"Middle School Today" is clustered into major themes: adolescent development and identity, the adolescent learner, curriculum and instruction, and the contemporary middle school. The book describes the components related to adolescent development starting with simple principles from psychology regarding the physical, cognitive, and…

This article shares how three African-centered Black men partnered with a school system to develop and implement an Africentric rites of passage program for seventh- and eighth-grade Black male students. The proposed school-based intervention aimed to socialize, educate, and cultivate Black boys in preparation for manhood. Theoretically, the…

The prevailing cultural narrative about middle school is that those years are extremely difficult, and the best students can hope for is to endure them until finding relief in high school. Nancy Deutsch argues that these years are, in fact, a time of great potential if schools can abandon their stereotypes about young adolescents and create school…

"The Successful Middle School" builds upon many decades of commitment to the middle school concept. The fifth edition of AMLE's landmark position paper amplifies the importance of responding both to young adolescents' developmental needs and to their social identities. The edition's release amidst a global pandemic and increasing…

For students with significant behavior problems, difficulties with executive function (EF) and associated self-regulation are not uncommon, and middle school is a crucial period when students are at greater risk for escalating behaviors that have long-term impacts (e.g., school dropout, incarceration; Kauffman & Landrum, 2018). Therefore, in…

For students with significant behavior problems, difficulties with executive function (EF) and associated self-regulation are not uncommon, and middle school is a crucial period when students are at greater risk for escalating behaviors that have long-term impacts (e.g., school dropout, incarceration; Kauffman & Landrum, 2018). Therefore, in…

Young adolescents undergo rapid physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and sexual development, including puberty, sexual awareness, gender identity, physiological brain and cognitive growth, complex emotions, and impulse control. Tragically, thousands of adolescents die daily from mostly preventable causes such as violence, sexual health problems…

Coming of age themes are common in young adult novels, and graphic novels in particular often address these issues as illustrated memoirs. This article explores engaging and interesting graphic novels about growing up, useful resources for school librarians and other educators using this format, and the value of using graphic novels to support…

For gifted girls, the journey toward self-actualization can be particularly challenging during adolescence. To better support gifted adolescent girls, this article explores a contemporary framework for understanding smart girls of the 21st century: Kerr and McKay's beehive of smart girls. Kerr and McKay's typology highlights how different…

This research-to-resource article reports pedagogical implications of several types of research literature. This literature collectively focuses on boys' adolescent development, with specific attention to psychological and sociological implications on the teaching of vocal technique during the period of voice change. From this foundation, the…

Students in the middle grades experience tremendous development in various domains. However, childhood trauma can significantly impede this development, further exacerbating the functioning of our most vulnerable student populations. This article aims to describe the use of trauma-informed teaching as a form of middle-level, social justice…

Effective educators value young adolescents, are prepared to teach them, and are knowledgeable about this age group. Middle level educators' understanding of adolescent brain development and developmentally responsive teaching strategies can help to support all adolescents' cognitive and social-emotional development in school. This article…

Despite the use of various anti-bullying programs, bullying continues to plague middle schools. However, there is an approach to bullying that complements other programs and can be easily integrated into course curriculum. This approach uses young adult novels to encourage adolescents to use perspective taking and empathy building through…

Middle-school-age children are faced with a variety of developmental tasks, including the beginning phases of individuation from the family, building peer groups, social and emotional transitions, and cognitive shifts associated with the maturation process. This article summarizes how traumatic events impair and complicate these developmental…

The decline in middle school students' motivation and engagement during young adolescence remains a concern for educators, administrators, and educational researchers. This article draws on the philosophies of providing the appropriate person-environment fit and meeting students' basic psychological needs to enhance teaching and learning. These…