research strategies for middle school students

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As the research skills you teach middle school students can last them all their lives, it’s essential to help them develop good habits early in their school careers.

Research skills are useful in nearly every subject, whether it’s English, math, social studies or science, and they will continue to pay off for students every day of their schooling. Understanding the most important research skills that middle school students need will help reach these kids and make a long-term difference.

The research process

It is important for every student to understand that research is actually a process rather than something that happens naturally. The best researchers develop a process that allows them to fully comprehend the ideas they are researching and also turn the data into information that is usable for whatever the end purpose may be. Here is an example of a research process that you may consider using when teaching research skills in your middle school classroom:

• Form a question : Research should be targeted; develop a question you want to answer before progressing any further.
• Decide on resources : Not every resource is good for every question/problem. Identify the resources that will work best for you.
• Gather raw data : First, gather information in its rawest form; do not attempt to make sense of it at this point.
• Sort the data : After you have the information in front of you, decide what is important to you and how you will use it. Not all data will be reliable or worthwhile.
• Process information : Turn the data into usable information. This processing step may take longer than the rest combined. This is where you really see your data shape into something exciting.
• Create a final piece : This is where you would write a research paper, create a project or build a graph or other visual piece with your information. This may or may not be a formal document.
• Evaluate : Look back on the process. Where did you experience success and failure? Did you find an answer to your question?

This process can be adjusted to suit the needs of your particular classroom or the project you are working on. Just remember that the goal is not only to find the data for this particular project, but to teach your students research skills that will help them in the long run.

Research is a very important part of the learning process as well as being useful in real-life once the student graduates. Middle school is a great time to develop these skills as many high school teachers expect that students already have this knowledge.

Students who are well-prepared as researchers will be able to handle nearly any assignment that comes their way. Finding new ways to teach research skills to middle school students need will be a challenge, but the results are well worth it as you see your students succeed in your classroom and set the stage for further success throughout their schooling experience.

You may also like to read

• Web Research Skills: Teaching Your Students the Fundamentals
• Building Math Skills in High School Students
• How to Help High School Students with Career Research
• Five Free Websites for Students to Build Research Skills
• Homework in Middle School: Building a Foundation for Study Skills
• 5 Novels for Middle School Students that Celebrate Diversity

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10 Great Research Topics for Middle School Students

Middle school is the perfect time to start exploring the fascinating world of research, especially if you're passionate about STEM and the humanities. Engaging in research projects now not only feeds your curiosity but also develops critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a love for learning. Whether you're intrigued by the secrets of the universe, the beauty of numbers, or the complexity of robotics, there's a research project that you can pursue to help you build your knowledge. Let's dive into some advanced yet accessible research topics that will challenge you and enhance your academic journey.

1. Program your own robot

What to do:  Start by defining the purpose of your robot. Will it be a pet robot that follows you around, or perhaps a robot that can help carry small items from one room to another? Sketch your design on paper, focusing on what sensors and motors you'll need. For instance, a robot that follows light might need light sensors, while a robot that avoids obstacles will require ultrasonic sensors. Use an Arduino or Raspberry Pi as the brain. You'll need to learn basic programming in Python (for Raspberry Pi) or C++ (for Arduino) to code your robot's behavior.

Tips to get started:  The official websites for Arduino  and Raspberry Pi  offer tutorials for beginners. For more specific projects, such as building a pet robot, search for guides on Instructables  that detail each step from hardware assembly to software programming.

2. Design a solar-powered oven

What to do:  Investigate how solar ovens work and the science behind solar cooking. Your oven can be as simple as a pizza box solar oven or more complex, like a parabolic solar cooker. Key materials include reflective surfaces (aluminum foil), clear plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect, and black construction paper to absorb heat. Experiment with different shapes and angles to maximize the heat capture and cooking efficiency. Test your oven by trying to cook different foods and measure the temperature achieved and cooking time required.

Tips to get started:  The Solar Cooking  wiki is an excellent resource for finding different solar cooker designs and construction plans. YouTube also has numerous DIY solar oven tutorials. Document your process and results in a project journal, noting any changes in design that lead to improvements in efficiency.

3. Assess the health of a local ecosystem

What to do:  Choose a local natural area, such as a stream, pond, or forest, and plan a series of observations and tests to assess its health. Key activities could include water quality testing (for pH, nitrates, and phosphates), soil testing (for composition and contaminants), and biodiversity surveys (identifying species of plants and animals present). Compile your data to evaluate the ecosystem's health, looking for signs of pollution, habitat destruction, or invasive species.

Tips to get started:  For a comprehensive approach, NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory  provides information on atmospheric and environmental monitoring techniques. Tools like iNaturalist  can assist in species identification, and water and soil testing kits are available from science education suppliers.

4. Develop an educational app

What to do:  Identify a gap in educational resources that your app could fill. Perhaps you noticed that students struggle with a particular math concept, or there's a lack of engaging resources for learning a foreign language. Outline your app’s features, design the user interface, and plan the content it will deliver. Use MIT App Inventor  for a drag-and-drop development experience, or Scratch  for a game-like educational app. Test your app with classmates or family members, and use their feedback for improvements.

Tips to get started:  Both MIT App Inventor  and Scratch  provide tutorials and community forums where you can learn from others’ projects. Begin with a simple prototype, focusing on one core feature, and expand from there.

5. Model rocketry: design, build, and launch!

What to do:  Dive into the basics of rocket science by designing your own model rocket. Understand the principles of thrust, aerodynamics, and stability as you plan your rocket. Materials can range from simple kits available online to homemade components for the body, fins, and nose cone. Educate yourself on the proper engine selection for your design and the recovery system to ensure your rocket returns safely. Conduct a launch in a safe, open area, following all safety guidelines.

Tips to get started:  The National Association of Rocketry  is a treasure trove of information on model rocket safety, design, and launch procedures. For beginners, consider starting with a kit from Estes Rockets , which includes all necessary components and instructions.

6. Create a wearable electronic device

What to do:  Envision a wearable device that solves a problem or enhances an aspect of daily life. It could be a smart bracelet that reminds you to stay hydrated or a hat with integrated LEDs for nighttime visibility. Sketch your design, listing the components you'll need, such as LEDs, sensors, a power source, and a microcontroller like the Adafruit Flora or Gemma. Plan your circuit, sew or assemble your device, and program it to function as intended.

Tips to get started:   Adafruit’s Wearables  section offers guides and tutorials for numerous wearable projects, including coding and circuit design. Start with a simple project to familiarize yourself with electronics and sewing conductive thread before moving on to more complex designs.

7. Explore the science of slime and non-Newtonian fluids

What to do:  Conduct experiments to understand how the composition of slime affects its properties. Create a standard slime recipe using glue, borax (or contact lens solution as a safer alternative), and water. Alter the recipe by varying the amounts of each ingredient or adding additives like cornstarch, shaving cream, or thermochromic pigment. Test how each variation affects the slime’s viscosity, stretchiness, and reaction to pressure.

Tips to get started:  The Science Bob  website offers a basic slime recipe and the science behind it. Document each experiment carefully, noting the recipe used and the observed properties. This will help you understand the science behind non-Newtonian fluids.

8. Extract DNA at home

What to do:  Use common household items to extract DNA from fruits or vegetables, like strawberries or onions. The basic process involves mashing the fruit, adding a mixture of water, salt, and dish soap to break down cell membranes, and then using cold alcohol to precipitate the DNA out of the solution. Observe and analyze the DNA strands.

Tips to get started:  Detailed instructions and the science explanation are available at the Genetic Science Learning Center . This project offers a tangible glimpse into the molecular basis of life and can be a springboard to more complex biotechnology experiments.

9. Investigate the efficiency of different types of solar cells

What to do:  Compare the efficiency of various solar panels, such as monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin-film. Design an experiment to measure the electrical output of each type under identical lighting conditions, using a multimeter to record voltage and current. Analyze how factors like angle of incidence, light intensity, and temperature affect their performance.

Tips to get started:  Introductory resources on solar energy and experiments can be found at the Energy.gov  website. Consider purchasing small solar panels of different types from electronics stores or online suppliers. Ensure that all tests are conducted under controlled conditions for accurate comparisons.

10. Study ocean acidification and its effects on marine life

What to do:  Simulate the effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms in a controlled experiment. Use vinegar to lower the pH of water in a tank and observe its impact on calcium carbonate shells or skeletons, such as seashells or coral fragments. Monitor and record changes over time, researching how acidification affects the ability of these organisms to maintain their shells and skeletons.

Tips to get started:   NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program  offers educational materials and experiment ideas. For a simpler version of this experiment, see instructions for observing the effects of acidified water on eggshells, which are similar in composition to marine shells, at educational websites like Science Buddies .

By pursuing these projects, you will not only gain a deeper understanding of STEM principles but also develop invaluable skills in research, design, and critical analysis. These projects will teach you how to question, experiment, and innovate, laying the groundwork for future scientific inquiries and discoveries.

One other option – Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program

The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about .  Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke and LSE.

The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard. The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure ! 

To learn more, you can reach out to our Head of Growth, Khushi Malde, at [email protected] or go to our website .

Multiple rolling deadlines for JEP cohorts across the year, you can apply using this application link ! If you'd like to take a look at the cohorts + deadlines for 2024, you can refer to this page!

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

• middle school students

Top Research strategies for Students

What are the essential research strategies for students?

Not so long ago, accessing information required legwork. Actual legwork in the form of actually walking to the library and searching through the numerous books organized using an archaic system called the Dewey Decimal System. 

Things are much less complicated these days. In this wired age, accessing information is as simple as pressing a few buttons on a laptop or swiping your finger across a cell phone screen. 

While this 24/7 online access to information represents impressive progress, we still need to ensure our students develop the necessary research skills and strategies that allow them to access the correct information, evaluate it for accuracy, and then plan for its use in our own work accordingly – whatever the student’s age.

In this article, we will look at solid research skills that will benefit students of all ages. Some of these are evergreen old-school strategies, while others are shiny new. Regardless, each is designed to help students from elementary through to high school make the most of the information to research effectively.

The skills described below represent the essential skills and strategies our students will require. They can begin to develop these in elementary school and build on those foundations as they progress through middle school and high school.

After examining these skills, we provide you with a series of activities organized hierarchically and categorized according to the approximate school stage they correspond to. These can also be dipped into and mixed and matched according to the particular abilities of your specific students.

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

Online Research Strategies

Research is essential to the writing process ; students will stumble at the first hurdle without the necessary skills. Research skills help students locate the required relevant information and evaluate its reliability. Developing excellent research skills ultimately enables students to become their teachers.

Let’s now look at the most important of these research skills.

Research Tip # 1. Use Search Engine Shortcuts

Good research begins with asking good questions. This also applies to employing search engines, such as Google , DuckDuckGo , and Yahoo, effectively.

The Internet is an almost inexhaustible collection of information and is constantly growing. Search engines are a tool that helps us filter that information down to the exact piece of knowledge we are seeking. This is achieved primarily through the careful selection of search terms. The specificity of the search terms used is key to successfully navigating the immense ocean of information available on the ’net. 

The more refined our search queries are, the more likely the search engine will return relevant information to us and the less time we will waste in the process. 

As Google is the most popular search engine out there, here are some quick tips to ensure you and your students are getting the most out of your Google searches. However, note that many of these strategies also work on other search engines.

• Use Quotation Marks

Placing your search terms inside quotation marks (“”) ensures Google searches for the whole phrase, not just occurrences of the individual words in the phrase. This minimizes guesswork on the part of Google and ensures only the most relevant pages are returned to you.

• Exclude Words with a Hyphen

English contains a lot of ambiguity. While this is great for the poets among us, it can make researching some terms problematic. For example, if you search for the term ‘ toast ’ meaning speech, you may also get many results related to the much-loved breakfast staple. Simply type ‘ toast -breakfast’ into the search bar to remove results related to this meaning. This tells Google only to return results including ‘toast’ and to exclude those results also containing the term ‘breakfast.’

• Search a Specific Site

Sometimes we come across a site that is a real treasure trove of information but where information is poorly indexed on the site menus. Luckily, there is a way to search the content on a specific site. To do this, simply type the search terms into the search bar followed by ‘ site: ’ and then the particular site URL. For example, if we wanted to search the Literacy Ideas website for mentions of the term ‘ Visual Literacy ’, we would enter:

visual literacy site:literacyideas.com

We highly recommend this resource for using Google search as a research tool with students. It is very comprehensive.

Research Tip # 2. Check Your Sources

The popular Internet meme quoting Abraham Lincoln states, “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”

In this era of Fake News, we are constantly reminded of the unreliability of much of the information presented as truth on the web . We (and our students) must have some strategies to assess the accuracy and validity of the information we come across.

A good starting point is to ask yourself the following questions when assessing new information:

●      Is this information up-to-date?

●      Is this information detailed?

●      Is the author identified?

●      Is the author qualified on the topic?

●      Are sources cited?

●      Does the information come from a trusted source?

A Complete Teaching Unit on Fake News

Digital and social media have completely redefined the media landscape, making it difficult for students to identify FACTS AND OPINIONS covering:

Teach them to FIGHT FAKE NEWS with this COMPLETE 42 PAGE UNIT. No preparation is required,

Research Tip # 3. Select Domains Wisely

When searching, encourage students to consider the importance of domains, such as .com , .org , . gov , and . edu . These are not all created equally. For example, .com and .org domains are classed as ‘open,’ meaning anyone can register on them. They are usually used for commercial reasons. 

Other domains are classed as ‘closed,’ such as .gov and .edu , and registrants must meet specific eligibility requirements to register these. For example, in the case of .edu , registration is limited to accredited post-secondary institutions in the United States. 

Depending on the purpose of your search, the domain you choose to search may have implications for the reliability and usefulness of the results returned.

To choose which type of domain to search, type ‘site’, followed by a colon, and then the domain after your chosen search terms. 

For example, if you wish to search for the term ‘ American presidents ’ on .edu sites, simply type:

American presidents site:edu

Research Tip # 4. Citation

One downside of the widespread instant and free availability of information on the Internet is the erosion of intellectual property rights and the inevitable increase in plagiarism. 

To combat this, we must ensure our students avoid plagiarism and respect copyright rights by adequately citing sources used. 

When engaged in writing essays , students should be familiar with how to use quotation marks, compile notes, and structure a bibliography. When citing online sources, they should also be familiar with the conventions related to citing URLs.

Just how detailed citations are will depend mainly on the age and ability of the students in question. 

Many excellent free online resources help to format citations correctly, some of which can automatically create formatted citations. For example, Citation Machine and Citation Builder provide this service. Google Docs also has an add-on feature that automatically generates bibliographies and footnotes according to various citation styles, e.g., Chicago, APA, MLA, etc.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

Research Skills Activities

Elementary School Students

Providing a basic overview of the various research strategies is sufficient for this age group. 

Discussions about what research is and why we do it are excellent places to start developing research skills.

These discussions will open up possibilities for students to acquire the necessary vocabulary to develop research skills. 

Some topics and areas to focus these discussions on could include:

• How to ask questions about simple research topics
• The concept of keywords – what are they, and how do they work?
• A general overview of search engines, e.g., Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Yahoo 
• A basic explanation of sources
• Simple note-taking skills
• Researching in the library the “old school” way

Elementary Practice Activities

• Individual Research Project

Ask the students to choose their favorite animal for a class presentation at the end. Students can start by generating research questions to fuel their investigations. Areas they might want to look at could include habitat, life cycle, population numbers, diet, etc.

• Collaborative Hands-On Research

This activity allows the students to engage in basic ‘hands-on’ research on the Internet. This will allow them to practice using keyword search terms to locate helpful information.

Organize the students into ‘research groups’ and provide the groups with a simple topic and a list of questions to research online. For example, the topic might be The Solar System, and some questions they might research could include:

• How many planets are in the solar system?
• What is the name of the closest planet to the sun?
• Which is the most giant planet in the solar system?
• Which is the smallest?
• How many moons does Jupiter have?
• How long does it take for Venus to orbit the sun?
• What is the name of the planet furthest from the sun? 

The winning team will be the team to find all the correct answers the quickest.

• Class Project

Another variation of the individual research project is to do a whole class project on a larger scale. For example, students could choose a favorite holiday, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Eid, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, etc., and research multiple aspects of it. For example:

• What are the roots of this festival?
• What is its significance?
• What types of gifts are given?
• What food is associated with this holiday?
• Are certain clothes, customs, or traditions associated with it?

The findings of this research could form classroom displays, presentations, exhibits, etc.

Middle School Students

Students are ready to begin using more sophisticated research skills and strategies at this age. Some things to focus on with middle school-aged students include:

• A more detailed explanation of sources and how to determine their credibility
• Examination of online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia – explore how they may not always be reliable but can be a good resource for locating other more credible sources.
• The use of domains such “edu” “org” “gov” and how they can be used to identify sources
• Practice using simple shortcuts that can be used when searching online
• Discussions on planning and keeping organized notes,  e.g., journals, checklists, templates, etc.

Middle School Practice Activities

• Information Recording

As students begin dealing with more complex and larger volumes of information, they’ll need to develop strategies to help them condense and record information for later use in the writing process.

To help them develop this skill, set the students a how-to research task. Choose a task suited to your students’ ages and abilities, for example, anything from How to Bake Cookies to How to Construct a Bridge .

This is an opportunity for your students to develop their note-taking abilities helping them record the important information from their research activities. You may also want them to make visualizations such as diagrams, infographics, and charts, which are valuable techniques for recording the fruits of the research labor.

• Group Project

Organize students into suitably sized groups and provide them with a topic to investigate. Countries work well. Each group will assign a team member to research a specific aspect of their country, and they will pool their findings at the end to develop a presentation or classroom display. Some aspects worthy of research may include:

• Customs and traditions
• Tourist attractions

High School Students

At this stage, the focus moves on from merely finding sources of information to actually processing them. Here, the students should be encouraged to engage more closely with what their research uncovers and begin to dig beneath the surface to evaluate material and sources more critically.

To develop these abilities, students will need to:

• Begin asking more probing questions to initiate their research
• Examine the sources of information more critically
• Become more precise and methodical in choosing search criteria
• Use multiple resources – online, news articles, documentaries, podcasts, youtube
• Keep records of sites visited and books, journals, and articles referred to for citation later 
• Cite sources correctly
• quotation marks for searching exact phrases/words
• minus symbol(-) for excluding certain words
• asterisk(*)  used to broaden a search by finding words that begin with the same stem 
• “site” for site-specific search
• Evaluate sources for reliability, relevance, accuracy, and how current they are
• Develop more organized note-taking methods – focus on quality over quantity
• Plan effectively – utilize strategies to compile information that will help in the final presentation of findings.

High School Practice Activities

• Develop Research Questions

As students learn to deal with the increasing breadth and complexity of research topics, they’ll need to know how to narrow their focus by developing more specific research questions.

This activity provides students with a list of topics to choose from; this can be an excellent opportunity for forging cross-curricular links. For example, you might suggest history or physical education topics, such as The Vietnam War or Cardiovascular Exercise .

Then, ask students to choose a topic and develop research questions on it for aspects they would like to explore further. For example, they might ask questions like How did the Vietnam War start? Or, What effect does cardiovascular exercise have on mood?

Students can then research the answers to their most interesting research questions and share their findings with the class.

• Hold a Debate

Debates are a great way to illustrate the power of research in practical terms – and they are a lot of fun to boot!

In this activity, organize students into debating groups of three. Assign each pair of groups a debate motion and a position. Students will then need to go away and research their topic thoroughly before writing their speeches and delivering their arguments. To learn more about preparing a debate-winning speech, check out our article here .

Research Strategies

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

So, what do students do with all these finally-tuned research skills now at their fingertips?

If the boy scouts have taught us anything, it is essential to be prepared. To that end, let’s look at planning strategies to help students get the most from their well-honed research skills.

1. Collaboration

In our rapidly changing world, it is impossible to accurately predict the nature of the jobs our students will undertake in the future. 

However, what does seem sure is that the so-called soft skills , which are transferable between jobs, will be much in demand in the working world of tomorrow. Collaboration is one of these important skills.

Collaboration involves working together to achieve a common goal. It promotes high levels of interaction and communication between students and colleagues. Collaboration exposes each individual to diverse perspectives and encourages higher-level thinking. Incorporating collaboration at the planning stage helps ensure the success of teaching and learning projects.

2. The Round Robin

Brainstorming is a tried and tested means of beginning the planning process. There are many variations in brainstorming techniques. The Round Robin , which we will look at here, lends itself well to our previous collaboration strategy.

In the Round Robin , the students sit in a circle to discuss the topic. 

One by one, go around the circle, encouraging each student to share one idea until everyone has had a chance to speak. While this happens, an appointed person can keep a record of each shared idea.

Ideas must be shared first without initial discussion or criticism. Evaluation and debate should occur only after each person has had an opportunity to share their ideas.

This is an excellent strategy to ensure each person has had an opportunity to share their ideas. It also avoids any one voice dominating a collaborative planning session.

3. The Mind Map

Mind Maps are simply diagrams that visually represent ideas. They can be done individually or collaboratively using words, pictures, or both. 

With much in common with brainstorming, Mind Maps are an excellent way to begin the planning process, as they are a superb means of organizing complex ideas.

Many people use paper and pens to create Mind Maps for their projects. However, people are increasingly turning to technology to help their development. There are now many paid and free options online, providing templates and tools to help you develop your own Mind Maps .

4. Use an Online Calendar

Homework deadlines. Exam timetables. College applications. The demands on students and teachers alike are many and varied. It may, at times, seem impossible to keep track of everything. 

Using an online calendar, such as those pre-installed on many cell phones, helps ensure you keep track of your to-do list, and many will even provide regular reminders as those deadlines loom near.

5. Create Checklists

Not only are checklists a great way to ensure you have fulfilled all the criteria of a given task, but they are also an effective means of planning out all the points you need to hit to complete a project successfully.

A good checklist should contain all the essential elements for a successful piece of work. When the descriptions of these items are kept generic rather than detailed and specific, they can serve as templates for a particular genre to be reused each time your students engage in that type of work.

Research Thoroughly. Implement Effectively!

Research skills are the bridge between the idea and its implementation in writing. The more students develop their research skills, the more authoritative their writing will become. With practice, these two sides of the blade will become razor-sharp.

A COMPLETE DIGITAL READING UNIT FOR STUDENTS

Over 30 engaging activities for students to complete BEFORE, DURING and AFTER reading ANY BOOK

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Useful research strategIES video TUTORIALS

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Exciting Research Topics for Middle Schoolers to Fuel Curiosity

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Middle school is a time of burgeoning curiosity and the perfect opportunity for students to engage in research that not only educates them academically but also cultivates skills for the future. By encouraging young learners to explore topics they are passionate about, educators and parents play a pivotal role in their intellectual development and the growth of their intrinsic motivation. This blog post outlines a diverse range of research topics suited to the inquiring minds of middle school students, giving them the freedom to deepen their understanding of various subjects while honing critical thinking and independent study skills.

Uncovering the Mysteries of History

Middle schoolers often find history fascinating, particularly when learning about the past from distinct perspectives. Here are some intriguing historical research topics to consider:

• The Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement: Apart from the well-known leaders, students can explore the contributions of lesser-known figures who played a significant role in the struggle for equality.
• The Impact of Ancient Civilizations on Modern Society: Researching the ways in which the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, or other ancient societies have influenced contemporary culture, politics, and technology offers a broad canvas for exploration.
• Everyday Life in Different Historical Periods: Focusing on the routines, customs, and technologies that shaped people’s daily lives in times gone by can provide valuable insights into societal norms and individual experiences.

Science and the Natural World

The sciences are a playground of wonder, with an infinity of topics waiting to be explored. Here are some research ideas that can nurture a love for discovery and experimentation:

• Climate Change: Effects and Solutions: Investigating the causes and potential solutions to this global challenge can make students aware of their role in protecting the planet.
• The Wonders of the Solar System: Encouraging a study of the planets, their moons, and the vast expanse of space they inhabit can ignite dreams of interstellar exploration.
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation: Researching the variety of life on Earth and strategies to protect and sustain ecosystems can foster a sense of environmental stewardship.

Literature, Language, and Creative Expression

Language and literature are potent forms of human expression, allowing students to explore complex ideas and emotions. Here are some topics that bridge the gap between art and academia:

• Interpreting Classic Literature for Modern Relevance: Encouraging the study of timeless works can lead to discussions on their contemporary significance and the evolution of societal values.
• The Structure and Evolution of Language: Investigating the origins and changes in language over time can be a rich area of study, especially when paired with the examination of cultural shifts.
• The Intersection of Art and Literature: Exploring how visual arts and writing intersect to convey messages and emotions can be a fertile ground for interdisciplinary research.

Mathematics and Logic Puzzles

The precision and patterns found in mathematics can be both satisfying and thought-provoking. Middle school students often enjoy the thrill of solving problems and unraveling puzzles. Here are some mathematical research topics that can engage students’ analytical minds:

• Famous Mathematical Conjectures: Researching unsolved problems, such as the Goldbach conjecture or the Riemann hypothesis, can introduce students to the excitement of open questions in mathematics.
• The Application of Math in Various Industries: Investigating how mathematical principles underpin fields like music, art, sports, and technology can illuminate the subject’s real-world utility.
• The History of Mathematical Discoveries: Tracing the lineage of mathematical concepts through different cultures and periods can showcase the universality and timelessness of mathematics.

Social Sciences and Human Interaction

Studying human behavior and society can help students develop empathy and a deeper understanding of the world around them. Here are some social science research ideas to explore:

• The Impact of Social Media on Friendships and Relationships: Research could focus on positive and negative effects, trends, and the future of social interaction.
• Cultural Traditions and Their Meanings: Investigating the origins and contemporary significance of customs from various cultures can foster respect for diversity and a global perspective.
• The Psychology of Decision Making: Exploring the factors that influence human choices, from cognitive biases to social pressures, can provide insights into individual and collective behavior.

Technology and Innovation

Middle schoolers are often tech-savvy and interested in the latest gadgets and advancements. Here are some technology and innovation research topics to tap into that curiosity:

• The Impact of Gaming on Society: Research could examine how video games influence education, social issues, or even career choices.
• Emerging Technologies and Their Ethical Implications: Encouraging students to study technologies like artificial intelligence, gene editing, or wearable tech can lead to discussions on the ethical considerations of their use and development.
• Inventions That Changed the World: Chronicling the history and influence of significant inventions, from the wheel to the internet, can provide a lens through which to view human progress.

By providing middle schoolers with the opportunity to conduct meaningful research in a topic of their choosing, we not only deepen their education but also equip them with the skills and passion for a lifetime of learning. This list is just the beginning; the key is to foster curiosity and guide young minds toward engaging, challenging, and diverse research experiences. Through such explorations, we empower the next generation to think critically, communicate effectively, and, most importantly, to nurture their innate curiosity about the world.

Implementing Research Projects in the Classroom

Encouraging middle school students to undertake research projects requires a strategic approach to ensure sustained interest and meaningful outcomes. Here are some methods educators can employ:

• Mentorship and Support: Pairing students with teacher mentors who can guide them through the research process, provide feedback, and encourage critical thinking is essential for a fruitful research experience.
• Cross-Curricular Integration: Linking research topics to content from different subjects helps students appreciate the interconnectedness of knowledge and develop versatile learning skills.
• Use of Technology and Media: Incorporating digital tools for research, presentation, and collaboration can enhance engagement and teach essential 21st-century skills.
• Presentation and Reflection: Allocating time for students to present their findings nurtures communication skills and confidence, while self-reflection activities help them internalize their learning journey.

These strategies can create a robust framework within which students can pursue their curiosities, leading to a more personalized and impactful educational experience.

What is a good topic to research for middle school?

A good topic for middle school research could delve into the Role of Robotics in the Future of Society . Students can explore how robotics may transform jobs, healthcare, and everyday life. They can examine the balance between automation and human work, predict how robots could augment human abilities, and discuss the ethical dimensions of a robotic future. This inquiry not only captivates the imagination but also encourages critical thinking about technology’s impact on tomorrow’s world.

What are the 10 research titles examples?

• The Evolution of Renewable Energy and Its Future Prospects
• Investigating the Effects of Microplastics on Marine Ecosystems
• The Influence of Ancient Civilizations on Modern Democracy
• Understanding Black Holes: Unveiling the Mysteries of the Cosmos
• The Impact of Augmented Reality on Education and Training
• Climate Change and Its Consequences on Coastal Cities
• The Psychological Effects of Social Media on Teenagers
• Genetic Engineering: The Possibilities and Pitfalls
• Smart Cities: How Technology is Shaping Urban Living
• The Role of Nanotechnology in Medicine: Current Applications and Future Potential

Fascinating Facts About Middle School Research Topics

• Interdisciplinary Impact : Research projects in middle school often blend subjects, such as the integration of art and mathematics when exploring patterns and symmetry, which helps students discover the interconnectivity of different fields of knowledge.
• Skill Building : Engaging in research equips middle schoolers with advanced skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management, which are beneficial across their academic journey and beyond.
• Diversity in Content : Middle school research topics are notably diverse, ranging from examining the role of robotics in society to exploring the psychological effects of social media, catering to a wide array of student interests and strengths.
• Tech Savvy Learning : Technology-based research topics, such as the influence of smart cities or the impact of augmented reality in education, are deeply relevant to tech-savvy middle school students, making learning more engaging and relatable.
• Cultural Relevance : Researching topics like cultural traditions and their meanings encourages middle schoolers to develop a global perspective and fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation for the diversity within their own school community and the world at large.

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Teaching Students to Use Evidence-Based Studying Strategies

Applying studying methods that strengthen the brain’s ability to retrieve information can help students learn more effectively.

Every student can learn. But can they do it better? Research suggests that the answer is yes , and that having a great tool kit of strategies for learning and being able to use the right strategy at the right time have a significant impact on student outcomes.

The concept of neuroplasticity is layered on this—our brains are constantly changing as a result of the experiences we have, both positively and negatively. The time of greatest neuroplasticity is, unsurprisingly, the years that students are in school.

How do we help our students maximize their learning? Let’s start by looking at some of the best evidence-based strategies for helping students learn .

Use Retrieval Practice

It’s important for retrieval practice to be at the heart of how students study. Here are some examples:

• Have students take out a sheet of paper and write down everything they know about a topic. Then have them check their notes and revise what they wrote.
• Provide a test study guide for students. For each point, have them write what they know, check, then revise. When they can recall all of the details for a point, they’ll put a check next to it on the guide. They should keep going until they can check everything off.
• Give your students answer keys to problems, and coach students in how to answer them. They can use the key to check their answers and try to solve the problems they have. It’s best to use class time early in the year to build students’ capacity to do the work with increasing independence as time goes on.

Because retrieval practice feels more challenging than rereading notes and highlighting, students often find it frustrating. Coach students that it feels harder because their brains are working harder and making more connections. Because of this, the information and skills they’re learning are going to stick in their memory longer. Be sure to build in breaks for your students. A good rhythm might be 30 minutes of distraction-free studying, then 5–10 minutes of a proper break, then repeat this cycle. If 30 minutes of full focus is too long, try 20.

Use Spaced Practice

The close sibling of retrieval practice is spaced practice , which allows students to get a bit rusty before asking them to retrieve the material from their brain. This also feels hard for students. Make sure to tell students why you’re doing it. If you feel you have to grade it, grade based on effort rather than accuracy. Being incorrect and then fixing what they don’t know are key steps for students in spaced practice.

Students of all ages and abilities struggle to organize spaced practice. It helps if you build it into classwork and homework in the two weeks prior to a test. Use copious amounts of formative assessment to figure out what students currently know well and what they’re starting to get rusty on (and would benefit from spaced practice). Remember that any kind of assessment or activity can be used formatively.

Over time, build students’ capacity to do retrieval and spaced practice with increasing independence, and fade those initial scaffoldings away. Some students will need some scaffolds reapplied at some points, and this is OK. The first rule of scaffolds is: All scaffolds are temporary.

Explain the Purpose of Taking Notes and How to Do It

Students don’t have to record every word you say, but rather re-create key ideas and examples to help them study later. The goal of note-taking is to help students begin learning information right away. The focus is about getting them to summarize and paraphrase, and to capture key definitions, phrases, etc.

Put some class time aside early in the year, and explicitly teach students how to use their class notes to help them study. Here’s an example:

• Before taking notes, ask students to draw a vertical line three-quarters of the way down the page, and write notes on the left side.
• After they take notes, they can review them. For each section, they should come up with one or two questions for which that section of notes is the answer. Have students write these questions on the right side of the line.
• Next, have students fold the page in half along the line.
• Then, have them read the question and try hard to answer it.
• After they’ve answered the question, they can flip the page over and check their answer.
• Repeat this process for all the questions.

All students can benefit from explicit instruction in how to take notes in the context of that particular class—it’s important not to make assumptions that they can do this already.

Students can get context from a text through a quick scan of the introduction and subheadings; they can go chunk by chunk rather than read the whole document. Ask them to read a section, then close the book, and try to write down what they remember. Then they can open the book, reread the section, and amend what they wrote. Advise them to collect and prioritize any questions that arise.

Keywords and Flash Cards Are Effective Tools

There are other ways for students to retrieve information that stem from effective note-taking: The keyword method helps students memorize words and definitions. They find a sound or word hidden in the word they’re trying to learn and make up a tiny story that links it to the definition.

Flash cards can be a good way to help do this, but they’re rarely used well, so explicitly teach students how to use them correctly. At the start of the year, save some class time to help students create and practice using flash cards.

The must-do moment is pausing to think hard after they read the front of the card before flipping it over. If they know the concept, they should try to connect the idea to one or two others. If they don’t know the concept, advise them to take their time before flipping it over. Even if they can’t recall, this process helps the answer stick better when they read it.

If they really know a card, they can put it aside for a while but put it back in the deck to review later that day or tomorrow. Counsel students not to get carried away with arts and crafts studying. Making beautiful flash cards can be an immensely rewarding experience but can also leave students with insufficient time for studying.

Explain that memorizing keywords and definitions can help students learn. Their active working memory, where all their thinking takes place, can hold very few items (three to five) for a very short time (10 to 20 seconds). Having key words and definitions stored in their long-term memory frees up space in their brain to process the new things they’re trying to learn.

These effective and efficient strategies ask more of students’ brains and help them to learn the material right away so that they’ll have less to study when the test comes around. It’s important for students to know them—while these aren’t all of the game-changing evidence-based strategies out there, they’ll help get your students off to a good start.

Remember, these strategies are only good if students can get them to work within the context of your class. Help them to do this by building the strategies into class time, and actively encourage each student’s capacity to do this with increasing independence over time. Only they can do the work.

What do you think? Leave a respectful comment.

Kelly Field, The Hechinger Report Kelly Field, The Hechinger Report

• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/what-science-tells-us-about-improving-middle-school

What science tells us about improving middle school

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In a middle school hallway in Charlottesville, Virginia, a pair of sixth grade girls sat shoulder to shoulder on a lime green settee, creating comic strips that chronicled a year of pandemic schooling.

Using a computer program called Pixton, they built cartoon panels, one of a girl waving goodbye to her teacher, clueless that it would be months before they were back in the classroom, another of two friends standing 6 feet apart from one another, looking sad.

“We have to social distance,” one of the girls, Ashlee, said. Then, as if remembering, she scooted a few inches away from her friend, Anna.

In classrooms off the hallway, clusters of kids from grades six to eight worked on wood carvings, scrapbooks, paintings and podcasts, while their teachers stood by to answer questions or offer suggestions. For two hours, the students roamed freely among rooms named for their purpose — the maker space, the study, the hub — pausing for a 15-minute “brain break” at the midway point of the session.

Welcome to Community Lab School, a tiny public charter that is trying to transform the way middle schoolers are taught in the Albemarle School District — and eventually the nation.

Here, learning is project-based, multi-grade and interdisciplinary. There are no stand-alone subjects, other than math; even in that subject, students are grouped not by grade, but by their areas of strength and weakness. In the mornings, students work independently on their projects; in the afternoons, they practice math skills and take electives.

“Our day revolves around giving students choice,” said Stephanie Passman, the head teacher. “We want kids to feel a sense of agency and that this is a place where their ideas will be heard.”

Anna (left) and Ashlee (right), sixth graders at Community Lab School, create comics depicting their Covid year. Photo by Kelly Field for the Hechinger Report

As a laboratory for the Albemarle district, Community Lab School is charged with testing new approaches to middle school that could be scaled to the district’s five comprehensive middle schools. The school has been held up as a national model by researchers at MIT and the University of Virginia, which is studying how to better align middle school with the developmental needs of adolescents.

Over the last 20 years, scientists have learned a lot about how the adolescent brain works and what motivates middle schoolers. Yet a lot of their findings aren’t making it into classroom practice. That’s partly because teacher prep programs haven’t kept pace with the research, and partly because overburdened teachers don’t have the time to study and implement it.

Today, some 70 years after reformers launched a movement to make the middle grades more responsive to the needs of early adolescents, too many middle schools continue to operate like mini high schools, on a “cells and bells” model, said Chad Ratliff, the principal of Community Lab School.

“Traditional middle schools are very authoritarian, controlling environments,” Ratliff said. “A bell rings, and you have three minutes to shuffle to the next thing.”

For many early adolescents — and not a few of their teachers — middle school isn’t about choice and agency, “it’s about surviving,” said Melissa Wantz, a former educator from California, with more than 20 years’ experience.

Now, as schools nationwide emerge from a pandemic that upended educational norms, and caused rates of depression and anxiety to increase among teenagers , reformers hope educators will use this moment to remake middle school, turning it into a place where early adolescents not only survive, but thrive.

“This is an opportunity to think about what we want middle school to look like, rather than just going back to the status quo,” said Nancy L. Deutsche, the director of Youth-Nex: The UVA Center to Promote Effective Youth Development.

The adolescent brain

Scientists have long known that the human brain develops more rapidly between birth and the age of 3 than at any other time in life. But recent advances in brain imaging have revealed that a second spurt occurs during early adolescence, a phase generally defined as spanning ages 11 to 14 .

Though the brain’s physical structures are fully developed by age 6, the connections among them take longer to form. Early adolescence is when much of this wiring takes place. The middle school years are also what scientists call a “sensitive period” for social and emotional learning, when the brain is primed to learn from social cues.

While the plasticity of the teenage brain makes it vulnerable to addiction, it also makes it resilient, capable of overcoming childhood trauma and adversity, according to a report recently published by the National Academies of Science. This makes early adolescence “a window of opportunity,” a chance to set students on a solid path for the remainder of their education, said Ronald Dahl, director of the Institute of Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley.

Meanwhile, new findings in developmental psychology are shedding a fresh light on what motivates middle schoolers.

READ MORE: Four new studies bolster the case for project-based learning

Adolescents, everyone knows, crave connections to their peers and independence from their parents. But they also care deeply about what adults think. They want to be taken seriously and feel their opinions count. And though they’re often seen as selfish, middle schoolers are driven to contribute to the common good, psychologists say.

“They’re paying attention to the social world and one way to learn about the social world is to do things for others,” said Andrew Fuligni, a professor-in-residence in UCLA’s psychology department. “It’s one way you figure out your role in it.”

So, what does this evolving understanding of early adolescence say about how middle schools should be designed?

First, it suggests that schools should “capitalize on kids’ interest in their peers” through peer-assisted and cooperative learning , said Elise Capella, an associate professor of applied psychology and vice dean of research at New York University. “Activating positive peer influence is really important,” she said.

Experts say students should also be given “voice and choice” — allowed to pick projects and partners, when appropriate.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, reformers coalesced around a “middle school concept” that included such practices as interdisciplinary team teaching and cooperative learning. Kids often learn better when they work together, researchers said. Photo by Nichole Dobo/The Hechinger Report

“Kids have deeper cognitive conversations when they’re with their friends than when they’re not,” said Lydia Denworth, a science writer who wrote a book on friendship, in a recent radio interview .

Schools should also take advantage of the “sensitive period” for social and emotional learning, setting aside time to teach students the skills and mindsets that will help them succeed in high school and beyond, researchers say .

Yet many schools are doing the opposite of what the research recommends. Though many teachers make use of group learning, they often avoid grouping friends together, fearing they’ll goof off, Denworth said. And middle schools often spend less time on social and emotional learning than elementary schools , sometimes seeing it as a distraction from academics .

Meanwhile, many middle schools have abolished recess, according to Phyllis Fagell, author of the book “ Middle School Matters ”, leaving students with little unstructured time to work on social skills.

“When you think about the science of adolescence, the traditional model of middle school runs exactly counter to what students at that age really need,” said Ratliff.

A developmental “mismatch”

The notion that middle schools are misaligned with the needs and drives of early adolescents is hardly a new one. Efforts to reimagine education for grades six to eight dates back to the 1960s, when an education professor, William Alexander , called for replacing junior highs with middle schools that would cater to the age group.

Alexander’s “Middle School Movement” gained steam in the 1980s, when Jacquelynne Eccles, a research scientist, posited that declines in academic achievement and engagement in middle school were the result of a mismatch between adolescents and their schools — a poor “ stage-environment fit. ”

Propelled by Eccles’ theory, reformers coalesced around a “middle school concept” that included interdisciplinary team teaching, cooperative learning, block scheduling and advisory programs.

But while a number of schools adopted at least some of the proposed reforms, many did so only superficially. By the late ‘90s, policymakers’ attention had shifted to early childhood education and the transition to college, leaving middle school as “the proverbial middle child — the neglected, forgotten middle child,” said Fagell.

For many students, the transition from elementary to middle school is a jarring one, Fagell said. Sixth graders go from having one teacher and a single set of classmates to seven or eight teachers and a shifting set of peers.

“At the very point where they most need a sense of belonging, that is exactly when we take them out of school, put them on a bus, and send them to a massive feeder school,” said Fagell.

And at a time when their circadian rhythms are shifting to later sleep and wake times, sixth graders often have to start school earlier than they did in elementary school.

No wonder test scores and engagement slump.

READ MORE: Later school start time gave small boost to grades but big boost to sleep, new study finds

In an effort to recapture some of the “community” feel of an elementary school, many schools have created “advisory” programs, in which students start their day with a homeroom teacher and small group of peers.

Some schools are trying a “teams” approach, dividing grades into smaller groups that work with their own group of instructors. And some are doing away with departmentalization altogether.

At White Oak Middle School, in Silver Spring, Maryland, roughly a third of sixth graders spend half their day with one teacher, who covers four subjects. Peter Crable, the school’s assistant principal until recently, said the approach deepens relationships among students and between students and teachers.

“It can be a lot to ask kids to navigate different dynamics from one class to the next,” said Crable, who is currently a principal intern in another school. When their classmates are held constant, “students have each other’s backs more,” he said.

A study of the program now being used at White Oak, dubbed “Project Success,” found that it had a positive effect on literacy and eliminated the achievement gap between poorer students and their better-off peers.

But scaling the program up has proven difficult, in part because it goes against so many established norms. Most middle school teachers were trained as content-area specialists and see themselves in that role. It can take a dramatic mind shift — and hours of planning — for teachers to adjust to teaching multiple subjects.

Robert Dodd, who came up with Project Success when he was principal of Argyle Middle School, also in Silver Spring, said he’d hoped to expand it district-wide. So far, though, only White Oak has embraced it. (Dodd is now principal of the district’s Walt Whitman High School.)

“Large school systems have a way of snuffing out innovation,” he said.

Even Argyle Middle, where the program started, has pressed pause on Project Success.

“Teachers felt like it was elementary school,” said James Allrich, the school’s current principal. “I found myself forcing them to do it, and it doesn’t work if it’s forced.”

Restoring recess, and other pandemic-era innovations

But Argyle is continuing to experiment, in other ways. This fall, when students were studying online, the district instituted an hour-and-a-half “wellness break” in the middle of the day. Allrich kept it when 300 of the students returned in the spring, rotating them between lunch, recess and “choice time” every 30 minutes.

During one sixth grade recess at the end of the school year, clusters of students played basketball and soccer, while one girl sat quietly under a tree, gazing at a cicada that had landed on her hand. Only three students were scrolling on their phones.

Sixth graders at Argyle Middle, in Silver Spring, Maryland, play basketball during recess. Photo by Kelly Field for the Hechinger Report

“I thought when we got back, students would be all over their cellphones,” said Allrich, over the loud hum of cicadas. “But we see little of that. Kids really want to engage each other in person.”

Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College who has found a relationship between the decline of free play and the rise of mental illness in children and teens, wishes more middle schools would bring back recess.

“You don’t suddenly outgrow the need for play when you’re 11 years old,” he said.

Allrich said he plans to continue recess in the fall, when all 1,000 students are back in person, but acknowledges the scheduling will be tricky.

READ MORE:   How four middle schoolers are navigating the pandemic

Denise Pope, the co-founder of Challenge Success, a school reform nonprofit, hopes schools will stick with some of the other changes they made to their schedules during the pandemic, including later start times. “Don’t go back to the old normal,” Pope implored educators during a recent conference . “The old normal wasn’t healthy.”

Prior to the pandemic, barely a fifth of middle schools followed the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. (Community Lab School started at 10 during the shutdown, but plans to return to a 9:30 a.m. start.)

But if the pandemic ushered in some potentially positive changes to middle schools, it also disrupted some of the key developmental milestones of early adolescence, such as autonomy-building and exploring the world. Stuck at home with their parents and cut off from their peers, teens suffered increased rates of anxiety and depression.

When students return to middle schools en masse this fall, they may need help processing the stress and trauma of the prior year and a half, said author Fagell, who is a counselor in a private school in Washington, D.C.

Fagell suggests schools survey students to find out what they need, or try the “iceberg exercise,” in which they are asked what others don’t see about them, what they keep submerged.

“We’re going to have to dive beneath the surface,” she said.

Deutsche, of Youth-Nex in Virginia, said teachers will play a key role in “helping students trust the world again.”

“Relationships with teachers will be even more important,” she said.

Fortunately, there are more evidence-based social-emotional programs for middle schoolers than there used to be, according to Justina Schlund, senior director of Content and Field Learning for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. A growing number of states are adopting Pre-K through12 social and emotional learning standards or guidelines and many districts and schools are implementing social and emotional learning throughout all grades, she said.

For many middle school students, a return to in-person schooling means a return to a routine that allows no time for play. But, according to researchers, free time is essential to students’ mental health in early adolescence. “You don’t suddenly outgrow the need for play when you’re 11 years old,” says Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College. Photo by Amadou Diallo for The Hechinger Report

At Community Lab School, middle school students typically score above average on measures of emotional well-being and belonging, according to Shereen El Mallah, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia who tracks the school’s outcomes. Though the Community Lab students experienced an increase in perceived stress during the pandemic, they generally fared better than their peers at demographically similar schools, she said.

Anna and Ashlee, the sixth graders on the settee, said the school’s close-knit community and project-based approach set it apart.

“We’re still learning as much as anyone else, they just make it fun, rather than making us read from textbooks all the time,” Ashlee said.

This story about early adolescents was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter .

Kelly Field is a journalist based in Boston who has also reported for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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Teaching ELA with Joy

Middle School ELA Resources

10 Ideas to Make Teaching RESEARCH Easier

By Joy Sexton 1 Comment

I enjoy diving into research units with my students because they get to learn new things, and I do, too! But teaching research skills is a gigantic task! And one thing’s for certain: I’ll have to break the research process into steps to keep my middle school students from feeling overwhelmed. I want them to have that “I’ve got this” attitude from the moment I introduce the project.

Of course, as teachers, we need to be prepared and have our research assignments clearly-designed. But a big key to making the process easier for me and my students, what makes the most impact I think, is modeling . If you can model what you want students to do (as opposed to just telling them), your expectations become clearer. Not everything can be modeled, but whenever the opportunity arises, it’s powerful!

Here are 10 ideas to make teaching research skills manageable and successful:

1.  Make sure students start out with more than one topic option . What I mean is, it helps for each student to have “back up” topics ready to go in case the first choice isn’t panning out.  For example, I’ve had students who chose a topic they were very passionate about. But it turned out that once they got searching, not enough information was turning up. In most cases, these students had decided to research very current topics like a YouTuber or a new version of iPhone or even a specific automobile. They searched and searched, but the few sites they located just repeated the same smattering of facts. It REALLY helped that the assignment required three topic choices, with students prioritizing their choices . Instead of getting all stressed out, the students just went with their second choice, and got right into note-taking. Or let’s say you are assigning topics, for example, for Holocaust research.  Once they start researching, students may find a certain topic too complex and would feel more supported if they had other options.

2.   Don’t rule out books and other print sources. Now that so many students carry laptops, we’ve come to expect research to be Internet-based. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that! With just a few clicks, students have access to SO MUCH information. But some of my students come and ask if they can go to the library for printed sources because they prefer taking notes from books. That reminds me that we all learn differently. It might be to our amazement, but library research is alive and well for a portion of our students. Sometimes it’s my struggling learners who go for the printed sources, but I’ve also had more advanced learners hit the books as well. Even if you’ve got kids on their laptops or in the computer lab, find a way to incorporate different types of sources in their search so you differentiate . FYI, the Common Core Standards for W.8 (the research writing) state “Gather information from multiple print and digital sources . . .” So, it looks like using some print sources is still an expectation (but not for every assignment) if you follow Common Core. Definitely let your librarian in on whatever type of research assignment you have going on. They’re usually very eager to provide support !

3.  Emphasize the need to narrow search terms . So often, students just want to plop their main topic into the Google search bar, right? Unfortunately, what comes up is usually current information that is not necessarily going to hit what they need. That’s how time gets wasted. You can quickly model this skill for students with an example using a celebrity. Say you are needing information on a certain celebrity’s life—some facts about their rise to fame. Place just the name in the search bar, and what most likely comes up are articles that have been in the news about the person. Then place the name with the word “biography” in the search bar and have students notice the difference.

4.  Explain the connection between research and reading . Once they have a topic, students are so ready to start note-taking! But wait, do your students understand that research starts with careful reading? First, they’ll need to preview several websites before taking any notes. I call it “Ten Minutes, Reading Only.” That’s the least they can do to look for sources that not only match their topic but meet their readability needs . Let’s face it, many websites or even printed sources are written well above some of our students’ reading levels. Let them know that if they are finding long sentences with numerous unfamiliar words, it’s time to move on. Then, once they do locate a few good sources, they still need to read! When they come upon information they understand that really hits the topic, BINGO. That’s when note-taking should begin.

5.   Model note-taking using a bulleted list of short phrases . One thing is for sure: we don’t want students to copy full sentences, word for word, when they take notes. So modeling this when you’re teaching research skills is huge. I always tell students that they will create their own complete sentences when they are drafting . Note-taking is for short phrases . Just give them a heads up that they have to be able to understand the shortened information! I’ve had students who wrote phrases too short for the complex information they represented. A problem arose, of course, when trying to draft sentences. The students couldn’t remember what was actually meant by the few words they had copied down.

You can easily model note-taking by choosing a paragraph of nonfiction from a website or online encyclopedia. Project it on your whiteboard or pass out copies to the class. You can have students work with a partner to take notes in short phrases on a bulleted list. Students could then exchange papers several times to see what others came up with, and then share out what they noticed. Or, you may prefer to make the notes on your whiteboard with whole-class participation.

6.  Show students the citation generator you want them to use and how it works. Teaching research skills always includes citing sources. So if you approve of students having citations created for them, I’m with you! Just be clear on which citation generator to use. I’ve always preferred www.Bibme.org , but now with all the ads on these sites, and Google Docs’ own generator, there are other options. Again, you can do a quick modeling on your Smartboard using a website. It’s a good idea to walk around during note-taking and check that each student is comfortable using the citation generator. Sometimes students are unsure but might not want to ask.

7.  Offer creative formats for students to use as their research product. If you can, let them infuse some of their own passion into the topic. Let’s face it, teaching research skills is easier when students are personally invested. Your standards or district curriculum may require a research-based essay , and that’s fine. With lots of scaffolds and modeling, the results can be awesome! But how about having students report out in a newsletter format? They can break the information down into four short articles and give each one a title. Now the assignment becomes more motivating. Or require a slide presentation, with a paragraph of text on each slide along with visuals.

Another creative format is a Q & A page . My students enjoy a short project called Research Q & A , where they choose a topic they’d like to learn more about and create two questions to research. They report their findings on a Q & A sheet, using a template they type into, along with visuals.

8.  Have students color code their notes . This is an incredibly helpful scaffold to producing an organized draft! Once the research is completed, students should look over their notes and on a sheet of paper, list the “sub-topics” they have covered. For example, if they are writing an informational article about an athlete, their list might include childhood, training, early career steps, and best achievements. Then, with 4-5 colored pencils, they underline each sub-topic with a different color. Students then read through their notes, placing a colored bullet to match as they find content corresponding to the sub-topic.

The color coding helps make drafting each paragraph so much easier! Students just focus on all the green information on their notes pages when drafting the first body paragraph, all the purple information when drafting the second, etc.

9.  Require editing and revising using a different color . As English teachers, we want the revising and editing step to be meaningful. When revisions stand out this way, both students and the teacher get to visibly see a growth process.  They understand that they are expected to and can notice weaknesses and make their product better.  I always keep red and green pens available.  And I sense that kids like using them. Another BIG plus here: individual conferencing becomes quick and easy when you can see by the colored ink which revisions have (or have not!) been made.

10.  Work in some peer exchange opportunities . Students benefit from regular check-ins, but you don’t always have the time. So why not have students check in on each other? Decide on a few times in your assignment when students will need to “take stock” of things. That’s when you’ll say, exchange with a partner, and look at x, y, or z. The check can be as simple as the partners write feedback in the margin of each other’s paper, or on a post-it, or have a short discussion. For example, let’s say you allot two periods for research, and you expect three solid pages of notes. When the second class period is drawing to a close, have a partner exchange. Peers have two tasks: rate the quality of the notes on a scale of 1-5 and suggest whether note-taking is complete or more needs to be done as homework.

Students love to read each other’s papers, so work in a peer exchange during revising and editing. Have peers place a question mark in the margin next to any area that doesn’t make clear sense. You could also choose a couple specific topics for their focus, such as capital letters and commas. Students enjoy these roles and checks like these build skills and confidence .

Our goal, of course, is to make research motivating for every one of our students. By using some of these strategies, teaching research skills should become easier! I think your students will experience excitement over all the new learning their efforts bring.

I’ve developed some print-and-go research activities that students enjoy and have success with. They include step-by-step scaffolds and mentor texts to save you time. Just click on the images to have a closer look.

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April 21, 2021 at 11:47 pm

This looks amazing. I’m so glad I found this article. I am guiding my 7th grader through a year-end research project at home and this is exactly what I needed to help guide me through it first!

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• Research Skills

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn’t updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to “ connect the dots” rather than “collect the dots” . That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today’s students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren’t enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students’ skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students’ skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate , and cite . It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

• These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.
• Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.
• Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.
• Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.
• Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.
• Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids . Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.
• Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

• Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest) . Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.
• Make a mindmap of a topic you’re currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us .
• Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don’t totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).
• Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.
• Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.
• Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like  Thesaurus.com .
• Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

• Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard) . List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.
• Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?
• Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here ). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.
• Think of something you’re curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords ( e.g. Amazon Rainforest) . In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest).  Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.
• Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of “raining cats and dogs” and Origin of raining cats and dogs . Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)
• Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation ?
• Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.
• Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw… or What is the tallest…). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they’re usually helpful.
• Watch this video  from Code.org to learn more about how search works .
• Take a look at  20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know  by Eric Curts to learn about “ instant searches ”. Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.
• Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. “What is a parallelogram?” or “What is the highest mountain in the world?” or “What is the population of Australia?”). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results — dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

• Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me?  by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.
• Brainstorm a list of popular domains   (e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country’s domain) . Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu) .
• Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results  (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).
• Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like “car service” “cat food” or “fresh flowers”). A re there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.
• Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.
• Type a question into Google and look for the “People also ask” and “Searches related to…” sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under “People also ask” always the best?
• Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on “tools” under the Google search box and then “any time” and your time frame of choice such as “Past month” or “Past year”.
• Have students annotate their own “anatomy of a search result” example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

• Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.
• Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times’ What’s Going On In This Graph series . Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.
• Look at images stripped of their captions on What’s Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?
• Explore a website together as a class or in pairs — perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements .
• Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can’t believe everything that’s online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.
• Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.
• As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield’s Four Moves . Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.
• Practice skim reading — give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

• Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.
• Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.
• Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a “life hack” video) and write a brief summary in your own words.
• Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend’s recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.
• Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.
• Try out MyBib — a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.
• Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).
• Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source. 
• Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism .
• Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising . They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.
• Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false ( e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they’re true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

• Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching — Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.
• Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.
• Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet .
• Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting
• Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.) .

All teachers know it’s important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you’ll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students

Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information

Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills

8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Loving these ideas, thank you

This list is amazing. Thank you so much!

So glad it’s helpful, Alex! 🙂

Hi I am a student who really needed some help on how to reasearch thanks for the help.

So glad it helped! 🙂

seriously seriously grateful for your post. 🙂

So glad it’s helpful! Makes my day 🙂

How do you get the 50 mini lessons. I got the free one but am interested in the full version.

Hi Tracey, The link to the PDF with the 50 mini lessons is in the post. Here it is . Check out this post if you need more advice on teaching students how to research online. Hope that helps! Kathleen

Best wishes to you as you face your health battler. Hoping you’ve come out stronger and healthier from it. Your website is so helpful.

Comments are closed.

Stuck in the Middle: Strategies to Engage Middle-Level Learners

On this page:, student motivation, specific strategies to improve student motivation and engage middle school students, introduction.

Keeping middle school students focused and engaged in the classroom is quite a challenge amidst all of the complex changes — physical, intellectual, emotional, and social — that they experience during this phase of their lives. Youth aged 11 to 13 years — a period sometimes called the tween years — are characterized by a growing desire to think and act independently while at the same time caring deeply about being accepted by peers and being part of a group (Caskey & Anfara, 2007). Add to those dynamics the feelings of vulnerability and self-consciousness that come with puberty, and educators have an imposing set of forces to consider when designing strategies to effectively reach middle school students.

Literature about middle school reform acknowledges the importance of an academically challenging and supportive environment to engage young adolescent learners. Student motivation, a meaningful curriculum, and student choice also are important factors for engaging middle-level learners (Caskey & Anfara, 2007; Newmann, Marks, & Gamoran, 1995; Learning Point Associates, 2005). This article addresses student motivation and illustrates three strategies that can help create a meaningful curriculum to engage middle-level learners. The strategies draw from effective classroom practices across grade levels as well as from research about the social, emotional, and physical development of middle-level learners.

All teachers face the challenge of motivating students to learn. Although the link between student motivation and achievement is well documented, the “dynamics of motivation are not” (Marzano, 2003, p. 144). Many research studies have sought to define and measure student motivation while identifying practices to foster the asset in learners.

Creating a Task-Oriented Classroom

Research points to orientation of the learning environment as a critical factor for motivating and engaging students. A school or classroom that is performance-oriented emphasizes ability relative to others. By contrast, a task-oriented environment is focused on effort and improvement, which research shows is correlated with greater levels of student engagement and achievement. Several studies have concluded that schools can foster a task-oriented environment (Anderman, Maehr, & Midgley, 1999; Fenzel & O’Brennan, 2007; Haselhuhn, Al-Mabuk, Gabriele, Groen, & Galloway, 2007). A study of African-American middle school learners placed at risk demonstrated that a school climate focused on personal mastery with positive and supportive adult relationships fosters motivation and engagement (Fenzel & O’Brennan, 2007).

Table 1 shows some of the key characteristics of performance-oriented classrooms and task-oriented classrooms (Anderman et al., 1999; Haselhuhn et al., 2007).

Table 1. Learning Environments

Increasing Students’ Efforts on Assignments

Teachers often encourage their students to do their best work and put forth their best effort. However, neither grading practices nor achievement formulas have found a way to measure actual student effort. Although recognizing a student as “most improved” or as an “excellent worker” provides a level of recognition, teachers can foster even greater self-awareness of effort in their students by asking them to respond in writing to prompts that require them to reflect on the efforts they made on an assignment and associating that effort with the grade they will receive.

Overcoming Students’ Fear of Failing

Self-perception of academic ability is a significant factor in motivation. Middle-level learners are more likely than elementary and high school students to doubt their academic ability (Heller, Calderon, & Medrich, 2003), particularly when encountering more demanding content. Young learners may believe their academic ability is fixed and that they cannot grow smarter. Students who attach feelings of self-worth to achievement may avoid challenges they believe are beyond their capabilities, especially when peer acceptance is growing in importance.

Reluctance to engage with difficult material can be mitigated with deliberate instruction about the learning process. By explaining that it is normal to experience difficulty and even confusion when learning new material, students are less likely to believe that it is their lack of ability keeping them from immediately demonstrating proficiency. This helps create a virtuous circle: In addition to possessing a desire to learn, successful students believe they can learn.

Educators and researchers alike note that:

As anyone who has spent time with middle school students can attest, attempting to build the skills of disengaged adolescents is a futile enterprise. Whether expressed as defiant non-compliance or passive “checking out,” the student who refuses to learn will succeed in that effort (Learning Point Associates, 2005, p. 4).

By infusing relevance, authenticity, and choice into the curriculum and learning activities, educators can make learning more purposeful. Young adolescents are more likely to engage in the classroom when they connect content and learning tasks with life beyond the classroom walls (Caskey & Anfara, 2007; Learning Point Associates, 2005).

Relating Lessons to Students’ Lives

Young adolescent learners experience a growing awareness of the world they live in and begin to question the value of what they are learning. “They pose broad, unanswerable questions about life and refuse to accept trivial responses from adults” (Caskey & Anfara, 2007, p. 3). Teachers can instill the value of academic content by relating topics to past experiences and life outside of school and involving learners in tasks that reflect civic or work-world responsibilities (Caskey & Anfara, 2007; Heller et al., 2003; Newmann et al., 1995). A relevant curriculum relates content to the daily lives, concerns, experiences, and pertinent social issues of the learners. Teachers can gain insight into student concerns by taking periodic interest inventories, through informal conversations, and from classroom dialogue (Learning Point Associates, 2005). These issues and topics then can be incorporated into units, lesson plans, and further classroom discussions.

The capacity for moral reasoning expands alongside the intellectual development of young adolescents. Caskey and Anfara (2007) urge teachers to capitalize on this by providing opportunities for learners to write about their thoughts and feelings about social issues or ethical dilemmas. Such issue-driven assignments allow learners to practice both writing and higher-order thinking skills while exploring their own beliefs.

Making the Learning Authentic

Newmann et al. (1995) advocate for authentic instructional practices to engage learners and offer three criteria for authentic instructional practices: construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond the school.

The first step in construction of knowledge is to acknowledge students’ existing understanding and experience. Identifying students’ preconceptions and initial understanding is critical to the learning process. “If students’ preconceptions are not addressed directly, they often memorize content (e.g., formulas in physics), yet still use their experience-based preconceptions to act in the world” (Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p. 5).

Second, structured activities to facilitate disciplined inquiry are critical to the construction of knowledge (Marzano, 2003; Newmann et al., 1995) describe this process as building on the learner’s prior knowledge to develop a deeper understanding, integrating new information, and using the knowledge in new ways.

The third criterion for authentic instructional practices is value beyond school (Newmann et al., 1995). This may entail connecting content to personal or public issues as well as the demonstration of understanding to an audience beyond the school. Examples of such activities include writing persuasive letters to the city council to advocate for a skate park, interviewing community elders for an oral history project, or communicating the impact of a development project using scientific concepts.

Newmann’s conception of authentic instructional practices requires that all three criteria be met; however, he also acknowledges that “repetitive practice or memory drills might help students build the knowledge and skills that can later serve as the basis for authentic performance” (1995, p. 4).

Giving Students Choices

Finally, providing choice in middle-level classrooms will engage learners. Providing opportunities for students to select a topic or text acknowledges young adolescents’ need to exercise more decision-making power. Researchers note the following:

Adolescent learners sometimes experience a world of rules and regulations imposed on them by adults who seem not to understand their world. The physical and emotional changes they experience are a further source of feelings that they have no control over their lives (Learning Point Associates, 2005, p. 5).

Schools can help provide choices to learners by supplying a variety of text options including age-appropriate books at various reading levels, digital media, newspapers, and magazines. Teachers can collaborate to design a variety of learning tasks or assessment options aimed at the same objective to give students a choice in activities or demonstrations of learning.

Research shows that when young adolescents are actively engaged in learning, they are more likely to achieve at higher levels. Educators can facilitate student engagement by fostering motivation with task-oriented learning environments and teaching students that building new knowledge requires effort. In addition, when curriculum content and learning tasks are relevant and authentic and incorporate choice, students are more likely to view their education as purposeful and engaging.

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Anderman, E., Maehr, M., & Midgley, C. (1999). Declining motivation after the transition to middle school: Schools can make a difference. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 32(3), 131-147.

Caskey, M. M., & Anfara, V. A., Jr. (2007). Research summary: Young adolescents' developmental characteristics. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.nmsa.org/Research/ResearchSummaries/DevelopmentalCharacteristics/tabid/1414/Default.aspx

Donovan, M. S., & Bransford, J. D. (Eds.). (2005). How students learn: History, mathematics, and science in the classroom. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Fenzel, M. L., & O'Brennan, L. M. (2007, April). Educating at-risk urban African American children: The effects of school climate on motivation and academic achievement. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.

Haselhuhn, C. W., Al-Mabuk, R., Gabriele, A., Groen, M., & Galloway, S. (2007). Promoting positive achievement in the middle school: A look at teachers' motivational knowledge, beliefs, and teaching practices. Research in Middle Level Education (RMLE Online), 30(9). Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.nmsa.org/portals/0/pdf/publications/RMLE/rmle_vol30_no9.pdf

Heller, R., Calderon, S., & Medrich, E. (2003). Academic achievement in the middle grades: What does research tell us? A review of literature. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional Education Board. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/publications/pubs/02V47_AchievementReview.pdf

Learning Point Associates. (2005). Using student engagement to improve adolescent literacy (Quick Key 10 Action Guide). Naperville, IL: Author. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/qkey10.pdf

Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Newmann, F. M., Marks, H. M., & Gamoran, A. (1995). Authentic pedagogy: Standards that boost student performance. Issues in Restructuring Schools (Issue Report No. 8). Madison, WI: Center on Reorganization and Restructuring of Schools. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cors/Issues_in_Restructuring_Schools/ISSUES_NO_8_SPRING_1995.pdf

Additional resources

Appalachia Educational Laboratory. (2005). Effective instructional strategies (Research Digest). Charleston, WV: Edvantia. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.edvantia.org/pdta/pdf/Effective_Instructional_Strategies.pdf

Boardman, A. G., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Murray, C. S., & Kosanovich, M. (2008). Effective instruction for adolescent struggling readers: A practice brief. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Practice%20Brief-Struggling%20Readers.pdf

Brewster, C., & Fager, J. (2000). Increasing student engagement and motivation: From time-on-task to homework. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/textonly.html

Kaplan, A., & Maehr, M. (2007). The contributions and prospects of goal orientation theory. Educational Psychology Review, 19(2), 141-184. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.springerlink.com/content/n162u17764250uu5/fulltext.pdf

Newmann, F. M., & Wehlage, G. G. (1993). Standards of authentic instruction. Issues in Restructuring Schools (Issue Report No. 4). Madison, WI: Center on Reorganization and Restructuring of Schools. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cors/Issues_in_Restructuring_Schools/ ISSUES_NO_4_SPRING_1993.pdf

Pajares, F., & Urdan, T. C. (Eds.). (2002). Academic motivation of adolescents. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Organizations

The National Association of Elementary School Principals: http://www.naesp.org

The National Association of Secondary School Principals: http://www.principals.org

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform: http://www.mgforum.org/Improvingschools/STW/STWbackground.htm

The National Middle School Association: http://www.nmsa.org

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The Four Principles of Middle School ELA Engagement

Middle school is a time when students are deeply and constantly engaged in their own emotions, relationships, and “ finstas .” Problem is, it’s also a time when engagement in academics is critical to future success in school and beyond.

Research confirms that getting middle schoolers on the path to college and career readiness requires a truly engaging curriculum. We need to channel middle schoolers’ excitement with their new ways of seeing and being in the world into tackling challenging academic experiences. That’s why we created four actionable principles of middle school ELA engagement . When it comes to ELA, these principles won’t just help your students “get through” middle school. They’ll help you get through to your middle schoolers.

Your students bring a unique and complex set of needs into your classroom. If you want to do more than just hold their attention for five minutes—that is, if you want to deliver the deep engagement that leads to deep learning—you’ve got to provide both content and pedagogy that speak to those needs.

Engagement principle no. 1: Empower students to become critical thinkers

To be fully engaged, middle school students need to know that the work they’re doing will matter, be recognized, and be relevant to their lives. They need lots of opportunities to develop, communicate, and refine their ideas in light of new observations. A truly engaging curriculum supports a range of observations and possible interpretations of the text and provides supports for students to refine these ideas as they read further. In this way, students gain a sense of control over their own learning and the opportunity to become critical, independent—even audacious—thinkers.

Below are some strategies for supporting and encouraging a culture of original thinking in your classroom:

• Be clear that the text, not the teacher, has all the answers. Ask questions such as, How did you get to that response? What might change if you considered a different point of view? Could you rephrase your response in a different way? Students develop their responses by following one simple rule: If you can justify it in the text, you can hold on to your interpretation
• Teach students to develop theories they refine with time, versus focusing on right or wrong answers. Students struggle when they think learning is only about getting it right. For example, when students consider the narrator of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” it’s helpful to detach them from the goal of establishing one correct character analysis and instead help them to explore and problem-solve. For example, ask questions such as, “Why doesn’t this make sense?”
• Channel Socrates. A Socratic seminar—which emphasizes inquiry and discussion over definitive responses—brings home the importance and power of open-ended questions. During the seminar, you act as facilitator of conversation rather than deliverer of knowledge, posing questions, guiding the discussion, and prompting students to contribute.

Engagement principle no. 2: Provide opportunities and supports for all students to work “up”

When it comes to physical, emotional, social, and academic development, middle schoolers are all over the place. The phrase to remember is “low floors and high ceilings”—in other words, it’s all about providing multiple entry points and the right scaffolding opportunities so that every student can engage deeply with a rigorous curriculum.

The following differentiation strategies help to drive learning:

• Incorporate multimedia strategically. Often a video dramatization or audio recording can help students find their way into a complex text.
• Scaffold with sentence frames and modified prompts. These tools reduce linguistic barriers, enabling students to produce more complex writing and speech.
• Aptitude, brackish, circumference! Daily vocab practice will make a huge difference, with each student completing assignments specifically engineered to challenge them at their level of proficiency.

Engagement principle no. 3: Support feedback systems that develop strengths

Well-delivered feedback can be useful for anyone. It’s particularly potent for middle schoolers, who may be aware of learning differences among students, vulnerable to criticism, and frequently unwilling to ask for help when they’re floundering. For them, true engagement moments are born from a teacher’s ability to provide feedback in a way that helps them see opportunity rather than failure.

The following feedback strategies help to drive learning:

• Shoulder responsibility. Over-the-shoulder conferences during class give you the chance to offer unobtrusive, bite-size, encouraging, customized, and immediately actionable feedback.
• Build a classroom culture of feedback. Fact of school/life: it’s scary to share your work. But when you encourage your students to provide supportive, targeted responses and specific, skill-related comments—not to mention eye contact and smiles—you bring out the best in everyone.
• Focus rewrites on key skills. The written feedback you provide should be manageable and should target one or two specific places where a student needs help—say, with citing evidence to support a claim or combining sentences to better illustrate an idea.

Engagement principle no. 4: Engage multiple modalities, with particular attention to collaboration

All students need to “read” text in all sorts of ways—through hearing, speaking, writing, seeing, performing, and more. By providing multiple ways for students to interact with text, you are allowing them to process the language through distinct pathways.

The following multimodal strategies help to drive learning:

• Invite drama. Dramatic readings contribute to speaking and listening skills by giving students models of excellent oral performances and helping them learn to listen for subtle differences in delivery among different performers.
• Create great debate. A debate that students are motivated to engage vividly demonstrates the importance of evidence—including the way the one piece of evidence may be used to support two opposing arguments. Students also get to exercise their listening and public speaking skills.
• Encourage performance. Performance decisions are an exercise in text analysis, challenging students to make distinct choices about the meaning and purpose of every word.

A curriculum that embodies these principles of engagement will bring out the best in your middle school students and make your classroom a challenging, lively place to learn.  

Deb Sabin is the chief academic officer at Amplify, a next-generation curriculum and assessment company. She has taught in a variety of classrooms from alternative high schools, to elite prep schools, to international dual language schools.

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20 Literacy Strategies for Engaging the Middle Level Brain

By: Marcia L. Tate

Effective ways to enhance reading and writing experiences.

Recently, I was teaching a language arts class in Logan, West Virginia. The objective of the lesson was to analyze the impact of tradition on human behavior using narrative text. Sounds really dull, doesn’t it? It could have been, had I not used engaging strategies to facilitate the lesson. The vehicle for accomplishing the objective was  The Lottery  by Shirley Jackson. If you have not read it, you should!

Even though it was considered a short story,  The Lottery  contained a great deal of text, so I had to devise ways to help students. I placed students in pairs to facilitate discussion and divided the short story into sections. Before reading each section, I provided discussion questions  to give students a purpose for reading  the chunk. I read the first section aloud while students tracked the print in their books. Then a whole class discussion ensued that would provide answers for the designated questions.

For the second section, I continued to read aloud but paused periodically so that students could chorally provide the next word in the sentence. Section three needed some movement so we stood and chorally read this section with expression.

Section four involved partner reading where a student could elect to read a page, a paragraph, or pass his or her turn. It was during the reading of this section that many students realized that this lottery was not going to be

a good thing. By the time the lesson was finished, we had purposely used five brain-compatible strategies.

Whether you examine any of the research on how the brain acquires information, you will find there are 20 ways to deliver instruction. These instructional strategies increase academic achievement for all students regardless of grade level or content area, decrease behavior problems and make teaching and learning engaging.

Brainstorming and Discussion

Engaging students in a spirited discussion is a useful way to enhance comprehension. Teachers often ask recitation questions where the answer choice is either right or wrong. Discussion questions, on the other hand, can challenge students’ thinking since there can be more than one appropriate response. As a teacher, focus on facilitating discussions between and amongst students.

Drawing and Artwork

Many students have a natural affinity for drawing. Use it! I could have stopped periodically and had students draw a scene from  The Lottery . A picture of the box in which the lottery slips were kept would have been a good way to ascertain students’ attention to detail.

Field Trips

The brain remembers what it experiences when it travels to places in the real world. Having students make written predictions regarding what they will see on the trip and then write about what was seen are good literary activities to incorporate. Virtual field trips enable students to travel to places that would otherwise be inaccessible or cost prohibitive.

Nothing facilitates a good review better than playing a game. Dividing students into three heterogeneous teams and competing in a spirited game of Jeopardy is a good way to review major concepts prior to a test. Tossing a Nerf ball for students to catch is a great way to call on students to respond.

Graphic Organizers, Semantic Maps, and Word Webs

I would be hard pressed to teach any comprehension skill without the use of graphic organizers. This strategy appeals to both hemispheres of the brain. Create mind maps for teaching main idea and details, sequence of events, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and many other comprehension skills.

The job of the “class clown” is to research an approved joke and tell it at a designated time during the period. This role rotates among all students who choose to fulfill it. Jim Carey related the story of how one of his high school teachers made a deal with him that if he participated in class and completed all homework, he could have the last minute of class to tell a joke. The rest is history.

Manipulatives, Experiments, Labs, and Models

Having students read and follow the directions for an experiment or for building a model is a way to integrate literacy across the curriculum.

Metaphors, Analogies, and Similes

One of the highest level thinking strategies is the use of metaphors. When a student can find ways to compare two or more dissimilar things, they are really using their brains. For example, when teaching main idea and supporting details, I compare it to a table and legs.

Mnemonic Devices

Every content area contains acronyms and acrostics, shortened ways of helping students retain content. While these may not foster higher levels of thought, they go a long way toward increasing the amount of content students can remember.

Movement is my favorite strategy, since anything students learn while in motion has a better chance of being remembered. Having students form a living timeline is an effective way to teach and learn sequence of events.

Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap

Have students create a song, rhyme, or rap that depicts students’ understanding of a concept previously taught. While completing this assignment, they must employ one of the highest levels of thinking—synthesis—or the ability to take information and put it into a different form.

Project-Based and Problem-Based Learning

Take 10 or 15 literary objectives and incorporate them into a real-life project or give them a relevant problem to solve. These objectives will be mastered so much easier if students encounter them within the context of real life.

Reciprocal Teaching and Cooperative Learning

Having students sometimes work in pairs or teams to accomplish curricular objectives is a good way to ensure that they are career and “life” ready since the ability to work together is a major workplace and community competency.

Role Plays, Drama, Pantomimes, and Charades

When students act out the steps in a math word problem, pantomime a content-area vocabulary word as classmates guess it, or dramatize a scene from history, it goes a long way toward enabling them to remember the information prior to and after a test.

Storytelling

While invaluable in social studies, storytelling is a cross curricular strategy. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end and connect content together. These connections facilitate memory. Tell stories as you deliver content and then have students create their own and watch recall improve.

The use of technology is another workplace competency that every student should acquire prior to graduation. It is essential since so much literacy today involves computer literacy. However, I would like to add a word of caution. I have observed students who are so engrossed in technology that they have little time for anything else such as developing the social skills necessary for successful teamwork or the movement so essential for good health and long life.

Visualization and Guided Imagery

When authors do not provide visuals in a story, novel, or textbook, good readers are able to create their own visuals of what they are reading. Many students find this strategy difficult to implement since so many of the technological devices they interface with today have visuals provided. Pausing during read alouds and having students develop pictures in their brains of what they are seeing as they read is a good way is a good way to help them perfect their visualization skills.

We live in an extremely visual world. So visual, in fact, that at least 50% of students who walk into any classroom today will be predominantly visual learners. Comprehension is facilitated when students have visuals (pictures, captions, bold and subheadings, charts, and graphs) to assist them.

Work Study and Apprenticeships

Work study refers to apprenticeships, internships, and externships. In other words, it is on-the-job training. Can you begin to imagine how much informational text reading and comprehension would occur when students are learning to repair an engine, become a dental hygienist, or prepare culinary delights?

Writing and Journals

I have known good readers who were not necessarily good writers, but I have not known the opposite. Those who write well usually have a good command of the language which they use expertly to communicate their message. Even stopping periodically for quick writes facilitates memory and understanding.

The object of a learning experience is not to see how many learning strategies can be incorporated but to determine which ones are best for students and the content being explored.

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Research-Based Reading Instructional Practices

Reading is an essential skill for every subject area. Thus, it is vital to establish a school culture that recognizes that every teacher is a reading teacher. Effective reading instructional practices include supporting students’ ability to self-monitor comprehension and develop word knowledge and providing evidence-based interventions to students who struggle to learn to read.

Overview of Reading Instructional Principles and Practices

Principle 1: Establish schoolwide practices for enhancing reading for understanding in all content area instruction.

• Practice 1: Identify key words for learning, teach at least two words per class every day, and review one word from previous instruction.
• Practice 2: Instruct students to ask and answer questions while they read to monitor comprehension and learning.
• Practice 3: Teach students to comprehend the relationships among ideas using graphic organizers.

Principle 2: Teach word-meaning strategies within content area classes.

• Practice 1: Provide explicit instruction for important words.
• Practice 2: Provide instruction in word-learning strategies.

Principle 3: Activate and build appropriate background knowledge for understanding text content.

• Practice 1: Instruct students to use text to support answers.

Principle 4: Teach students to use reading comprehension strategies while reading complex text.

• Practice 1: Instruct students to generate questions while reading to build comprehension.
• Practice 2: Instruct students to generate main ideas at regular intervals in a text.

Principle 5: Provide intensive reading interventions to students with reading problems.

• Practice 1: Identify students who are two or more grade levels behind in reading and provide daily reading intervention.

Principle 6: Guide students during text-related oral and written activities that support the interpretation, analysis, and summarization of text.

• Practice 1: Foster discussion among small groups of students.
• Practice 2: Instruct students in how to summarize text.
• Practice 3: Enhance text understanding through teacher-guided conversations.

Principle 7: Maximize opportunities for students to read and connect a range of texts.

• Practice 1: Provide an advanced organizer of all of the key ideas and key words to better prepare students to read text.
• Practice 2: Read for a speci ed amount of time (e.g., 3 minutes) and then provide a prompt for student response.
• Practice 3: Have students participate in partner reading.

Principle 8: Organize students into collaborative groups for reading tasks.

• Practice 1: Implement collaborative groups with strategic reading practices to improve student outcomes.
• Practice 2: Implement team-based learning to clarify, apply, and extend students’ understanding of text and content.

Principle 9: Discontinue using practices that are NOT associated with improved outcomes for students.

• Practice 1: Take stock of all of the instructional practices and models that teachers are currently implementing and determine whether they are necessary and associated with improved outcomes for students.

View and Download Complete Reading Section of the MSM Field Guide More Reading Instructional Practices Resources

The Effects of Equiprobability Bias and Representativeness Heuristics on the Performance in Probability Comparison and Calculation Tasks Among Middle School Students in China

• Published: 11 May 2024

Cite this article

• Shengqing He   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9457-259X 1 &
• Chen Chen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6065-8889 2  

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Students expose various intuitions in probability comparison and calculation tasks. Large volumes of research looked into these intuitions by categorizing learners’ strategies, but fewer studies considered how these intuitions may be associated with learners’ judgments. Even fewer examined the mixed effects of multiple intuitions held by the same individual. Despite calls from scholars to explore students’ understanding of probability in different cultural contexts, there has been a dearth of research on how Chinese students understand probability. This study explores the relationship between students’ multiple probability-related intuitions and their judgments in the probability contexts among middle school students in China. In this study, we sampled 707 7th–9th graders from Qingdao, China. We measured students’ performance in probability comparisons and calculations and their probability-related intuitions about equiprobability bias and representativeness heuristics. With chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regression analysis, the relationship between the 2 intuitions and students’ judgments in probability comparison and calculation tasks was examined in detail (including dual effects). The findings of this study include, first, that at the middle school level, students’ equiprobability bias and representativeness heuristics fade with age, but they do not disappear completely. Second, students’ intuitions may play a role in solving probability problems, where equiprobability bias may induce them to make an “equal probability” judgment and representativeness heuristics may make them consider a mixed outcome more likely to occur. Third, the 2 intuitions coexisted and influenced students’ responses together, but the sensitivity of these dual effects to the students’ judgments in the qualitative comparison and quantitative calculation tasks differed. This study will contribute to the fast-iterating policymaking in probability education in China by advocating that curriculum standards pay more attention to students’ limitations in conceptual understanding and their exposed intuitions or misconceptions. This study may, to some extent, complement previous works focusing on Western students’ probability intuitions by confirming that, even for Chinese students who performed well in PISA, their probability perceptions are also accompanied by intuitions.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely appreciate the tremendous help from Ms. Zhijun An of Qingdao Institute of Educational Science in the data collection for this study.

This work was sponsored by Humanities and Social Science Research Youth Fund Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (23YJC880034).

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Mathematics and Science College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China

Shengqing He

Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China

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He, S., Chen, C. The Effects of Equiprobability Bias and Representativeness Heuristics on the Performance in Probability Comparison and Calculation Tasks Among Middle School Students in China. Int J of Sci and Math Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10464-4

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Received : 14 September 2023

Accepted : 03 April 2024

Published : 11 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10464-4

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Best Reading Comprehension Strategies for Middle School Students

Does your child often struggle with reading comprehension in school?

This can affect their grades, as well as their self-esteem. If your child is finding it hard to absorb the contents of their texts in class, they may need a few extra reading tactics.

These can help them digest materials and enjoy reading more. When they enjoy reading more, they’ll naturally improve their reading comprehension.

To find out which reading comprehension strategies for middle school can help your child, keep reading.

Active Reading

Active reading means becoming an engaged participant in the reading process rather than a passive observer. Encourage middle school readers to interact with the text actively.

Encourage them to underline key points, highlight important sentences, and jot down notes or questions in the margins. This process helps students not only keep information but also better comprehend the material.

When students actively engage with a text, it’s as if they’re having a conversation with the author. This interaction leads to a deeper understanding of the content. This fosters a more thoughtful and critical approach to reading.

Previewing the Text

Before delving into a text, students should preview it by examining the title, subheadings, and any bold or italicized words. This initial scan gives them an idea of what the text is all about. It’s like getting a sneak peek before watching a movie – it helps them prepare mentally and activate their prior knowledge.

As your middle school student previews the text, encourage them to think about what they already know related to the topic. This helps them make connections and gives them a head start in understanding the new material. Think of it as setting the stage for the main performance, making the reading experience smoother and more enjoyable.

Asking Questions

Asking questions while reading is a powerful strategy for enhancing comprehension. Teach them to inquire about the who, what, when, where, why, and how aspects of the text. These questions help guide their thinking and promote critical examination of the material.

When your child asks questions while reading, they’re actively seeking answers and engaging with the text. These queries can be as simple as “Who is the main character?” or “Why did the author say that?” By doing so, they’re actively exploring the content, leading to a deeper understanding.

Vocabulary Building

A strong vocabulary is essential for comprehension. Encourage students to keep a vocabulary journal where they record unfamiliar words and their meanings. This not only enhances their understanding of the current text but also builds a valuable skill for future reading.

Think of vocabulary as the building blocks of comprehension. When your middle schooler encounters a new word, it’s like discovering a new tool in their toolbox. This tool helps them unlock the meaning of the text and expands their ability to understand and communicate effectively.

Summarizing

After reading a section or a chapter, encourage students to summarize what they’ve read in their own words. This forces them to process the information and identify the main ideas and supporting details.

Summarizing helps your middle schooler distill the essential points from the text. It’s like making a condensed version of a long movie into a trailer.

This skill is particularly valuable when studying. It allows students to review the material more efficiently and understand it more thoroughly.

Visualizing

Visualization is a powerful tool for comprehension. Encourage students to create mental images of the scenes or concepts described in the reading. This can make the material more relatable and memorable.

When your middle school student visualizes what they’re reading, it’s like creating a movie in their mind. These mental images bring the text to life and help them connect with the content on a deeper level.

For instance, if they’re reading about a character in a story, they can imagine what that character looks like, where they live, and what they do. This visualization aids in understanding and retention.

Making Connections

Help students make connections between the text and their own experiences, other texts they’ve read, or current events. This enhances comprehension by providing reading context and relevance to the material.

Encourage your middle schooler to think about how the content relates to their own life. This could be as simple as connecting a character’s feelings to their own experiences. Making these connections brings the reading to life and makes it more meaningful.

Encourage students to predict what will happen next in a story or what the author’s main argument will be in an informational text. This keeps them engaged and encourages them to anticipate the direction of the text.

Predicting is like trying to guess the plot of a movie based on the first few scenes. When they do, they become active participants in the narrative. It’s not just about reading words; it’s about making educated guesses and being engaged in the storyline or the author’s argument.

Inferencing

Inferencing is the art of drawing conclusions based on evidence in the text. Middle school students should be taught to identify clues. They can use them to make educated guesses about character motivations, plot developments, or the author’s purpose.

When your child makes inferences while reading, they’re like detectives piecing together a puzzle. They gather clues from the text and use their reasoning skills to make sense of the information.

This not only improves comprehension but also sharpens critical thinking abilities. Reading tutoring can provide extra practice in making inferences, helping students become more adept at this skill. 

Critical Reading

Teach middle school students to read critically. This means analyzing the author’s tone, biases, and the credibility of the information presented. Critical reading promotes a deeper understanding of the text and encourages students to question what they read.

They’re not just accepting everything at face value. They’re evaluating the information and considering the source. This skill empowers them to be effective readers who can separate fact from opinion and identify potential biases.

Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies for Middle School Students

Reading comprehension strategies for middle school can help them excel. By using the strategies discussed, students can become more confident and independent readers.

So, let’s encourage our young learners to practice these strategies and watch them thrive in their reading abilities. Try incorporating these strategies in your classroom today! Please take a look at our blog for more educational articles.

Please take a look at our blog for more educational articles.

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