Introduction to Middle School

by Sara Davis Powell

This fresh, reader-friendly text presents a comprehensive introduction to the children, the choices, and the challenges of teaching middle school. Writing in the first person, the author, an experienced middle school teacher, examines the full range of middle school topics, from the development and diversity of middle school learners, to the structures, curriculum, and environment of the school itself. Engaging vignettes and photos of teachers and students bring topics to life, while student work samples, case studies, and articles on MyEducationLab link to topics within each chapter. Boxed NMSA performance standards relate to each chapter's content and videos, and Professional Practice features in all chapters involve scenarios from the lives of teachers and students, followed by multiple choice and constructed response opportunities that mirror Praxis II exams. Introduction to Middle School offers

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I stated in my update, this text can be quite repetitive, but it is done so for a good reason. There is much more behind teaching 5th to 9th graders than one would think. And yes, the last year of elementary school and the first year of high school are considered "middle grades" because they are a time of transition.

Middle -schoolers (6th through 8th) get a bad reputation. I have been guilty of sharing the frustration I have felt with "babyish" 6th-graders, the lack of common sense from 7th-graders, and the "they think they're so grown" attitude of 8th-graders. What I forget, at times, is the fact that those behaviors are typical for that age range. So I have to adjust my expectations while being their social, as well as, academic mentor.

I do plan on rereading this from cover to cover. I only wish we had the video components to go with it.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

read most of it for school. it was kind of lame.