JoinAll Middle School resources
Journal Article
Teaching Environmental Awareness in Baltimore
A national movement, sparked by Richard Louv’s (2005) treatise Last Child in the Woods, has catalyzed collaborations among government agencies, schools, and nonprofit and community organizations to reconnect children with the environment. Research ...
By Sarah Haines, Chelsea McClure, and Symone Johnson
Blog Post
Modeling How Students Can Share Ideas and Make Sense of Phenomena by Aaron Mueller
One of the most important steps I take to elicit student ideas in the classroom is to establish a classroom culture that makes students feel comfortable sharing their ideas. I take the time to develop a strong, receptive culture at the beginning of t...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Under Indefinite Construction: Creating an NGSS-Friendly Classroom Community
When the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were first released, I struggled with how to create opportunities that allowed the students to investigate and question. These standards ask alot of our students and require more planning an...
By Megan Rowlands Elmore
Journal Article
Innovation and progress in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce is critical to the growth of the United States in the global economy (NRC 2007). Men are more likely to pursue a degree in STEM fields, with almost 27% of ma...
By Sarah Rhodes-Ondi, and Maryam Ghadiri
Blog Post
As several reports have shown, it is critical for teachers to understand instructional strategies that are consistent with the NGSS vision, as well as to have the skills to implement them in their classrooms. I had the privilege of working with two e...
By Diane Johnson
NSTA Press Book
Supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners in Science, Grades 7–12
Many middle and high school teachers are educated to teach science content—they don’t anticipate that one day they may be teaching it to students who need to learn both content and English. If the day has come when you’re facing that two-pronge...
By Molly Weinburgh, Cecilia Silva, Kathy Horak Smith
NSTA Press Book
Discovery Engineering in Physical Science: Case Studies for Grades 6–12
Who knew that gecko feet inspired scientists to develop a stickier adhesive or that cockleburs in dog fur led to the invention of Velcro? Discovery Engineering in Physical Science uses these and other surprising cases of innovations sparked by accide...
By M. Gail Jones, Elysa Corin, Megan Ennes, Emily Cayton, Gina Childers
NSTA Press Book
Understanding Climate Change, Grades 7–12
Get help teaching one of the hottest topics in science with Understanding Climate Change, Grades 7–12. This nine-session module is written to be practical and accessible. It provides both extensive background and step-by-step instructions for using...
By Laura Tucker, Lois Sherwood
Blog Post
Contemporary Instructional Approaches to Promote STEM Learning for English Learners
The release of the report English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives (shortened to “the report” hereafter) (NASEM 2018) is timely, as three emerging forces shape the changing landscape of K–12 science educati...
By Okhee Lee
Journal Article
Middle School Girls Gain Confidence, Competence, and Interest Through Summer STEAM Camp
To combat the well-researched and documented drop in interest and confidence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) that girls tend to experience in their middle school years, the Plum Borough School District, as part of the ABC CREAT...
By Tamar McPherson, Stephanie Reilly, and Colleen Smith
NSTA Press Book
Have you been wanting to learn more about what your students know (or think they know) about major concepts in matter and energy? Have you been wishing for formative assessment tools in both English and Spanish? Then this is the book you’ve been wa...
By Page Keeley, Susan Cooper