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Middle School Education
A middle school teacher
must be good at
classroom management, since he or she will be
in charge
of multiple classes of varying ability
levels. Middle school teachers
should also be
optimistic, organized, patient and empathetic.
Developmentally, students at the middle school
level go through many
physical and emotional
changes. These changes can impact a student's
ability to perform well in class. An innovative and
creative teacher can help these students stay on
track during these years.
Job Growth
Middle
school teachers have an average job
growth rate as teachers are needed
in all areas.
However, certain subject areas such as math and
science are growing at a higher than average rate.
Middle school teachers have
students who are
old enough to be responsible for their own
assignments,
but still young enough to need
guidance in life lessons. This makes
middle
school an interesting job no matter the day.
Curriculum
The curriculum is all the planned activities that
we organize in
order to promote learning and
personal growth and development.
It
includes not only the formal requirements of
the curriculum, but also the range of extra-
curricular activities that the school organizes in
order to enrich the experience of the children.
It also includes the
hidden curriculum, or what
children learn from the way they are treated
and
expected to behave.
We aim to teach children how to grow into
positive, responsible
people, who can work and
co-operate with others while developing
knowledge and skills, so that hey achieve their
true potential.
Our
school curriculum is underpinned by the
values that we hold dear at our school.
Values
The curriculum is the means by which the school
achieves its
objective of educating children in the
knowledge, skills and understanding that they need
in order to lead fulfilling lives.
Our
school is in full agreement with the values
statement included in the
introduction to The
National Curriculum Handbook for Primary
Teachers in England.
These are the main values of our
school, upon which we have based our
curriculum:
Aims and Objectives
The aims of our school curriculum are:
Interactive Learning Strategies
Essential Question
What is the intended goal of the lesson?
Remember, there is one
essential question per
lesson, and students must be able to answer this
question by the end of the lesson.
With essential questions, teachers really have to
be intentional
about what they want the students
to be able to do, and it has to be at the highest-
level of learning. The students have to be able to
analyze
and apply; they cannot just answer the
question with a yes or no. It has to be an extended
response. An essential question must be "multi-
skill" in order for it to be a good one.
Activating Strategy
An activating strategy is something that gets
students actively
thinking or making a connection
with the material being presented that
day.
Make a connection to the content or to the outside
world to see how
much the students already know
or remember.
One of the main things used at Cochrane is to
show video clips.
Students love it when they see
their favorite show or cartoon.
Initially, they don't
know what they're about to learn so they focus on
that video clip. Then the teacher uses that
engagement to link to the
lesson, and the students
realize that their likes or interests can
channel a
learning experience.
Relevant Vocabulary
Relevant vocabulary must be present in your
lesson. Keep your
vocabulary limited to what
your students are able to handle and make
sure
that it is actively used in context throughout the
lesson. Also have your students interactively use
the words during the lesson.
Use vocabulary that's relevant. Teachers must
pick and choose what is
going to be most
important and most effective. They must teach
vocabulary through a graphic organizer, through
an experience, or whatever they need to help the
students get it.
Limited Lecture
There should be limited lecture time. After 12-15
minutes of
lecturing, you should engage your
students in some type of activity,
even if it's for
only a few minutes. The teacher can then go
back to lecturing for another chunk of time.
Examples: Have students talk to their neighbor,
draw a picture, write
a few sentences that
summarize or describe the lecture, finish an
example problem, or get in a discussion with
their group.
Graphic Organizer
Use of a graphic organizer allows students to
visually categorize new information or review
old information.
Students need to be able to conceptualize
whatever information we're
giving them.
The graphic organizer is student friendly. When
they look
at information that's organized, it's
easier for them to retain and
remember that
information.
And when they go home, it is less
intimidating to
look at that information as opposed to pulling out
a notebook that has pages and pages of notes.
Examples: Have students record information in
colorful charts in
their notebooks, use computers
to create graphic organizers, or create a
"foldable."
Student Movement
Student movement is a must. Students need to be
mobile at some point during instruction to ensure
they're actively engaged.
This one is probably the most challenging for
Cochran teachers
because it can be intimidating
to have students moving. But student
movement
can look a number of different ways, and it doesn't
always mean
students have to get up. They just
must be physically engaged in
whatever the
teacher is doing.
It's important because students don't
like to sit
still, especially male students. They found that
when
the male students are up and moving
around the room, they are totally
engaged in
what the teacher is doing.
Examples: Students do a gallery walk in which
they move in groups
from corner to corner,
answering questions or analyzing things posted
on
the walls; they work in teams or at rotation
stations; they raise their
hands or give the
thumbs-up or thumbs-down; they answer
questions with
their body, putting their left foot
out if they think the answer is A and their right
foot out if they think it's B.
Higher Order Thinking Questions
Present your students with at least three higher-
order-thinking (“HOT”) questions during the lesson.
This is proof that you are
presenting all your
students with challenging work.
The HOT questions are Cochrane's signature
element. The rationale
behind them is we want to
give the kids an opportunity to be challenged
in
the classroom. The way the teacher presents
these questions varies,
and students' responses
can be indicative of their learning pace.
The same question should be used for all students,
but advanced learners may be required to respond
in a different way. Students can respond on paper,
as part of a classroom discussion, in paired
discussion, or through homework.
Rigorous
Lessons must be rigorous. The activities should
be challenging and
move at a brisk pace. There
should not be opportunities for students to
get
bored or periods when they have nothing to do.
The entire lesson should be an active lesson.
Teachers should strive to take students to the
highest level of
knowledge. There are only 180
days in the school year, and a lot of the
students
do not come in at grade level, so we've got to
move them with
the 90 minutes that we have
each day in the classroom.
Student Centered
Your entire lesson should be student centered.
The ways that we
instruct our students must
demonstrate that they are our focus and that
what we do is centered on their success.
The use of technology as a tool
is a critical
component of this. It provides students with 21st-
century
skills that are both engaging and relevant
to real-world applications. It is a partnership:
If you effectively and successfully plan, your
students will effectively and successfully work and
learn. Take a step away from the learning process
to become facilitators rather than "givers of all
knowledge" in the classroom
Why do you like to be a middle
school teacher?
“I love teaching middle school because every day
is a different
adventure! Middle school teachers
exude a frenetic and contagious energy that
is
unique to their grade level — they’re fun, funny,
full of
over-the-top drama, and yet serious and
thoughtful about their world, too.”
“I love the sense of humor of middle-school
