The Middle Minute

IMLEA, August, 2023

10 Snapshots of Effective MS Teams

Middle level speaker extraordinaire Jack Berckemeyer shares these observations about high-functioning teacher teams. Many of you will probably see yourselves in this article!

It includes such things as:

Good utilization of team planning time
Cross-curricular connections
Focus on the students
Consistent procedures across the team
Learning and laughing together

He also has a book about teaming, and an upcoming free AMLE webinar in September, "15 New Faces of Young Adolescents."

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All Middle Schoolers are Superheroes in the Making: How to Help Them Build Resiliency

AMLE Executive Director Stephanie Simpson interviews author Phyllis Fagell about her new book, Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Teens in Turbulent Times. While this book is aimed at parents, it can be very useful for educators as well; parts could even be used for PD or as a book study. Too often people focus on the negative aspects of adolescence; Fagel's book focuses on positive opportunities. Here is an additional review on MiddleWeb and a podcast on WBUR in Boston. The AMLE store offers free shipping to members.

Image credit "LEGO LED Taschenlampe Superheroes Wonder Woman und Batman" by verchmarco is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Congratulations to Middle Level Finalists for Indiana Teacher of the Year!

The following middle level teachers were included in the top 25 for Indiana TOY. (*Later named to Top 10.)

Ben Neilson-Cascade Middle School, Social Studies

*Brandon Denning-IPS Center for Inquiry #84, Math

Candi Covey-Clarksville MS, Special Education

*Eric Phagan-Madison Junior High, Art

*Jonee Sutton-Beech Grove Middle School, Visual Arts

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Great Activities for Building Relationships at the Beginning of the Year

Although most of you may have moved past opening activities, these ideas from Sara Van Der Werf for her high school math classes might prove useful at some point. This was shared in a Building Thinking Classrooms group, and she keeps updating it, including input from other teachers.

Updated/Reduced Indiana SS Standards

Thanks to Carrie Rosebrock and Yvonne Thompson for this spreadsheet of updated social studies academic standards. You can access these and the math and ELA standards (shared in our last edition) at Carrie's blog. You can also contact them to contract with them for assistance with implementation.

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Participate in Assessment Focus Groups, Earn $$

A former MSD Warren Township teacher shared this opportunity from New Meridian, a provider of assessments:

They are inviting grades 3-10 ELA and math teachers, administrators, and parents to participate in virtual user interviews and focus groups to better understand the impact of assessment and how it can be improved. User interviews and focus groups are typically 45-90 minutes. Compensation for participation ranges from $75 – $200 depending on the time commitment. Indicate interest and learn more here. Photo credit: all4ed

New Materials from Special Olympics

To celebrate the start of the school year and the life of Carl Erskine SOI has added five new lessons for middle and high school. In addition, they have added the audio book for the EPIC version of Carl’s book, The Parallel. If you do not have copies of the book, this is a great way to share Carl’s story with your class. You will find the audio book, new lessons, and the other EPIC classroom materials on the OER Commons website.

To order FREE copies of the Erskine books for your classroom, submit your request using the Special Olympics Indiana book order form.

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Congratulations to These Unified Champion Banner Schools!

These 16 schools met all of the criteria to receive their banner for Special Olympics Unified Champions for the 2022-23 school year. To learn more about the process and how your school can participate, please contact Tori Batson at Special Olympics Indiana. Free training is available for this student leadership opportunity to make your school more inclusive.

A panel of school librarians is presenting a free webinar on Thursday, August 24 about HEA1477, the legislation dealing with library collections and challenges that takes effect on January 1, 2024. This is intended for administrators and other school staff, and there will be opportunities to ask questions. You can use the link in the above graphic (which leads you to sign into the Learning Lab) or go here.

An additional webinar will be held on September 13 in conjunction with the Indiana School Boards Association that will be limited to administrators and trustees who are ISBA members.

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National Geographic Explorer Events are Back!

National Geographic provides live interactions with professionals in the field that can be viewed live or later in classrooms. September sessions include reptiles, paleontology with a member of the Leakey family, and conservation. Sessions are live at 10 and 2 on Thursdays, and recordings are available. Learn more here.

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Learning Opportunities & Resources

TIMES IN EDT & ARE FREE UNLESS NOTED

August 22- How Do We Consolidate Learning in Math While Building a Thinking Classroom (with Peter Liljedahl), 6 pm

August 22-What Just Happened? New Things in the EdTech World, Leslie Fisher, 7 pm

August 23- News Literacy Project/Checkology Back to School, 7 pm

August 24- The Anatomy of Library Collection Policies, 4 pm

August 24- Boredom Busters: Easy to Use Back to School Engagement Strategies with Katie Powell, 4:30 pm

August 24- Early Bird Registration Deadline for AMLE (National Harbor, MD, Nov. 1-4)

August 25- AMLE Deadline for Speed Learning & Snapshot Poster Presentations

August 26- ZeroLandfill Harvest 2023, 500 S. Kitley, Indy, 9 am-3 pm

August 31-NSTA Webinar-An Eclipse Double Header is Coming This School Year, 7 pm (must create a free account to register if not a member)

September 5- News Literacy Project/Checkology Back to School, 5 pm

September 11- Applications for Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Grant Due, 5 pm

September 13- Engaging All Students with Esports in Education: Sharing Strategies and Lessons Learned as Esports Programs Grow Nationally, 4 pm

September 21-Jack Berckemeyer: 15 New Faces of Young Adolescents, 4:30 pm

November 1-4- AMLE 50th Anniversary Conference, National Harbor, MD

ONGOING EVENTS

IN LearningPartnership (Includes Wednesday PD with IDOE)

Indiana Learning Lab Workshops (Requires Sign in for Registration)

Teachers First OK2Ask Online Workshops ; (Past on-demand sessions)

Keep Indiana Learning (KIL); Live Events (some $) Past Recordings/Digital Content

edWeb.net Webinars (if sponsored, "commercials" are at the end)

PATINS Trainings for Accessibility for All

AMLE Podcast Series

AMLE Events (some free, some paid)

Corwin Webinars

Please note: Webinars and events mentioned in this space are not an endorsement of commercial products; on the contrary, we try to avoid listing events that appear to be commercial in nature. Every effort is made to strip social media/tracking data from provided URLs. In many cases, you can register and receive a recording later.

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ABOUT IMLEA

The only organization in Indiana devoted to promoting, improving, and supporting middle level education. We are the Indiana affiliate of the national organization AMLE, and administer the Schools to Watch program for the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.

Join us! Membership Benefits and Application

Susie Highley, Executive Director

Shirley Wright, Schools to Watch Consultant

Email: IMLEA_ED@iasp.org
Website: https://www.imlea.org
Location: 11025 East 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317.894.2937
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063647826270
Twitter: @IMLEAorg