Reach Before Teach (Middle School)

June 11, 2019 When I wanted to begin a Reading Specialist certification, I took a class that included some instruction on Executive Functions. (I don't have that certification, but that's a different story for a different time.) The work I read, by Amanda Morin, Tracy Landon and Linda Oggel, really made think in a new way about the students in my classroom. They talked about eight  executive functions, but I've found research that talks about as few as five. Because of the research I did originally, I'm staying with eight. I thought it might be interesting to explore these and how I've changed in my classroom. The first one I want to talk about is impulse control . Think about middle schoolers. We talk a lot about how they simply don't think. We're right. They don't. They have a part of their brain that research tells us hasn't completely matured. These kids, especially our 8th graders, often do look like adults, and I think we sometimes expect...

June 7, 2019 My name is Carrie, and I'm a middle school teacher. It almost sounds like the beginning of a story from a 12-step program. It isn't far-fetched. Teaching middle school makes some people think you are crazy; it makes other people give you blessings and thanks. Others wonder if you yourself have grown up; others think you must need a great deal of alcohol. Me? I just finished year 17. Of those, 16 were in 6th grade (the last three years I had two 8th grade thrown in). This year, I was exclusively 7th and 8th evenly divided. Next year, I have five classes of 8th and one of 7th. My husband used to joke that our oldest son (with whom I began 6th grade) got out, but I didn't. "It's no wife  left behind at hour house," he'd joke. I've learned a lot in these 17 years. I've learned about kids, and I can and WILL attest to changes in those 17 years. Social media plays a part in it; I honestly think changing dynamics in households also is...