Middle Level Minute

• Schools of Distinction-AMLE sponsors this recognation/school improvement program. If you are interested in being recognized at the 2025 AMLE conference in Indianapolis, you really need to start the process this semester! Custer Baker Intermediate School in Franklin was recognized this year, the first from our state.
• ASA Toolkit- American Student Assistance & AMLE have teamed up to produce playbooks to adapt for your career exploration lessons. You can purchase a print copy, but all material is available for free downloads on the site. This lends itself to advisory or new coursework now included at the middle level.
• Are your teachers using the great resources found in MiddleWeb? MiddleWeb's founder, John Norton, was inducted into the AMLE Legacy Circle. It is one of the top sites for resources for middle level education; most people land there via a Google search. You can also subscribe to their Smartbrief newsletter, and their Substack.(Free & paid versions.) (See their most recent popular articles here.) You can also write for them, including blog posts or book reviews.
• There are many great podcasts for middle level educators, including AMLE's Walk & Talk, Middle School Matters, and Cult of Pedagogy. This episode of "The State of Ed" podcast was recorded at AMLE.
• Stay tuned for updates about next year's conference-how to apply to present, register, and more!

We have been mentioning the Kindness 101 videos from CBS News for a few years. Many teachers are using them in classes or in advisory. Now they are organized at one site, in collaboration with Character Counts. You can find Google slides, lesson plans, handouts, and more.

Brisk is a free chrome extension that does many things. Some teachers favor the "inspect writing" feature that shows you a video of a student's entire creation process on a writing assignment. Did they cut and paste the entire thing at once? Hmmm..Others praise the leveling tool to produce differentiated text, yet others the ease of giving feedback. Leslie Fisher is offering a free webinar on Brisk in December (see calendar below)

NotebookLM is a Google product that takes the information your provide it and turns it into a variety of products; it uses only what you tell it to include. It can be used to create study guides and other resources for students. For example, I gave it a copy of this newsletter, and it turned it into a conversational podcast using AI voices! You can listen to this newsletter here. (I also used it for last month's issue, found here.) It is amazing-- and maybe even a little disturbing!

• Quizizz has shared an easy way to turn an assessment into an escape room. Find examples and directions here. (Turkey credit & here.)
• This post has "12 Thanksgiving Activities You Can Try Today". The first one has a cost, but the rest are free.
• TCEA has an entire archive of Thanksgiving activities on this page.

Do you know of any middle schools that have an "Indiana Studies" or "Indiana History" course they teach? Or, schools with a different configuration (K--8, 6-12, etc) that include something in grades 6-8? If so, please contact Susie Highley.

IMLEA had a booth at AMLE24 in Nashville to promote coming to Indianapolis next year. The booth featured Indiana gummi bears, courtesy of Albanese (they were a big hit), the top ten list below, and opportunities to play Indiana Jeopardy to win more gummi bears. Mark your calendars for November 5-8, 2025! We will also have the gummi bears and Jeopardy! game at our booth at IASP on November 25.

TIMES ARE EST; FREE UNLESS NOTED

Many are available via recording, especially if you pre-register.

November 20- Thinking Differently about "Social" Uses of Media for Neurodivergent Youth, 6:30 pm

November 26- IMLEA Presentation at the IASP Conference, 9:25 am

December 2- Setting AI Expectations: Creating Clarity in Classrooms, 1 pm

Dec. 5- Knowledge Building, Vocabulary, & Comprehension: Turn up the Volume of Reading, 4 pm

*December 9-15- Hour of Code; Many Activities Here

December 10- Brisk Teaching with Leslie Fisher, 7 pm

November 5-8, 2025- AMLE in Indianapolis!

*includes students

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 (KINL); Live Events (some $) Past Recordings/Digital Content

edWeb.net Webinars (Can watch at later date; if sponsored, "commercials" are at the end)

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.

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

FIND US:

11025 E. 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN. 46229 (Inside IASP)

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