Rick Wormeli is the teacher you would like to have on your team or in the room next door. from the Foreword by Ed Brazee
Drawing on the wisdom of educators, researchers, and twenty years of personal experience in the middle school classroom, Rick Wormeli lays out a clear vision of what responsive middle-level teaching can be in Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle-Level Teacher.
Both a "how-to" book and a thoughtful narrative on important topics, Meet Me in the Middle gives you successful strategies for addressing key middle-level teaching challenges, including:
differentiating instruction;
motivating early adolescents;
teaming;
teaching in block-length classes;
using authentic and alternative assessment effectively;
writing in all subjects;
holding students and teachers accountable;
involving parents;
mentoring teachers;
using games in the classroom;
applying the latest in brain research;
the National Board Certification process;
understanding the young adolescent.
Rick ignites the imagination and commitment of pre-service and beginning teachers and rekindles the motivation of veteran teachers who want to create a high-performance classroom. He effectively demonstrates theory with rich examples from his own teaching. Teacher educators and staff developers will find Meet Me in the Middle to be a wonderful handbook of best practices and insights to share with new teachers, including second-career individuals coming from other professions.
One of the first Nationally Board Certified teachers in America, Rick Wormeli brings innovation, energy, validity and high standards to both his presentations, and his instructional practice, which includes almost 30 years teaching math, science, English, physical education, health, and history and coaching teachers. Rick's work has been reported in numerous media, including ABC's "Good Morning America," "Hardball" with Chris Matthews, National Geographic and Good Housekeeping magazines, What Matters Most: Teaching for the 21st Century, and the Washington Post. He is a columnist for the National Middle School Association's Middle Ground magazine, and he is the author of the award-winning book, Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle Level Teacher, as well as the best-selling books, Day One and Beyond, Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching any Subject, and Differentiation: From Planning to Practice, Grades 6-12, all five from Stenhouse Publishers, as well as Summarization in any Subject, published by ASCD. His classroom practice is the showcase for the first DVD of ASCD's best-selling series, "At Work in the Differentiated Classroom," and he is a contributing author to Middle School Matters, and Because You Teach, published by Incentive Publications. His new book from Stenhouse on homework practices in the 21st century will be released in 2012.
With his substantive presentations, sense of humor, and unconventional approaches, he's been asked to present to teachers and administrators in all 50 states, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, the Bahamas, Vietnam, Korea, Australia, the Middle East, and at the White House. He is a seasoned veteran of many international Web casts, and he is Disney's American Teacher Awards 1996 Outstanding English Teacher of the Nation. He won the 2008 James P. Garvin award from the New England League of Middle Schools for Teaching Excellence, Service, and Leadership, and he has been a consultant for National Public Radio, USA Today, Court TV, and the Smithsonian Institution's Natural Partners Program and their search for the Giant Squid. He lives in Herndon, Virginia with his wife and two children, one in high school, one at college. He is currently writing several education articles, working on his first young adult fiction novel, and that new book on homework.
This review is from: Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle Level Teacher (Paperback)
I am not a person fond of reading "help" or statistical or "you should do this to have a perfect classroom" books... This book is an exception. It is easy and quick reading. It gives numerous, fun-to-read examples of real experiences, suggestions and ideas. I would definitely recommend this book for middle school teachers that haven't been very long in the field.
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This review is from: Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle Level Teacher (Paperback)
Wormeli is a real "been there/done that" teacher who presents the middle school teacher with practical, useful, realistic ideas for improving their day to day interactions with students.
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This review is from: Meet Me in the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle Level Teacher (Paperback)
I'm currently enrolled in a teaching certification program and was assigned this as a textbook for one of my courses. As with many textbooks, I approached this book warily, but was mystified by how great of a read it was. Rick Wormeli shares his pedagogy with you and share examples of how to turn your classroom into a middle school student friendly environment that encourages and fosters learning. This is one textbook that I intend to keep and use in the future!
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