middle grades teacher studying at Georgia > Southern University! I am taking a class that requires me > to join a Website and talk to other teachers. My > concentrations are social studies and math. Can anyone give > me advice on teaching these subjects or middle grades in > general? What are your favorite things and least favorite > things about this age group? Favorite topics to teach or > any particular lessons you would be willing to share? Any > advice will help! After teaching elementary for 13 years I went from 2nd to 7th grade and don't regret it. I have taught 6 grade reading for the past three years.

It's a tough age for the students; try to remember when you were that age! Everyone is talking about you, looking at you, and doesn't like you (or so their rapidly changing brains think!)Every facial blemish is cause for a major melt down.

Be consistent but don't worry about being fair. I tell the kids that everyone gets what they need to succeed. You can remind them a person with a broken arm doesn't get the exact same thing from the doctor as one who goes in with a sore throat!

This age is curious about everything! Expect lots of giggles when you read or use the word "balls", no matter the context! You will still need to remind them to tie their shoes and put their name on their papers. Laugh with them! They can say some of the goofiest things!

They can be passionate about social causes and other things. Capitalize on it.

Watch CNN Student news with them. Many of them don't have a clue what is going on outside of their school and some don't care either, but you never know when a spark is lit!

Don't take everything so seriously. It's OK to tell them something you're teaching them won't get them a job but it will help them pass the test (that's reality!).

Remember no matter what subject you teach, you are a "reading" teacher because reading is the key to making meaning of everything.

Good luck in your studies!

Oct 14, 2012

report post

delehla I hope that you will enjoy teaching middle school as much as I have. I taught language and math for about eight years, and social studies for two of those. With social studies, I highly recommend reading everything aloud in class. The vocabulary and concepts can be very difficult especially for a struggling reader. Discussion is a must! Students wi...See More

Nov 20, 2012

report post