This course is designed to provide students with a background in the curriculum, history, and philosophy of the middle school. It will also investigate the organizational structure, team planning and collaboration techniques, and teacher-student advising situations that are unique to the middle grades. Jackson, Anthony W. Reviving Ophelia . Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. Write a 3-4 page reaction paper to each text that focuses on your reaction to the material in the text.
Communication is a key ingredient in successful teaching at the middle school level.
Write a 7-10 page research paper on the topic of communication as it relates to middle school students and their developmental characteristics. You may choose to focus on group communication as it would be related to advisory groups at the middle school level. Develop a one-week unit that integrates two content areas appropriate at the middle school level. Do NOT submit lesson plans, rather develop a 2-3 page summary paper discussing the topic and how and why you and another teacher would work together teaching the unit. Interview a principal focusing on the topics related to the issues identified in the objectives.