1. EDCI: 597 Middle Grades Philosophy, Organization and Climate Online Summer 2010 Book Review Assignment Jordie Myers

2. Meet Me in the Middle By: Rick Wormeli

3. Copyright: 2001 Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, Maine ISBN: 1-57110-328-7

4. Book Features:

5. Meet Me in the Middle Useful advice for new, mid-career, and later- career teachers Each chapter provides successful strategies for addressing key middle-level teaching challenges Gives examples of real world experiences from his own teaching

6. Why I liked this book Well-written Useful Provided real experiences Provided useful strategies Gave ideas for improving Touched several topics

7. Who would benefit from reading this book and why? I feel this book would highly benefit beginning, mid-career, and later-career teachers. The book provides strategies for addressing challenges any middle-level teacher is bound to face. Some of those include differentiating instruction, motivating early adolescents, and involving parents. I feel these are very important in helping anyone become a better teacher.

8. What would you change about this book if you could? Honestly, there is nothing I can think of changing. This book was an easy read and I greatly enjoyed reading it. But if I had to change one thing, in the appendix I would put the page numbers on each activity/strategy to allow readers to easily reference for more information.

9. What were some things you learned having read this book? If students have a clear picture of the outcome and how they can achieve it, they will be more inclined to try. Games are intrinsically motivating Successful reading has more to do with a student’s background and experiences than with his ability to decode or define words. Good assessment involves multiple disciplines Different ways to reach out and touch parents Index card inquiries- ask parents to fill out an index card and answer this question: What do I need to know about your child to teach him/her better?

10. Everybody Should Know The Truth About Middle School Students The human brain grows at tremendous rates during early adolescence The emotional connections children make during middle years will directly influence how they handle trust, power, conflict, fairness, and relationships in adulthood. Doing the right thing matters to them. They want to be taken seriously so badly that they often go overboard to make sure they are perceived responsible. These are children, and children occasionally veer off track. It’s called growing up.

11. As Middle-Level Educators: Our classes are full of human beings in the making, and we play important roles as their coaches, mentors, and referees. Learn to be patient with their quirky growth patterns. Look past those frustrating years and not hold their development against them.