Mrs. Spangler in the Middle

I don't know about you, but when I hear the word "rigor", I think about the level of complexity.  That is to say, the content has to be up to the grade level's complexity.   But what does that really mean? I'll give you a hint... This chart shows Bloom's Taxonomy, and a…

By the time May rolls around, my middle schoolers are done. They're dreaming of summer break, and honestly, so am I. But we still have standards to hit and skills to strengthen—especially when it comes to research, note-taking, and literary analysis. That’s why I created the Multiple Intelli…

At this time every year, we enter "test prep season." It's the time when teaching really feels like an uphill battle, and we know that if we can just get across that finish line, we'll be okay. But how do you get there without dragging everyone through the mud? Here are my top t…

During "test prep season," as I like to call the fourth quarter, I have found that reviewing vocabulary is a key ingredient in success for my middle schoolers. Why? So often, how a question is asked is the key to whether the student answers it correctly or not. For example, I read thi…