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 pre-service 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.