MWSubstack 021: Grammar; History

Ideas for better ways to teach grammar and spelling. And History! How do we blend the past and present in a divided America?

Welcome to MiddleWeb Substack. It’s a twice-monthly, two-topic, five-minute read for middle grades educators, featuring a selection of MiddleWeb’s most popular and influential articles, a book review, and a noteworthy 4-8 resource or project we’ve spotted. That’s it!

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►GRAMMAR & SPELLING
Make it real with grammar inquiries.

Teacher educator Sean Ruday, the author of several popular books about teaching grammar, begins his recent MiddleWeb article Link Grammar Instruction to Real-World Situations by asking:

Where do we use grammar? Why do we use it? What is its importance in our everyday lives and communication? Why do grammatical concepts matter?

These questions are at the heart of meaningful conversations about grammar that we educators can have with our students. I’ve been working in schools and in professional development workshops on an approach to the teaching and learning of grammar called grammar inquiries.

Ruday offers some examples:

In a grammar inquiry students will investigate questions such as “How are prepositional phrases important to the communication in our everyday lives?” and “How do strong verbs make the texts we encounter outside of school as effective as possible?” These are both questions that seventh-grade classes I worked with investigated recently.

Read the full article to find his steps for putting grammar inquiries into action and check out more of Sean's grammar posts at MiddleWeb. Here are three other helpful grammar and spelling resources:

Grammar Instruction the Safe and Social Way
Adolescents "want and need to be connected and valued.” No wonder middle schoolers dread the correction approach to grammar. Jeff Anderson and Travis Leech have found a better way.

3 Shifts Can Invigorate Our Grammar Instruction
Ready to leave Granny’s snooze-inducing grammar lessons behind? Three simple changes in instruction can help students use grammar as a creative tool to shape their writing, says literacy coach Patty McGee.

Spelling Matters in Middle School, Too
Help middle school students improve reading skills by providing direct and explicit spelling instruction. It's all about the syllables! Super Spellers author Mark Weakland includes differentiation tips and activity ideas in this popular article.

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Regie Routman “believes that we are most fully ourselves when ‘teaching, learning, and living are interwoven and seamlessly integrated.’ To show us this full self, she shares stories that might help us navigate our own worlds.“ – Read Sarah Cooper’s review of The Heart-Centered Teacher.

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►HISTORY & CURRENT EVENTS
Teaching social studies in a divided America.

MiddleWeb hosts a great many history resources. In this first collection (it's an election year) we emphasize political history and current events. Our Future of History blog has featured several outstanding social studies teachers: Sarah Cooper, Lauren Brown and Jody Passanisi in particular. Here are some popular posts by these folks and others!

Teaching What Matters in U.S. History Classes
How should we teach US History? Is it mostly about caring? Or critical thinking? What about historical knowledge? Teacher Lauren Brown stands firm for content. “If we’ve learned anything from the culture wars...it’s that too many Americans do not know their history.”

Ideas to Blend History and Current Events
Jody Passanisi, 8th grade teacher and author of History Class Revisited, recommends a three-step scaffolding process to help students raise their awareness of links between current and historical events.

The Day After: How Do We Teach Now?
Here’s how Sarah Cooper taught her 8th grade social studies class on 11/4/20, as the nation went about determining a presidential winner. Unlike the day after the 2016 election, “I’m feeling not so much shock as the need to shore up my teaching and once again dig into difficult topics.” Her five tips for 2016 and 2020 haven't changed.

Was Helen Keller Real? Engaging Kids in History
Helen Keller was real, despite what some TikTok’ers posted in 2021. Help history students uncover and affirm actual history using gaming techniques to spur engagement. Rochelle Melander shares how.

Turning Enduring Issues into Ethical Debates
Is it possible to get middle school students to talk respectfully to one another, especially if they don’t agree? Award-winning history teacher Jennifer Ingold took on the challenge and integrated debate into her Enduring Issues units.

Teaching U.S. History in Turbulent Times
The antiracist protests that occurred across the country in 2020 led Lauren Brown and Sarah Cooper – two white female middle school social studies teachers – to consider even more deeply “how best to teach U.S. history.”

Also see: The Civics section in MiddleWeb Substack 010.

►ELSEWHERE
Visit the iCivics election headquarters.

All our social studies contributors agree - the iCivics website (founded by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor) is a terrific resource. When the media is overflowing with election talk, check out the offerings at the iCivics Election Headquarters, including games and other nonpartisan teaching resources.

►OUR BOOK REVIEW
Unlocking Potential: Identifying and Serving Gifted Students from Low-Income Households. Edited by Tamra Stambaugh & Paula Olszewski-Kubilius.

The author-editors provide a guidebook to move forward with gifted programs that meet the needs of students living in poverty. “This will be a resource that shapes our gifted education program a long time into the future,” writes district gifted coordinator Kim Rensch. Read the complete review.

►REVIEW FOR US!
Browse our complete list of free professional books available for review.

►NEXT TIME
What feedback strategies are most effective in helping students improve academically? And how can teachers fine-tune and maximize the use of rubrics?