Archive - MiddleWeb Substack

ARTICLE: 8 Ways to Help Kids Take Academic Risks

Students in the middle grades think in polarities and will go to great lengths to avoid embarrassment. But with the right supports, they can become…

Aug 6

July 2025

ARTICLE: Relieving Back-to-School Overwhelm

Your students aren't hoping for a perfect classroom. They're hoping to be accepted and engaged in a welcoming learning space with a welcoming teacher.

Jul 24

ARTICLE: Habit Stacking Your Summer Prep

You need your break! Don’t fill your summer ruminating endlessly about lessons to come. Instead try Miriam Plotinsky's “habit stacking” strategy.

Jul 17

ARTICLE: Good Leaders Know How Fragile Trust Is

Whether you’re a principal facilitating a change initiative or a teacher leader facilitating a content-level team, parameters are essential to build…

Jul 9

June 2025

ARTICLE: Teaching Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian fiction offers students a meaningful way to engage with literature and social issues while developing critical thinking skills.

Jun 26

MW Substack 031: Book Review Issue #2

Do you still read books about teaching and leading? Reflecting on the ideas of colleagues is a great way to add some DIY to your PD this summer!

Jun 12

May 2025

ARTICLE: Use Teacher Think Alouds in Any Subject

Teacher think alouds are great for grades 4-8. The goal is to provide less savvy readers with a play-by-play of what you as a skilled reader think while…

May 18

April 2025

March 2025

MW Substack 028: Multilingual learners

Whether we describe them as multilingual Learners, English learners, ELLs, or with other acronyms, our students who are working to gain fluency in…

Mar 14

ARTICLE: Small Steps Build Research Skills

Research is a muscle that middle grades kids are still building. Their skills strengthen with just the right amount of repetition.

Mar 1

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