Inspiring Middle School Literacy:

Teachers' Domain is pleased to announce our new adolescent literacy special collection funded by the Leon Lowenstein Foundation.  These self-paced classroom activities use history and science topics to enhance the literacy skills of struggling readers in grades 5-8.  Each activity engages students in a topic such as "slavery and emancipation," or "behavioral adaptations," through videos and interactives, then encourages them to build on what they learn by completing a reading and writing assignment.  An online glossary helps build vocabulary, and an online note-taking area encourages writing and active thinking.

All fifteen activities address a range of literacy skills:

• synthesizing
• constructing and asking questions
• developing vocabulary
• connecting prior knowledge to new learning
• developing a topic in writing 

Science topics include:

Teachers' Domain celebrates the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth with:    
        

  Celebrating Black History Month with our  Teacher of the Month:  

 Ms. Marcia Booth, from Linn County Juvenile Detention Center (LCJDC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa uses the Teachers' Domain Civil Rights Special Collection to empower her students.

Teachers' Domain asks:  What types of students do you have?        

My students are ages 11-17, and are being held for court or a court-ordered placement.  LCJDC is a locked facility, and we have beds for 35 students. The students reside here on a short-term basis, usually, 1-2 weeks, although some students' stay is much shorter 1-2 days, or much longer, up to 6 months. 

What is the school like?                                         

We have had an average population of 14 students this year.  We have a departmentalized program with teachers and three paraprofessionals on our teaching staff.  I teach social studies in a large group with direct instruction, and basic skill math once a week.  For example, this week we covered standard to metric conversions.  Last week, we covered some geometry, right, acute and obtuse angles.  The other teachers teach language arts, gym, science, personal development, art, and current events.  My classes usually have 6-8 students.  

How did you first find the TD Civil Rights Collection?

I found your Civil Rights Collection by doing a web search with Google.

How do you use the resources in your classroom?

The students are not allowed to use the internet here, so I have to stream things off the internet or preferably download them when possible and show them to the class using a LCD projector.  I tried some of the discussion questions this year and also found them to be very useful.

What do you like about our Civil Rights Collection?

I like the uniqueness of the videos.  I found some things I could not find anywhere else.  This year I tried the "Simple Justice" clips and questions drawn from American Experience.  They really got my students interested and thinking, and it helped them understand the Brown vs Board of Education court case.

How do you find that Teachers' Domain resources have helped your students?  

They have helped my students think in a different way.  It has helped my black students understand how much has changed over the past 50 years.  It also has helped them appreciate life today.  

I think more than anything, these resources help my students feel more empowered.  These videos tap into the emotional side of my students, so that they are able to relate to the past and hopefully will remember these emotions when facing situations in the future.  

Thanks for sharing your use of Teachers' Domain with us, Ms. Booth!