Meet Me in the Middle

Rick Wormeli is the teacher you would like to have on your team or in the room next door.
—from the Foreword by Ed Brazee

Drawing on the wisdom of educators, researchers, and twenty years of personal experience in the middle school classroom, Rick Wormeli lays out a clear vision of what responsive middle-level teaching can be in Meet Me in the Middle. Both a "how-to" book and a thoughtful narrative on important topics, Meet Me in the Middle gives you successful strategies for addressing key middle-level teaching challenges.

Those challenges include:

• differentiating instruction;
• motivating early adolescents;
• teaming;
• teaching in block-length classes;
• using authentic and alternative assessment effectively;
• writing in all subjects;
• holding students and teachers accountable;
• involving parents;
• mentoring teachers;
• using games in the classroom;
• applying the latest in brain research;
• the National Board Certification process;
• understanding the young adolescent.

Rick ignites the imagination and commitment of preservice and beginning teachers and rekindles the motivation of veteran teachers who want to create a high-performance classroom. He effectively demonstrates theory with rich examples from his own teaching. Teacher educators and staff developers will find Meet Me in the Middle to be a wonderful handbook of best practices and insights to share with new teachers, including second-career individuals coming from other professions.