Offering fresh alternatives to common instructional practices that fail to get results, this accessible, highly practical guide highlights ways to motivate middle school students while enhancing content-area learning. Each chapter features an enlightening case study of a teacher whose current strategies are not supported by research; describes effective instructional alternatives, illustrated with concrete examples; and lists online resources and lesson examples. Emphasis is given to supporting critical engagement with texts and drawing on technology and new literacies. The book covers specific content areas-including science, social studies, math, and literature-as well as ways to teach oral literacy and writing across the curriculum.
Diane Lapp, EdD, is Distinguished Professor of Education in the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. She has taught elementary, middle, and high school and serves as Director of Learning at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Her research and instruction focus on issues related to struggling readers and writers who live in economically deprived urban settings, and their families and teachers. Widely published, Dr. Lapp has received the Outstanding Teacher Educator of the Year Award from the International Literacy Association, among other honors, and is a member of both the International Reading Hall of Fame and the California Reading Hall of Fame.
Barbara Moss, PhD, is Professor of Literacy Education in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. She has taught English and language arts in elementary, middle, and high school settings and has worked as a reading coach. Dr. Moss's research focuses on the teaching of informational texts at the elementary and secondary levels. She regularly presents at local, state, national, and international conferences and has published numerous journal articles, columns, book chapters, and books. Dr. Moss has served as the Young Adult Literature column editor for Voices in the Middle, a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Title: Exemplary Instruction in the Middle Grades: Teaching That Supports Engagement and Rigorous Learning
Author:
ISBN: 9781462502813
Binding:
Publisher: Guilford Publications
Publication Date: 2011-12-21
Number of Pages: 338
Weight: 0.4651 kg
This amazingly thorough book makes a major contribution to middle school education/m-/at just the right time. It addresses the challenges that teachers face with the advent of the Common Core State Standards, and does so in a refreshing, empowering way. It models ways to motivate students, promote literacy in meaningful contexts of use, and become more reflective as teachers who are also learners. This is a great text for classes in literacy methods, content-area literacy methods, and middle school education, both at undergraduate and graduate levels.--Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, PhD, English Education Program, Boise State University
This book is essential reading for professional development providers, school-based leaders, and teachers seeking to significantly improve instructional outcomes across content areas. Lapp and Moss provide a potpourri of strategies from educational thought leaders that deepen content knowledge, honor multiple literacies, and offer practical routines that support diverse learners. As more districts and schools adopt the Common Core State Standards, this book will be a 'go-to' guide.--Samuel A. Reed, III, MEd, school-based instructional specialist, Beeber Middle School, Philadelphia
The volume speaks directly to teachers' needs, exposing the shortcomings of worn-out practices and showing how to implement research-based alternatives that hold real promise. The authors provide classroom vignettes, step-by-step guidance, instructional tools, and resources. Teachers will recognize themselves and their goals in these pages and will find both encouragement and support to renew their teaching for new times. A valuable resource for reflective teaching and professional development.--Cynthia L. Greenleaf, PhD, Codirector, Strategic Literacy Initiative, WestEd, Oakland, California
This 'multimodal' volume includes both traditional and digital-age strategies for promoting learning across the curriculum. The contributing authors write in a personal style that is both interesting and easy to understand. Each chapter is set in a middle school classroom and focuses on helping both novice and seasoned teachers provide authentic classroom practices for today's students, who are electronically savvy and often disconnected from traditional instruction. The helpful, focused ideas in this book will prompt you to engage your students in challenging, authentic learning in every subject area. I would definitely use this book as a text in our master's-level secondary literacy course.--Karen Bromley, PhD, School of Education, Binghamton University, State University of New York -
