Voices from the Middle offers articles on research and best practices in middle level reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the visual and language arts. Our mission is to be the cornerstone for the ongoing professional development of language arts educators. (Published September, December, March, and May)
Editors: Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp
San Diego State University
Contact: dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu
"Although freeloaders are probably the most-complained-about element of group work, the flip side of the coin could be the students who are doing too much within the group. . . . [who do] more than an equal share. Meet the “overachiever.” While we frequently talk about how to motivate the slackers, perhaps we also need to consider the other part of this dilemma. If our overachievers take on the bulk of the load, are they also taking on the bulk of the learning? We need to ask ourselves some questions as we evaluate each group: What is each person contributing to the work of the group? Is everyone advancing in his or her own learning? What can we do to help students work better together?"
—Trudi J. Nelson, p. 16
Recent Themes
September 2012:
Background Knowledge and Vocabulary
May 2012:
New Literacies
March 2012:
Preparing Our Students as Writers
December 2011:
The Faces of Intervention
Check out additional, Web-only content, and listen to podcasts featuring authors from this issue.
September 2011:
Quality Teaching
May 2011:
Looking Back and Moving Forward
March 2010:
Honoring Student Voices
December 2010:
Talking about Talk
September 2010:
International Literacy
May 2010:
Young Adult Literature