HOMEGROWN ARKANSAS

Students work - to promote local farmers by encouraging us all to purchase and consume local foods, and - to change the way people think about food.

 - message from EAST Director, Chris Forster
"Please follow the link below to read the article (in savvy KiDS magazine, page 24) featuring, HOMEGROWN ARKANSAS, a group of eStem High School Seniors enrolled in EAST. This is a great article and I am very proud of all of them. Thank you for showing them your support!"
   
    http://www.savvykidsofarkansas.com/from-the-mag/issue-archive/

The seven members of HOMEGROWN ARKANSAS,

who are all seniors at eStem High Public Charter School,

in Little Rock, Arkansas are:

 

Zoe Corwyn

Alaina Grundy

Margaret Justus

Kasia Kready

Monica Velasquez

Claire Vogelgesang

Katie Walker

14 Year Old Girl explains why exactly the middle school years can be so daunting.

This American Life Radio Station

449: Middle School

 

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/449/middle-school?act=0#play

Prologue

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Host Ira Glass interviews a 14-year old named Annie, who emailed us asking if we would do a show about middle school. She explains why exactly the middle school years can be so daunting. (4 1/2 minutes) Education • Teenagers

• Ira Glass

Oct 28, 2011

This week, at the suggestion of a 14-year-old listener, we bring you stories from the awkward, confusing, hormonally charged world of middle school. Including a teacher who transforms peer pressure into a force for good, and reports from the frontlines of the middle school dance.
(Pictured: 7th graders at a costume dance, dressed as characters from The Outsiders.)

 

Motivating Middle School Students Podcasat

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/TodaysMiddleLevelEducator/tabid/1409/Default.aspx

I'm linking to the page because I don't know how to post the actual file.  The podcast is two down on the page.  The first key words mentioned in this audio file are relevant and technology.  It is also mentioned that teachers become so focused on teaching to the standards that they fail to realize they aren't reaching kids in a way that is understood. 

1/12/2010
Motivating Young Adolescents (20:07)
Jack Berckemeyer is joined by Kim Campbell, classroom teacher and member of the NMSA Site-Based Services Speakers Cadre. Jack and Kim share ideas about student motivation and the role of the classroom teacher. They discuss practical ways to motivate the young adolescent.
Resources:

• The Power of Self-Esteem: Build It and They Will Flourish
  by Jim Paterson (MG, Oct. '07)
• Successful Teachers Develop Academic Momentum with Reluctant Students
  (MSJ, May '08)

WebQuest for Middle Level

http://teach.fcps.net/trt8/SolarSystem/Planets.htm

The content for this webquest site focuses on content of the Solar System. It was created by an educator to provide her students with information about our Solar System. The webquest focuses on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. This webquest could also be a jumping off point in which students can learn how to create their own website with the teacher's assistance. When the students create their own webquest the content becomes more challenging, exploratory, integrated, and relevant to the student. The students learn to collaborate with one another plus they are given ownership. All these things fit with This We Believe.

Blog for Middle School Level

EduBloggerCon.com is an educator blog, where educators can go and follow blogs concerning education; you can post comments and post blogs. The site also provides upcoming events in professional development, logo ideas, activities ideas, and links to other educational blogs for the educator and the student. This site goes with, this we believe, it provide the educator with professional development and an avenue to learn more knowledge of curriculum. Educators learn what other educators around the world are doing in their classrooms.

http://www.edubloggercon.com/

Podcast: Building Relationships with Your Students

Today’s Middle Level Educator a podcast from National Middle School Association (NMSA). This is a podcast with Howard Orman, principal, who discusses way of motivating and building positive relationship with your students. Orman and Jack Brickmeyer talks about how middle school students from ten years ago are not that much different than students of today; only a few things have change and that is manners and the students are more challenged, students of today think they are entitled to things. This podcast goes with “This We Believe” culture and community within and outside the classroom. How important it is to meet students needs and relating to students on a more personal level, but within the code of ethics. The podcast is free, all you need to do is open an iTunes account and select podcast and type in “Building positive relationships with your students”.

Resource Site for Middle School Podcasts

http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/TodaysMiddleLevelEducator/tabid/1409/Default.aspx

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Listen Online 5/17/2011 Active Learning for the Creative Classroom (21:40) Mary Henton, manager of the Middle School Portal Two, talks with Cally Stockton, author of Minds and Motion: Active Learning for the Classroom. They discuss various activities from the book and classroom experiences. Resources: Minds and Motion: Active Learning for the Creative Classroom by Cally Stockton

Listen Online 1/12/2010 Motivating Young Adolescents (20:07) Jack Berckemeyer is joined by Kim Campbell, classroom teacher and member of the NMSA Site-Based Services Speakers Cadre. Jack and Kim share ideas about student motivation and the role of the classroom teacher. They discuss practical ways to motivate the young adolescent. Resources: The Power of Self-Esteem: Build It and They Will Flourish by Jim Paterson (MG, Oct. '07) Successful Teachers Develop Academic Momentum with Reluctant Students (MSJ, May '08)

Listen Online 11/24/2009 Building Positive Relationships with Your Students (19:02) Join Jack Berckemeyer, assistant executive director for NMSA, and Howard Ormond, principal and member of the NMSA Site-Based Services Speakers Cadre, for a discussion on specific strategies to motivate young adolescents. They examine the importance of building positive relationships with your students and how teachers can truly impact the lives of young adolescents. Resources: The Power of Self-Esteem: Build It and They Will Flourish by Jim Patterson (MG, Oct. '07) Successful Teachers Develop Academic Momentum with Reluctant Students (MSJ, May '08)

Listen Online 10/26/2009 School Uniforms: Jeans or Jackets? (17:25) The impact of school uniforms is an issue that affects schools, parents, and students alike. Join Jack Berckemeyer, NMSA assistant executive director, and Ms. Ernie Rambo as they focus on this timely topic. Ernie is a classroom teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has been directly involved with the implications of the uniform issue. Jack and Ernie examine the advantages and disadvantages of school uniforms and talk about questions the teachers might have regarding the uniform issue and how to address students concerns. Resources: School Uniforms: Policies and Procedures by David L. Hough (RMLEOnline, 2005, 25, 1) Varieties of Parent Involvement in Schoolingby Vincent A. Anfara, Jr. & Steven B. Mertens (MSJ, Jan. '08)

Listen Online 9/29/2009 Connecting the Dots - NMSA09 Preview (7:10) Jack Berckemeyer, assistant executive director of NMSA, talks with Rita Pierson about her upcoming speech at the NMSA09 Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Rita shares her thoughts on what topics she will cover as the Teacher Luncheon speaker. Rita's vast knowledge in staff motivation, poverty issues, and school climate make Rita a must hear speaker. For more information about the NMSA09 Annual Conference and the Teacher's Luncheon please visit www.nmsa.org/annual

Listen Online 9/21/2009 The Culture of Formative Assessment (21:38) In this second part of a two-part discussion about formative assessment, Kate Garrison, Manager of Products and services for Professional Development with Measured Progress, discusses the culture of formative assessment. Resources: Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom by Catherine Garrison & Michael Ehringhaus Effective Classroom Assessment: Linking Assessment with Instruction by Catherine Garrison, Dennis Chandler, & Michael Ehringhaus Using Formative Assessments to Individualize Instruction and Promote Learning by Juliann M. Kaftan, Gayle A. Buck, & Alysa Haack

Listen Online 7/31/09 The Evolution of Advisory (18:57) Bob Spear and Jack Berckemeyer discuss the importance of advisory in the middle school. They also examine how advisory has changed over the last several years with the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act and other mandates. This episode provides schools and individuals with a sense of understanding the importance a quality advisory program brings to any great middle school. Resources: Taking the Lead in Implementing and Improving Advisory by Bob Spear Research Summary - Advisory Programs Advisor-Advisee Programs: Important But Problematic by Vincent A. Anfara, Jr. (MSJ, Sept. '06)

Listen Online 7/17/2009 Single Sex Classrooms (15:54) Ever wonder about the issues regarding the single sex classroom? Jack Berckemeyer, National Middle School Association assistant executive director, and Judith Baenen, editor of NMSA's The Family Connection and member of the Site-Based Services Speakers Cadre, take on this hot topic! Judith shares her knowledge of the single sex classroom and why it has become such a huge issue. The conversation also examines the differences between how girls learn versus boys and what teachers can do to address those distinctions. Resources: Exploring the "Cusp Culture" Helps Adolescents Navigate the Way to Adulthood by Judith Baenen Understanding and Appreciating the Wonder Years by John H. Lounsbury What Research Says: Do Single-Sex Classes and Schools Make a Difference? by Vincent A. Anfara, Jr. & Steven B. Mertens

Listen Online 6/29/2009 The Students are SOAR-ing (10:39) Kim Campbell, a classroom teacher and member of the NMSA Site-Based Services Cadre, talks about the SOAR program with NMSA's Assistant Executive Director, Jack Berckemeyer. The SOAR program has been used at Kim's school to help deal with the achievement gap. Jack and Kim share practical ways to introduce SOAR and provide concrete examples of the program's impact in the lives of young adolescents. Resources: Research Summary - Student Achievement and the Middle School Concept Student Achievement in New Literacies for the 21st Century by William Kist (MSJ, Sept. '03) On Target - Student Achievement: What Works to Improve Student Achievement

Listen Online 6/4/2009 Formative Assessment: Debunking the Myths (21:13) Formative assessment is a verb, not a noun. A process whereby students and teachers maintain ongoing conversation about learning, formative assessment is key to student achievement. Kate Garrison, manager of products and services for professional development with Measured Progress, debunks 5 myths about formative assessment in the first of this 2-part discussion. Resources: Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom by Catherine Garrison & Michael Ehringhaus Effective Classroom Assessment: Linking Assessment with Instruction by Catherine Garrison, Dennis Chandler, & Michael Ehringhaus Using Formative Assessments to Individualize Instruction and Promote Learning by Juliann M. Kaftan, Gayle A. Buck, & Alysa Haack