This article shares thoughts about motivating young adolescents from the perspective of middle level students. The most compelling thread to emerge from the interviews with students was the fact that teachers matter. Teachers have a direct and significant impact on students' motivation to achieve. This article identifies three ways in which…

Teaching is a complex profession, and although every context is unique, teachers face common challenges. The authors have identified two challenges that nearly every teacher encounters: (1) managing a classroom of students; and (2) addressing the needs of individual students. Although these are not teachers' only challenges, the authors highlight…

Rethinking homework is a necessary step in improving teaching. Effective homework benefits students by taking into account their individual differences, while offering teachers greater control in their planning. In essence, rethinking homework takes teachers back to teaching, and to the question of what educators want students to come away from…

Extension and creative homework are discussed in this paper. Extension homework is assigned in order to transfer an idea or skill to a new or different situation. This form of homework is one way to develop reasoning and critical thinking skills. Examples of this type of homework are book and article reports. Creative homework requires students to…

The resource guide, developed by the ESL (English-as-a- Second-Language) Group of the Minnesota Literacy Training Network, contains useful classroom techniques and activities for teaching ESL. The ideas are both conventional and innovative, and support development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The first section lists…