Understanding the developmental responsiveness of secondary school environments may be an important factor in supporting students as they make the transition from one school to the next. Students' needs may or may not be met depending on the nature of the fit between their basic and developmental needs and secondary school structures at the middle…

Middle school students are naturally curious about their expanding possibilities. This stage of their lives is a time of transition, of figuring out who they are and where they belong in the world. Many students also think that the world they look at through the classroom window is distant and unconnected to the world of chalkboards and pop…

Proposes clustering content areas of a middle school curriculum under humanities, technology, and personal study. An interdisciplinary team planning approach could eliminate the schism between academic and other subjects. (MLF)

Examines the difficulties that plague the middle school movement and why there has been little substantive reform in changing from junior high schools to middle schools. (Author/WD)

The middle school program emerged against a backdrop of criticism, awareness of changing educational necessities and values, and new insights into the needs of the middle range of the student population. The precocity of youth mixed with the pseudo-sophistication of adulthood gives the middle school its reason for existence--the…

This supplement offers 10 articles focusing on middle school education. Topics include remembering adolescence, resources and teaching tips, active middle school students, adolescent development, challenges in middle school education, integrated studies, planning middle school special events, a writing-science-consumerism miniunit on popcorn,…

Examines social aspects of literacy learning; presents some thoughts on reading development and literacy instruction. Suggests that teachers should promote literacy by incorporating students' interests in their activities. Developing chat rooms, posting messages on the Internet, and making a radio play for younger students all provide meaningful…

This textbook explores ways in which to teach young adolescents successfully and is based on the premise that curriculum and teaching methods should be designed to create a challenging environment. A developmental view of the young adolescent is presented and is connected to middle level curriculum development; information on content rationales is…

Guidelines for implementation of the team process as part of the middle school concept are presented. Topics discussed in the 13 chapters include effective middle school characteristics, student needs, curriculum design and development, team functions and effectiveness, scheduling, teaching strategies, student grouping, leadership, staff…

Provides a more in-depth look at selected historical fiction from the "1995 Notable Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies." Includes learning activities for middle school students constructed around several of the books. The historical works address diverse subjects such as the African American experience and World War II. (MJP)

This document describes a study that examined several factors to determine their influence on student social bonding to school, to peers, and to teachers. The study focused on factors related to students' personal and social backgrounds, school organization, and students' relationships with teachers and peers. Specifically, the researchers sought…

Discusses instructional strategies that address five affective needs of middle school students: freedom of choice, appropriate peer interactions, instructional diversity, personal expression, and broadened perspectives. Suggests that when incorporated into existing curriculum and laced with relevant application, these strategies can lead to a…

Provides direction for developing appropriate and meaningful social studies instruction for the development of responsible citizenship in adolescents. Suggests that curriculum design should have some relationship to physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. Identifies concerns with the self, right and wrong, others, and the world…

Intended as a guidebook for middle level educators as they seek to institute educational experiences appropriate to the adolescents in their programs, this book discusses the issues and assets of middle school education in rural settings. Chapter 1 of the book is an introduction, discussing the concept of middle school as applied to small rural…

Using reading and writing to learn, inquire, construct, and examine ideas across the curriculum is central to an integrated curriculum. Too many middle school students do not view writing as a communication process that permeates the curriculum, nor reading as an active, constructivist process whereby various perspectives can be examined and…