In the Middle Education

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Comment by Shelbie Witte on August 19, 2009 at 4:18pm

Hi everyone! I'm getting very excited about the National Day on Writing and the National Gallery of Writing. I hope you have all considered starting a gallery for your class, school, or community. Do you have any ideas you want to share about how to promote the National Day on Writing in your school or community?

Comment by Kate Messner on March 14, 2009 at 11:16am

I'm both an author of middle grade novels and a teacher, so I've struggled with how to handle friend requests from my own students. Obviously, I want kids to be able to connect with me as an author, but the idea of having students friend me on Facebook is still new to me. It hasn't been an issue yet because most of my 7th graders aren't on that site, but I've been careful to keep my author sites and blogs 100% G-rated -- places for teachers and kids to have conversations about books and writing.

Comment by Shelbie Witte on December 7, 2008 at 6:54am

I agree with Maggie...I have two separate accounts on each, MySpace and Facebook.

Comment by Maggie Dorsey on December 6, 2008 at 2:53pm

I do have a Facebook page that I use to keep in touch with my friends and family--and I do NOT add students as my friends on Facebook. At this point, all of my 8th graders are still using MySpace, so it's not an issue. (I teach in a small, rural district and trends often take a while to reach us.) If Facebook seems to catch on, I will probably open a separate account for communication with my students. You can see the kinds of things I post on MySpace: www.myspace.com/maggiedorsey.

Comment by Helen Mulder Wierenga on December 6, 2008 at 2:18pm

Thanks for your note, Maggie.
One of my students just asked to be my friend on Facebook. I have mixed feelings about that. I am friends with other teachers. I post pictures of family, and crazy outings and vacations, etc. Do you have a world open to students and another for your more private world? Is there a private world? Should there be a difference? I can see that they would be excited about it.. how do you make that work? Thank you.

Comment by Maggie Dorsey on December 6, 2008 at 2:02pm

I have used MySpace for about four years now, and I continue to be amazed at how effectively it helps me connect with my students. I also maintain a classroom website, but they generally use that only to check the homework. They are so excited that I'm a part of their online world!

Comment by Helen Mulder Wierenga on December 6, 2008 at 1:45pm

Hello All!
I continue to explore ways to connect with these crazy and innovative students of mine. I have a book club and a lunch bunch. I go to sports and arts events. But I want to hear of what other ways you are connecting with your middle schoolers. Are you using technology? I just want to wrack your brains. Looking forward to hearing your posts. Thank you.

Comment by Helen Mulder Wierenga on November 30, 2008 at 5:07pm

NCTE in San Antonio was packed with great information and wonderful people. The challenge now is to bring it all back to the classroom. I look forward to reading about different ideas here "In the Middle Group." I need this piece of inspiration. Thank you in advance!

Comment by Debra Baker on November 27, 2008 at 9:30am

I teach 8th grade Language Arts in St. Louis, Missouri. I would love to gather creative ideas about using technology in the classroom and maybe even work toward some collaborative projects with other teachers.

Comment by Shelbie Witte on November 22, 2008 at 5:22pm

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great conference!!

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