Make it Middle School

Vertical learning can transform a math classroom. When students get out of their chairs and work on non-permanent surfaces, they start to communicate and think more effectively. The following set of 67 problems are examples of activities I use to engage student thinking. The problems allow students to approach math from more than one perspective. As my school year progressed, I would randomly use different problems to review concepts taught earlier in the semester. These problems and this approa

Conspiracy theories are everywhere, and to a certain degree, we all believe in them. This small unit examines some of the issues related to our belief in various conspiracy theories, whether it be the Kennedy Assasination, 9/11, or the more recent QAnon phenomenon. Students are asked to examine their own beliefs to understand some of the reasons why belief in a particular conspiracy theory is held on to so tightly!

Problem Solving is the cornerstone of a successful math program. The following 25 problems can be used individually or with groups. A problem solving rubric is included to help assess a student's ability to communicate their understanding and mathematical processes. I have used these problems successfully in my 20 years as a middle school teacher, and I have grouped them according to strand. Enjoy!

The following is a compilation of the high interest, non-fiction units I have developed and used in my classroom over the last five years. Each unit comes with a variety of readings that will provoke debate and discussion in your classroom. Each reading also has questions that allow your students to look beyond the text while working on important skills such as connecting, inferring, and synthesizing. Combined with any fiction you introduce in your class, there is enough content here for two yea

This bundle has full novel studies for the following titles: 1. Elijah of Buxton 2. Airborn 3. To Look a Nazi in the Eye 4. One Thousand Hills 5. On The Spectrum 6. The Canadian Highland 7. Tangerine 8. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Each novel study comes complete with questions that allow students to recall critical information, synthesize new learning, pursue inquiries beyond the text, connect, and infer. The bundle comes at a discounted price. The novel studies can be assigned eit

With the increase of technology in almost ever aspect of daily life, it’s important to take a step back and critically reflect on how automation (robotification) has impacted our daily lives. The following unit has articles which attempt to examine this issue in greater depth. Looking at robotification from different perspectives (i.e., automation in food, automation in flying), students will think more deeply about how automation impacts their lives now, and what things will look like in the fu

The following 2 units go very well together. Dark Tourism looks at some of the more disturbing locations people like to visit; conversely, extreme activities deals with more fun, albeit dangerous, activities that some people choose to do in their spare time. Both units have engaging readings and activities designed to assess students ability to infer, connect, summarize, and synthesize. further, students will have the opportunity to explore their own ideas and projects.

Elijah is the first person to be born in Buxton, a settlement of freed black slaves in Canada West. Although seen by most as a “fragile” boy, Elijah has skills at throwing rocks, catching fish, and talking a lot. When a former slave known as The Preacher steals money from one of Elijah’s friends, he goes on a dangerous journey to try to get the money back. Elijah is out to prove that he may not be so fragile after all. The following novel study gives students the opportunity to examine some

The following unit addresses the importance superheroes play in North American Society. With superhero blockbuster movie being released so frequently, it’s vital to critically examine the role these movies and characters play in shaping young people’s ideas and values. Superheroes have evolved since the Golden Age of Comics in the 1930’s, and students will think about how the genre has changed and where it is headed in future years. Finally, this unit also addresses marginalized characters and s

Jordana Leibowitz is a nineteen old university student on a mission: to attend to the war criminal trial of Oscar Groening. Known as the “bookkeeper of Auschwitz”, Groening stood trial in 2015 in Luneburg, Germany, accused of being complicit in the deaths of 300,000 Hungarian Jews. To Look A Nazi In The Eye is a fictionalized account of the first days of the trial of Oscar Groening. Seeing events unfold from the perspective of Jordana, the reader learns more about the events themselves: the r

There’s no doubt that it is difficult teaching history to a split class. Because the content is different, you sometimes need to work on themes to bring the different subject matter together. The following power point presentation and assignment attempt to do this. It’s an assignment about the difficult for early immigrants in Canada. For grade 7, the focus is Champlain; for grade 8, the focus is the Famine Irish. There is an assignment attached to this information on the last slide.

Depending on the side you were on, you would have a different opinion about the most important battle of The Seven Years War. This assignment requires students to write about the battle outside of Quebec from two perspectives: French and English. A tip sheet of historical facts is provided. As well, two examples of what the articles sound like are included to give your students a sense of how the voice sounds depending if they are writing from either the winner's or loser's perspective.

This is a culminating task giving students the opportunity to budget for a year while traveling abroad. Students must budget for a 4 month stay in 3 different countries: Australia, Japan, and Thailand. Different job opportunities are provided for each country, and students need to source out and budget for expenses such as accommodation, food, entertainment, etc. The jobs students must select are meant to be unique, generating strong interest. The video is fun and engaging, and there is a wo

The topic of the Stolen Generation in Australia has connections to students living in North America. The movie is an excellent opportunity for students to learn about perceptions of native people, and how this could connect to the treatment of First Nations People in Canada. The assignment is a worksheet of high order thinking questions to help gage students understanding of the themes presented in the movie. The questions also link nicely to Geography as well. Included is as exemplar page f

The following video shows 6 different infographics from 2015-2020. Each infographic looks at some of the numbers behind the most popular apps and services on the internet. Students get to connect with their own experience, predict trends, and see if there is a relationship with some of the data be constructing a scatter plot using two variables. A rubric for teachers is attached.