Chapter Nine - Parents and Community

A.
R. I didn't like this chapter as much as the Meet Me in the Middle chapter. The section about the student-led conferences was pretty good though. I'm excited about the work we're doing in class for this. I would have liked to read about more concrete examples of how to involve parents/community in the work done with students.

Chapter Eight - Safe Environment

Chapter Four - Designing Instruction

Chapter Fifteen - Parents as Partners

A.
R. This was a cool chapter, and exactly what I've been hoping to read in one of our books. We need to get parents online. There is certainly something to be said for sending parent newsletters through the mail. House visits, personally I find them a little sketchy, but we should still continue to do them. There is a growing disconnect between students and parents. Adults need to work harder and longer to make enough money to support their families. That means more time spent away from their kids. No one wants that, it's just how it is. We need to find better, faster, more efficient ways to reach our students' parents. What Wormeli described in the book seems perfect. A place online where parents don't need to worry about not understanding the content being taught. Hey, if we can teach a bunch of preteens, I'm sure a few middle aged parents would be a piece of cake.

Chapter Eight - Assessment

A.
R. Assessment. You think that you're all done with hearing about assessment, but then you look at your most recent lesson, and realize that your assessment is WAAAAAY off. I like how Wormeli says good assessment should be easy to grade. We're not out to create one huge competition between students. All we are looking for is a clear grasp of the concept. I personally hate rubrics, so the idea of just checking off assignments is good for me.

Chapter Seven - Differentiated Instruction

A.
R. This was a nice refresher of Differentiated Instruction. I feel like this concept particularly is important to keep reading about because it's very abstract almost. There's really no cut and dry method for doing it. It changes for every lesson. Wormeli went over it, and I'm glad he did, that differentiation doesn't mean that the student does more or less work, it's really about quality and extensions.
I think that I'll have a good chance with this "chaos" factor when you have so many students, at different level, doing different things. I like chaos. Haha. It's almost calming because usually I am the one who has a tab on everyone doing whatever they're doing. So, I guess as Im the one creating the chaos, then it's okay.

Chapter Six - Standards

A.
R. This was a really interesting chapter. It was great to read that Wormeli thought large projects should be broken up into smaller pieces. So many times in my own academic career I've waited until the last minute to get things done. They do get done, but not the way I would want them to me. I think that big projects are great, but breaking them into smaller pieces and having constant deadlines for each part, are how big projects come together the best.

It is difficult to always have standards in mind. Sometimes you need to fit the lesson into a standard, and sometimes you need to the fit the standard in the lesson. There really are so many loopholes to following standards, which is nice. I think that standards are something I would talk about with my own students. It's possible that they could think of even better activities than I could for achieving the standards.

Dear Team Two

Your presentation was wonderful. I am jealous of your gorgeous Wix page. I liked how I was never bored during your BookTalk. I liked the Play-Doh. I will never read your book. The quiz that we took was long but interesting. It would have been better if we had had more time to do it, so that we could have discusses the information the website gave for some sections. Besides that, I really like the presentation. I don't think separate sex education is a good solution, although I'd be willing to argue about it you.

Team One

Dear Team One,
Your presentation was excellent. I'm sorry that you didn't have enough time to go as in-depth as you would have wanted. Your activities were fun, even though at times I'm not sure what the author was getting to. It sounds like you really enjoyed the book. You were very patient with the groups also.
The activities that we did in class are some that I would probably use in my own classroom, especially the story writing one. I think it's a great way to get creative juices flowing. The designing activity would be neat to use for learning about advertisement or book marketing.

Thank You.

Sincerely,
The girl who brought up tampons

Team Three

Your presentation was very organized, which I liked. Although the information was frustrating at times, I thought you presented it very well. Simple, yet effective. Kudos. Although I wouldn't necessarily use their specific plan for content integration, I can definitely see the benefits of having cross-classroom projects. I would love to team up with a teacher of another content area and create a really awesome project.

Chapter Thirteen - Outdoor Adventures

A.
This chapter discuss various ways to plan a camping trip, or just a general outdoor excursion, and also the benefits.
R.
I would be all about going to camp with my students. I think it would be best to make it a fully integrated program, not unlike how most summer camps, I'm assuming, are structured. While I really like the idea of integrated learning, I still really feel like student will soak up and remember more content if they know exactly what subject to file the information under. This chapter gave really good examples of what you could do with your students, and it's something I would recommend to others and refer to myself in the future.

Chapter Three - Active Learning

A.
This chapter was about, you guessed it, active learning. The author shared advice on how to keep kids engaged by having them move around during class, both in and out of the classroom.
R.
Another good refresher chapter. After reading it, I actually started going over my own plans for my lessons and making sure I had some kinesthetic intelligence in there. The chapters has some decent ideas, it's now up to me (us) to be willing to try them and spend the energy making it happen. It's a lot easier to just have the kids sit in their seats, in their rows, and take notes all class. Classroom control is always in the back of my mind, and I think it would take a little while to achieve a good balance between going outside, learning and having a good time, and going outside, not paying attention to curricular connections and fooling around.

Student-Oriented Curriculum

Synthesis

Turning Points - Chapter 3 - Curriculum and Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning
A.
This chapter discusses three important elements of any successful middle school: assessment, curriculum, and standards. Every state (except Iowa) has created standards to match or surpass the federal standards for education. Strong standards are important if you are building lessons and curriculum through backwards design, and also can be a helpful guide for new, or even veteran teachers, when planning curriculum. The chapter goes over a list of guidelines to keep in mind when creating standards such as being clear, accurate, brief, feasible, flexible (albeit interpretive) and assessable. The chapter goes on to show how state standards should be a basis for essential questions, which should be the basis for your curriculum. The last portion of the reading focuses on assessment. Although not an extremely in-depth overview, it does offer the advice to vary your assessment, make it authentic, and valuable.

R.
As a class, we were almost evenly divided between being annoyed that were reading about backwards design again, and thinking that this chapter was really helpful. By reading this chapter. some of us seemed even more eager to get into the classroom to “right” standard wrongs, while others alluded to wishing we could read something brand new and fresh. One student remarked, “I read it I want to yell at the text and say that I know all of this, tell me something new.” We all mostly agreed that even though this is a serious refresher, it’s still important information. As far as assessment, I think we all agreed, as one student put it, that “the real world is not one giant standardized test.” We need to make assessment feel important to students, and show us that they have acquired lifelong skills, not just a short term memory. As students ourselves, we know how frustrating inaccurate assessment can be.

Chapter 3 - Curriculum and Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning

A.
This chapter discusses how all 50 states (except Iowa) have created standards to match or surpass the federal standards for education in the United States. It goes over a list of requirements when thinking about standards such as standards being clear, accurate, brief, feasible, flexible and assessable. The chapter goes on to show how state standards should be a basis for essential questions, which should be the basis for your curriculum. The last portion of the reading focuses on assessment. Although not a extremely in-depth overview, it does offer the advice to vary your assessment, make it authentic, and valuable.
R.
This chapter gave really nice insight into how state standards are created. Its nice to know the process, so you have an idea of how to change them if it comes to that. It's also good to compare state standards across the board with each other but also with the national standards and other countries. It shouldn't be a race or competition. I think we need to work together not only as a countries but as a planet, as a race, to become as educated as we can. This chapter had great leading questions to get teachers (and students) thinking about essential questions. I am a big fan of essential questions because I feel like they cut though all the bull that has flooded our school systems. Just like the mission statement guides the teachers, the essential question needs to guide the lesson. Assessment is always a tricky one. You want it to be varied, but now it seems like as educators we're leaning towards letting our students have some say in how they are graded. I am totally fine with that, in fact I intend to find some program that allows students to insert their own grades and track their own progress in a class.

Chapter 9 - Planning for Block Scheduling

I really like how Wormeli is explicit about how block scheduling could potential work. I guess that I have never really considered how different types of schedule could drastically change the way I need to teach content. It makes me wonder if block scheduling is the best way to do it or if there would be an even better schedule. There is something to be said for how most college schedules are set up. Classes would be a significantly longer, but it would cut down on useless homework. I hate to say it, but I really think most of the learning happens in the classroom and not in the home. Anyway, I liked the chapter, although I still think that Wormeli's organization of his chapters are weird.

Chapter 12 - Teacher Advisories

I did not know that full day advisory trips even took place. I remember 'homeroom' as just being the place a sat for the first 10 minutes of every day. I thought the point of them was so that students who were late for school would be late for homeroom instead of late for class. I think the only time my advisor even talked to me was to take attendance, so I'm definitely all for the advisory trips. It just seems like another really good way to connect with your students.

Chapter 11 - Teaming

This chapter gave a lot of specific examples of practices for teams of teachers, which I really liked. The idea of having you rown small community within the school is exciting. I am naturally competitive, so this would be the perfect way to motivate a student every now and then. I think Wormeli does a really nice job of being explicit about his information instead of making general guidelines. Examples can go a long way to painting the picture in my mind about how this would all actually work.

Chapter 6 - Oragnizing Relationships for Learning

A.
This chapter is in overview of team-teaching, a beginners manual if you will. It discusses size, anatomy, student-teacher ratio, scheduling, and roles and responsibilities.
R.
This chapter is spectacular!!! It definitely goes a long way in answering question about teams and houses. It answered even more questions than I knew I had. I remember teams from my own middle school experiences. It was really nice to be a on a team, but I wish that we had had a little more 'team spirit'. We didn't have team spirit days, that would have been nice. It also would have been cool if more of our teachers had worked together. I was pleasantly surprised that these authors discussed the effect of a strong teacher-student relationship on a student's academic success. I have found, especially in college, that a class with a strong sense of unity and positive feelings, is the best environment for learning. I never felt that until my first semester here.

This We Believe!!!!!!!!!

This book turned out to be just a really looooong mission statement for the education of middle school students. Not unlike most missions statements, it was specific yet oddly vague. It highlights dozens of ways to be, ways not to be, things students need or don't need, ways to teach and ways you should avoid teaching, all while not really telling you anything. You can tell someone to act responsibly and give them examples of how to be responsible, but until there comes a time when they act responsible without your guidance, it's difficult for them understand the concept. I doubt that I will truly understand the ideas of this book until I have an opportunity to try them out for myself.
You hear all the time about growth in middle schoolers, but it's usually cast in a very negative light: puberty, drugs, alcohol, cliques, learning about sex, being embarrassed by their parents etc. I'm excited to learn more about these changes in a positive way. The fact that there are so many issues that middle school students need to deal with, just tells me that it's even more important to focus on this age group because these are big decisions they're facing. I personally find it to be the most fascinating time in life. The way that one pimple can affect your life, the way it does to a student in middle school, is beyond understanding.
To be a middle school teacher requires more than your average amount of enthusiasm. You need to be crazy, and show them that it's okay to let go once in awhile and act like a clown. These students learn in a pretty special kind of way; they are old enough to know that the choice to learn is theirs, they can either choose to pay attention or not, but they're young enough that they really have no other choice but to attend school. We, as middle school teachers, are left with a room full of students who are not as enthusiastic about our lessons as we'd wish; we need to appeal to them in different ways in order to spark an interest in them other than moving up to the high school.
I thought the overview in the back of the book was a great physical resource to have, although it's almost a decade old now. In fact, I'm sure a lot of the information in this book would be different if it was rewritten for 2010. I have no doubt that the overarching sentiment of adolescent growth would remain true, but there are major factors to consider that just weren't present seven years ago: China has become real competition insofar as the ability for most college students to go to school for free if they plan to major in education with a concentration in math or science, technology has become our new best friend, figuratively and literally for many adolescents, and the stakes are higher than ever in this economy for students who can't afford to attend a post secondary school.
Aside from the explicit teaching, we need to become good role models for these children. The way we talk to our colleagues, the way we drive out of the parking lot, even the way we blow our nose during class can become nonverbal advice, innate references, and unconscious excuses for the way our students will act in the future. It's almost like being a celebrity, without all the money, women, and fame; these kids look up to you, and even if they don't realize it, they are looking at you for clues about social etiquette, anger management, even personal hygiene. I personally believe (and I bet there's a ton of evidence for it too!) that middle school is the place adulthood begins; it is your first taste of personal freedom, and it can have miraculous or devastating effects on the rest of your life, and as teachers, we need to give them the best advice we have.

Ch 1, 2, 17

Chapter One - Stoking the Fires Within
A.
Chapter One is separated into three sections: Introduction, Taking a Look at Ourselves, and Listening. The author discusses current views of teaching as a profession, both up and downs, and reflects on his own teaching style. He shares stories from his own days at school, gives straightforward advice for new teachers, and touches on communication issues between teachers and students. Overall, this first chapter seems to be all over the place, giving lots of good tips, but having no real “glue” to bring it all into a cohesive text.
R.
I don’t know if it’s just because I’m tired, but this chapter feel like it’s all over the place. His stories are certainly interesting enough for a textbook, but he really doesn’t start off on the right foot as far as “stoking” my own fire for learning. The chapter starts off a little preachy. He criticizes use of bumper stickers as a “degrading stereotype.” I think they’re funny, and if someone took the time to ask me how I felt about teaching, even if I did have some of those mugs around, I’d probably say it was worth every headache. Not unlike having children, sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, and sometimes you wish you had a day off, but you love your kids no matter what. I also got a really awkward feeling when he discussed letting student physically touch him. Anyone else? I guess I haven’t really ever considered the question, but I don’t remember touching my own teachers in middle school. Eh?

Chapter Two - Motivating Young Adolescents
A.
This chapter is ALL about how to motivate students. It not only includes tons of examples like chasing students with giant sharks, but also discusses general strategies like effective communication and providing background information before jumping into lessons. This is a decent chapter if you are a really boring person who needs a little creative kick in the butt. I’m sure there are hundreds of websites available online with ideas on how to motivate your students.
R.
This chapter was fun. I will probably refer back to it for ideas when we make our units because otherwise I will probably forget everything the author suggested. I have personally found that the best way to motivate a student is to make the lesson all about them. Say you’re trying to get them to think about setting, instead just ask them how many differences they can find between the town they live in and the town the character lives in. Say the character just found out that they’re pregnant, have the students (boys too) think of the first 5 things that would cross their mind if they had just found out they were pregnant. I find students of most ages to always be in the mood to talk about themselves. I can’t really blame them though, I still fall for the same trick in college.

Chapter Seventeen - The Truth About Middle School Students
A.
As the last chapter, this provides the wrap up form Meet Me in the Middle. Wormeli ends on a personal note, urging educators to spend more effort convincing others to focus on the amazing achievements made by middle schoolers instead of obsessing about the bad. He shares how he left blank wall space in his own classroom for students to write whatever they felt like. These statements, made by students, are only more proof of how young, yet insightful, these children are.
R.
I agree with what Wormeli is saying in this chapter, but whenever I think about starting clubs or programs within the school or community, I get really stressed out. We keep reading these books about teachers who have made such huge differences in the education world, and I just feel like before I even think about how my classroom is represented in the media, or what kinds of programs I can run to get the kids involved in the local community, or anything on that grand of a scale, I need to learn how to be a teacher first. One step at a time please, I’m a sensor you know. I need to stress about creative hooks, classroom setup, and my grading scale before I can convince the world that middle schoolers are the best thing since sliced bread.

Chapter Two - Turning Points 2000: A Design for Improving Middle Grades Education

Chapter Two - Turning Points 2000: A Design for Improving Middle Grades Education
A.
Chapter Two focuses on the 5 “vital” changes in the Turning Points 2000: creating a main goal, reordering the list, exchanged the word ‘core’ for an alternate definition, added an instructional point, and combined families and communities. In general, there are no excuses for the original Turning Points. This new and improved list has been created for the changing times and changing needs of students. The chapter reinforces the idea that these “designs” are not necessarily in order and are all heavily interconnected in ways that will blow your mind. This system is not just “stuff [that] affects all this other stuff”. They caution that half-assing an implementation of this “system” will not likely benefit your school. Instead, you must be dedicated to putting the system in place properly, working together and constantly strive for better results, and above all, to focus on “every” child for the success of every child.
R.
So far so good. The actual points seem valid, the evidence is there, the authors are optimistic. I still don’t quite understand how this “stuff” affects that “stuff,” but I’m sure it’s coming. At this point, (haha, get it? point, like turning point) I really just want to know how everything works. I’ve got my essential questions and my standards, and they all seem sound, but now I really need to know the teaching and learning sequence before I give anything the green light. I recognize a few “designs” from my own middle school days, such as the team teachers and small communities. I’m interested to know how these authors are going to turn something as general as “provide a safe and healthy school environment” into something tangible that I’ll be able to implement in my own workplace.

Chapter One - Turning Points: A Decade Later

Chapter One - Turning Points: A Decade Later
A.
After reading the first chapter, I’ve decided that this could be an interesting book. Chapter one is a basic overview of all the progress made in the last decade after implementing “the middle school movement.” This chapter covers everything from grants given, to results yielded, to student statistics through over time and also gives a little blurb about each of the chapters to come. One of the first questions this chapter really sets answer is: “Is this as good as it gets?” And of course, the answer is no; the “middle school philosophy” is just getting it’s legs with great improvements already being seen and so many more to come. For those of you that read Turning Points, I’m sure this will be the perfect follow up.
R.
This seemed to be a pretty standard first chapter. I was personally excited because this is the first class I’ll be taking that isn’t going to lump grades 7-12 together and just tell me that, “I’ll obviously need to make adjustments for different grades.” It’s refreshing to focus on a specific period in life and come across tangible information for each grade I’m interested in. The authors provides tons of research/evidence to back up from this design has and will be successful in school, although I don’t see much comparison to other models. Because I have very little experience in an actually middle school, it’s harder for me to just toss my hat into this model. What I’m saying is that I have a lot of questions. Perhaps I should read on?