How to Be an Effective Middle School Teacher Part 4

These are the final five tips I have for you about how to be an effective middle school teacher. Feel free to add your own tips in the comment section!

Be choosey about what you grade.

There is only so much time in the day. Pick the most important things to grade, and don’t get behind in your grading. Return graded work to students quickly so they have time to learn from their mistakes and get feedback about how to improve. I think we’ve all had that teacher who returned assignments a month or two or three after assigning them. I don’t know about you, but that always irritated me. Here are some tips on how to reduce grading time.

Get feedback on how to improve your teaching.

This can be from your students. When I was teaching middle school, my students would grade me twice a year. Their comments helped me reflect on my teaching practices and make improvements. I gained valuable insight from those little dudes and dudettes. If you’re serious about improving your teaching skills, let your students grade you. You can also request to have fellow teachers and administrators observe you. Observations are scary. I know. I hated them. But I learned so much from them that they were almost always worth the sleepless nights, nail-biting, and massive pit stains that preceded them.

Differentiate your lessons when feasible.

Challenge your students at their level. Too much challenge and they will shut down. Too little challenge and they aren’t really learning. Differentiation can mean the difference between an okay teacher and an amazing teaching. Many times, the most advanced students in class don’t get the challenge they need. Here’s how you can challenge those students.

Know that some classes are just wonky.

This doesn’t make you a bad teacher. Without fail, there has always been one “off” class every year of my teaching career. I’ve made great strides with those classes, usually, but never perfected them. What works for most classes might not work for your “off” class.

Take care of yourself!

Teacher burnout is real and common. Your needs need to be met. If you’re unhappy and struggling, you aren’t your best teacher self. Regularly take time for yourself and do what you love.

Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your tips! Please add your own teacher tips to the comments section below.

Previous Teacher Tips:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

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How to Be an Effective Middle School Teacher Part 3

Read these tips to become the best teacher for your students.

Lean on other teachers.

The teachers around you understand what you’re going through. They can provide a shoulder to cry on, chocolate to eat, and solutions to stuff you’re dealing with in your classroom. I remember many Tootsie Rolls were eaten with my fellow teachers during my first year of teaching. They (both teachers and Tootsie Rolls) can help.

Form a positive relationship with each student.

Classes are more fun for everyone when students like and respect their teacher. More positive adult role models are always a good thing. Do you have a difficult student you’re struggling to connect with? Here’s how you can form positive connections with ALL of your students.

Use a paperwork organization system that works for you.

Teachers have a lot of paperwork. Find a good way to organize all of those student papers and documents before the school year even begins. Some problems happen when transporting student work to and from school for grading purposes. Originally, I used paperclips to keep my different class sections separated. Well, let me tell you, paperclips don’t like to stay on bulging stacks of paper that are repeatedly crammed into a bag and then pulled out again. My eventual solution was one of those expanding file folders with multiple pockets. I labeled each pocket with a different class section. Worked like a charm. Until the little claspy-thing weakened and the papers spilled all over the floor in one big ol’ mess. #experience

Communicate with parents often.

Unfortunately, the first time many parents of middle school students hear from a teacher is negative news about how little Jimmy or little Janie is acting up in class. Try to recognize and share positive things with parents whenever they pop up. Also, parents have a wealth of knowledge about their kids. Time and again parent surveys given at the beginning of the year have proven invaluable in my class. Learn more about using parent surveys in your classroom.

Anticipate possible problems and misunderstandings.

When lesson planning you should dedicate just a little time to thinking about what problems might arise during the lesson. Come up with solutions, clearer directions, and/or better approaches. This has saved my sanity many times, and, more importantly, decreased wasted learning time for my students.

Learn about more ways to be an amazing middle school teacher in Part 4.

How to Be an Effective Middle School Teacher Part 2

Read these tips to become the best teacher for your students.

Incorporate socializing into your lessons whenever possible.

Most middle school students thrive on working with their peers. When they aren’t given the opportunity to talk to each other, they will often create their own social opportunities at inopportune times during your lesson. If you provide occasional times to communicate with classmates, then things will go more smoothly for all of you. These can include Think Pair Share, explaining a definition to a classmate, or coming up with examples together.

Allow for movement!

Students have plenty of time to be blobs. Movement gets their blood flowing which improves their ability to learn and refocus after learning difficult content. Movement is especially important during long block classes when students don’t have passing periods to get out their wiggles. Have students get up to turn in their own assignments; have a clear procedure for this, but don’t do it for them. Let students collect their own supplies. Have students do certain movements to show their answers (hop for answer A, flap your arms for answer B, etc.). During especially lethargic classes, I've been known to instruct my students to give a high five to five different people in the room. One of my favorite ways to practice content is with stations, which allow for plenty of movement and socialization. Here are some tips for how to effectively use stations in your classroom.

Be flexible.

One thing I love about teaching middle school students is how every day is completely different with them. They are strange people at this age and that means you’ll have to roll with the (hopefully not literal) punches.

Underestimate how long a lesson will take.

There have been a few lessons I taught that ended a good thirty minutes earlier than I expected them too. Wowza. Don’t let that be you. Have plenty of components to your lesson, a back up plan for what to do in case the lesson ends early, or a trusty time filler you can use in emergencies. My students LOVED when I pulled out my book of fun questions. It will not—and should not—kill thirty minutes of time, but it helped with a few minutes here and there throughout the year. Learn how to make your own fun question book, or get mine from my TPT store.

Check for understanding often.

Trust me, you don’t want to have taught an entire lesson only to realize at the end of class that your students are still trying to figure out step one. There are many ways to check for understanding throughout your lesson: cold calling, quick multiple choice questions, listening to student discussions, having students explain things back to you, and even counting the number of blank stares you receive.

Keep reading about ways to be an awesome middle school teacher in Part 3.

How to Be an Effective Middle School Teacher Part 1

So you want to be a boss teacher eh? Read these tips to become the best teacher for your students.

Build solid lesson plans with clear objectives. 

It all starts here. If you don't have a good lesson plan, then your students won't learn as much as they could in the short amount of time they have with you. If the lesson is boring or if your students only have passive learning roles, then not much learning will take place. Likewise, if the lesson is tons of fun but not actually aligned to learning objectives, your students aren’t going to learn what they need to be successful. Really think about what you want your students to learn and the best way to reach them.

Have and follow a behavior management plan.

Do what works for you and your style of teaching. Not sure how to get started? Read about the classroom rules and consequences that have been successful with my seventh grade students.

Have clear behavioral expectations for every activity and communicate those expectations to your students.

Fun, well planned activities can turn into nightmares involving evil clowns in less than three seconds when middle school students are involved. Before beginning any activity, clearly explain how students should and should not behave. It only takes a couple of minutes and, man, it’ll make a huge difference.

Use a routine your students can count on.

Routines make students feel safe and comfortable. Class runs smoother if students know what to expect. In my class we typically started with a Do Now followed by a quick review of previous content, an introduction of new material, practice with that material, and an informal assessment or Exit Ticket. Keep in mind, you don’t have to be completely anal about it. Test days, lab days, assembly days and more will jostle your typical routine around and that’s okay.  Just be consistent with your routine when possible and when it makes sense to do so.

Include the “why” piece in your lessons.

Students should know why they are learning something. When middle school students understand how a lesson relates to them and their future, they become more invested in your class and what they’re learning. They are better behaved because they want to learn what you’re sharing with them. Here's how to include the “why” in your lessons.

Keep reading about more ways to be an effective middle school teacher in Part 2.

How to Teach the Scientific Method to 7th Graders

As a middle school science teacher, I always love teaching the scientific method to my students. There are so many routes you can take with teaching it, and I’ve tried many of them. If you’re gearing up to teach the scientific method, then you might benefit from reading this post. (See what I did there?) You probably have many questions. When should I teach the scientific method? What all should I include in my unit? What order should I teach the topics of the scientific method? How do I go about teaching the scientific method? In this post I’ll share what’s worked for me. Plus, you’ll find some links to FREE resources to help get you started.

When Should I Teach the Scientific Method?

I want my students to have a good handle on lab safety before getting started with the scientific method because it involves labs, tools, and sometimes harmful chemicals. The scientific method is important for studying science in general, so I teach it as early in the year as possible. It is my second unit (right after lab safety). I bring the scientific method up throughout the year, whenever we have labs. After winter break I have a week-long review to brush up on the more difficult aspects of the scientific method.

What Should I Include in My Scientific Method Unit? In What Order Should I Teach the Topics?

Obviously, all groups of students are different. My seventh graders always come in with very, very little experience with the scientific method. Knowing that, I start with the basics and go over everything I think they need to know to successfully use the scientific method. I recommend giving your students a preassessment before the unit to gauge what topics you can skip and which you need to hammer into your students’ skulls. Here are the topics I always include in my scientific method unit and the general order in which I teach them:

1. The Steps of the Scientific Method
2. Independent and Dependent Variables
3. Scientific Questions
4. Hypotheses
5. Observations and Inferences
6. Research and Procedures
7. Constants/Controlled Variables
8. Analyzing Data/Graphs
9. Scientific Conclusions

How Do I Go About Teaching the Scientific Method?

In my class, each of the nine topics listed above starts with interactive notebook notes in combination with a PowerPoint. (See the video below of the interactive science notebook pages I use. They're all available in my store and you can get the INB pages in my Scientific Method Interactive Notebook Pages Bundle.) After introducing the topic via notes and a PowerPoint, the students get practice in the form of stations, activities, and/or worksheets. Lastly, I assess each topic with an exit ticket to determine if we need to keep working on the current topic or if we’re ready to move on to the next.



The single most important scientific method resource I have is my Scientific Method Stations. I use them at least three times in the unit because they’re so versatile. They give students practice identifying variables, writing good hypotheses, designing procedures etc. I just post them around the room at the beginning of the unit and they stay there until the day of the unit test. I truly believe they are a great resource for the middle school science classroom. They are one of my most loved and best selling resources, so I decided to make a second set. I added my Scientific Method Stations V2 to my store in September 2023! 

But Really, What Do You Do for Each Topic?

1. The Steps of the Scientific Method: I go over what the scientific method is, what it’s used for, the order of the steps, and what each step might look like.
2. Independent and Dependent Variables: I go over the definitions of independent and dependent variables and how to identify them in an experiment. Then we practice. And practice. And practice some more. Eventually it clicks and then my students HAVE GOT IT DOWN.
3. Scientific Questions: Students learn about what a good scientific question needs to have. We review variables again while examining good and bad scientific questions. Group work and games can be fun with this. 
4. Hypotheses: Students learn what a hypothesis is and how to write a good hypothesis. Even my best students need to learn the If/then version of writing a hypothesis because they have only been taught the “I think blah blah blah will happen” version. Hypotheses typically need a lot of practice. Here is a free coloring worksheet to help your students write good hypotheses and identify independent and dependent variables. 
5. Observations and Inferences: Students learn the definitions of qualitative and quantitative observations and how to use those to make inferences. Here is a free observation activity you can use in your class.
6. Research and Procedures: Research is straightforward so we briefly discuss where to find accurate information. For procedure, we learn what it is, why it’s important, and what happens if a procedure is poorly written. 
7. Constants/Controlled Variables: This is hands down the hardest part of the scientific method for my students. We go over what constants are, why they are important, and how to identify them in experiments. Students need TONS of practice with this. Here is a free exit ticket to check if your students have mastered constants. 
8. Analyzing Data/Graphs: I go over where independent and dependent variables go on graphs, what good graphs include, and types of graphs. Then we practice interpreting graphs. I try to include as much data analysis throughout the year as possible because my students always need practice with this. Here is a free data analysis worksheet and a free data analysis Boom Deck.
9. Scientific Conclusions: Students learn what should be included in a good conclusion and practice writing a good conclusion using a data table and graph from an experiment. 

I hope this post gives you a good starting point for planning your scientific method unit. I love teaching the scientific method and have created many resources for my students. You can find my scientific method resources here, including interactive notebook pages, activities, worksheets, and assessments. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to post a question below or message me. Thanks for reading and have a great school year!

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I added an option in my store to get all of my scientific method resources in one discounted bundle: Scientific Method HUGE Bundle.

Sequins or Soccer?

The other day I saw a pregnancy announcement on Facebook from a couple of schoolmates I have known since I was very little. In the picture were the smiling parents-to-be with a homemade sign saying “Sequins or Soccer?” At first I thought of how happy they must be and how nice their picture was. Clearly a lot of time was put into making that sign and getting the right pose and coordinating outfits. Later on, though, it hit me just how many people have gender expectations well before their child is even born. Why should a girl be represented with sequins and a boy with soccer? Why can’t they be swapped? Why can’t they be both?

As a new mom to a boy, I’m extra conscious of toys and clothes created with a gender in mind. I’d eventually like to have a second child and I try to be frugal, so I’ve been purchasing mostly gender-neutral things. One of those things was a pack of extra warm baby socks that came in an assortment of pastel colors. One pair was pink. When my son met his extended family wearing those fuzzy pink socks, many of his relatives commented on them. None of them said anything negative, but had it been a girl wearing the same socks I wonder if anyone would have even noticed them. It’s such a minor thing. Socks don’t matter. But how boys and girls might be treated differently, especially when it comes to education, does.

Seeing that pregnancy announcement and reflecting back on the sock incident was when I started to look at it all as a teacher. How have I treated my students differently because of their gender? Have I called on girls more often, expecting them to be more focused and attentive? Did I joke more with boys because they were supposed to be more easygoing and less uptight? Was I sterner with girls who were squirrely because they were expected to be demure? What about my seating arrangements? Have I placed girls next to talkative students more often, hoping their studious ways would rub off? Was I more likely to put boys in areas of the room with extra space so any excessive movement wouldn’t distract their classmates? Was I considering each student as an individual, or was I making gender generalizations?

I know some of the answers to those questions were yes. At times I did treat my male and female students differently. I also know that when I get back in the classroom I’ll be more cognizant of how I treat my students. My treatment and decisions about my students will be based on their individual needs, personalities, and strengths rather than what sock color they’re expected to wear.