A 4-step plan for promoting metacognition in your middle school classroom: • Name it • Model it • Practice it • Reflect on it Here's a how-to guide.

This stretch of the year is so notoriously tough that teacher Kelly Treleaven gave it a name. It’s “that time after the shiny newness of the first few weeks has worn off, when fatigue sets in, boundaries get tested, trillions of various forms are due, and there’s no significant break in sight.”

The days are getting shorter, your to-do list is getting longer, and your coffee is getting stronger. You’ve entered DEVOLSON: the Dark, Evil Vortex of Late September, October, and November.

October is one of the best times to take learning outside, educator Charlene Lutz writes in her first Edutopia article. 🍁 Here are 3 autumn activities that will get students observing, asking questions, and creating art!

Try out teacher Jen Eastwick’s synonym game! “The aim here is to build vocabulary, not to see how many words they already know. Help them out, talk about the words together and keep the game fun. The conversation you have while playing is where so much of the learning happens.”

A few dozen acrylic keychains got students talking about books and boosted their school's culture of reading, says library media specialist Carsyn Smothers. 🔑 📚 Here's how to adopt this initiative in your school!

Friday question for teachers: Where did you find awe this week, and where did you walk right past it? Mine: Beautiful fall colors this week and having fun together on a class trip. There were a few sunrises I should have slowed down to watch.

Funny thing is: several years later and I remember that exact moment like it was yesterday—who said it, who else was in that classroom, how immediately/comprehensively we all melted down. What I don't remember: what the exit ticket data was from that lesson. 🤷‍♂️ (And I think that's the point?)

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Most students’ families learn about their math progress through completed assignments, test scores, and report cards. But there are other ways for families to support math at home! In her first article for Edutopia, principal Zoraida Brown shares a few. ➕ 💫

🎲 Build stronger math skills with these fun, low-prep dice games! Perfect for quick practice breaks in the classroom.