The Extraordinary Educators Podcast
Best practices, tips, and stories to help you be extraordinary in your classroom and beyond, featuring Curriculum Associates' Director of the Educator Community Sari Laberis.
The Extraordinary Educators Podcast
Engaging and Supporting Middle School Students with Naneka Brathwaite
Ever wondered how to make the transition from elementary to middle school smoother for your students? Join us on the Extraordinary Educators podcast as we sit down with Naneka, National Director of Content and Implementation at Curriculum Associates. Naneka dispels common myths about middle school maturity and shares actionable strategies to help ease students into their new environment. From addressing the lingering impacts of the pandemic to emphasizing the importance of foundational learning tools like manipulatives, Naneka offers invaluable insights that every middle school educator needs to hear.
Tune in for a heartfelt and informative conversation that highlights both the academic and social challenges facing young learners. Discover how adopting elementary-level teaching strategies can create a supportive and engaging classroom environment, making students feel more comfortable and confident. Whether you're a seasoned teacher or new to the middle school scene, Naneka's expert advice and genuine reflections will inspire you to create a nurturing space for all students. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your teaching toolkit and better support your students’ transition during these formative years.
Read Curriculum Associates' blog: CurriculumAssociates.com/blog
Follow us on Twitter: @CurriculumAssoc
Follow us on Instagram: @MyiReady
Have feedback, questions, or want to be a guest? Email ExtraordinaryEducators@cainc.com to connect with us!
Hello and welcome back to the Extraordinary Educators podcast. It's Sari, and this week I am joined by my incredible colleague, nanika, who is a National Director of Content and Implementation at Curriculum Associates. And Nanika recently wrote a blog that we'll link in the show notes about middle school math, and we really dive in in this episode about what it means to be an educator for older students, what we can do to support them as students and as the people they are. So I really enjoy my conversation with Nanika and know that you will too. Here it is. Welcome back to the podcast, nanika. It is so great to have you here.
Naneka Brathwaite:I am so happy to be here. I love this space. I am so happy to be here. I love this space, me too. So tell me. We are wrapping up summer, we are headed back into back to school season. When this comes out, it will be the end of September. What is on your mind as we head into the thick of it this fall, teacher? I'm thinking about how a lot of our students that are entering middle school this year.
Naneka Brathwaite:They're still getting re-acclimated to being in school, right, I know that it seems like the pandemic was so long ago, but that's only because time passes by so quickly it seems like.
Naneka Brathwaite:But I think that students leaving elementary school and going into middle school are still really going to have to now get used to a whole new environment.
Naneka Brathwaite:I think about this because I'm a former sixth grade teacher and I know how these little ones feel when they're coming into the big halls of middle school. They're not used to having to move as quickly, they're not used to the protocols and things that they have become accustomed to in elementary school Kind of seems to go to the wayside a little bit, right. So now they have to get used to this new climate, this new place. They're going through puberty, many of them, so they're struggling through that and, just you know, thinking about how to move forward. So I often think about how we can maybe make things a little bit easier for them as they transition into this new space. And I think about it when it comes to just instruction as well, not even just the socialization aspect of it, right, right, yeah. And I think about it when it comes to just instruction as well, not even just the socialization aspect of it.
Sari Laberis:Right, right, yeah, that's a lot right, especially because these students miss those formative years where they're learning foundational concepts and you think about when they were learning from home. So, if there are middle school educators listening to this, what are some things they can either do in the classroom or as they're preparing that can help support students in the ways that you described they need?
Naneka Brathwaite:Honestly, I think one of the biggest myths is that when kids are coming to middle school, that they're, you know, more mature and they're so ready to do you know big kid things, or what have you ready to do? You know big kid things, or what have you. But the truth is you have some middle schoolers that are still kind of like in the mode of playing with their Legos and playing with their dolls and things like that. You know, I know that kids have to grow up really fast these days, but the truth is that I think as adults, we can help them really enjoy being a kid, being a child, and I also think about that when it comes to instruction.
Naneka Brathwaite:Oftentimes, when we think about, even like in math instruction I can use myself as an example that Somehow because maybe there's less time for students to, you know, be in math class, because you know they don't get to stay in one room all day many times that using manipulatives, for example, would be something that, oh, they did that in elementary. Oh, it's kind of babyish. But the truth is you have a lot of kids that still have gaps in their learning and those things can actually, you know, manipulatives can actually help them really make more sense of the math. So I think about it in that sense, but also because it does help with socialization. It does help with getting them talking a little bit more and feeling a little bit more safe in that space. So I think middle school teachers could actually benefit from thinking about things with an elementary teacher's mindset, if that makes sense.
Sari Laberis:It makes so much sense because I actually, when I taught middle school, I had formally taught elementary school and I remember bringing in my pack of stickers and some of my colleagues were like they're in middle school now.
Sari Laberis:I was like who doesn't like a sticker? You know what I mean. And so we don't have to force kids out of it or move them along too quickly. Exactly what you said, and we have plenty of episodes that we'll link in the bio with one of your amazing teammates, liz Pizer, on about how they're never too old for manipulatives. You know, and that's such a helpful tip. You know, don't quickly pass by the fact that they're still children. You know, they still, they still, they still want to do those things. But that's a great, a really great point as well. And so anything else, any other strategies or tips or ways you can think about really meeting students where they are, in middle school classrooms.
Naneka Brathwaite:I mean I'm biased because I was a sixth grade teacher for so long, but it's kind of making me think about what you just said about, you know, like bringing stickers and you know, incentives and things like that still work for middle school children. It's just about making it, you know, age appropriate, and the truth is, middle school kids like stickers too. So I'm thinking that even in the way that we set forth our procedures in the classroom, that can be really helpful. Thinking about it with an elementary mindset, but I also feel like when it comes to instruction in particular, get really creative with them, in that you're treating them like adults in a way, because you're going to give them a little more autonomy over their learning, if that makes sense.
Naneka Brathwaite:Absolutely Give them an opportunity to really take ownership of that learning by treating them like the young scientists that they are, treating them with opportunities to use, you know, something like manipulatives to connect with another student in the classroom. I feel like it's just a way to really make a safe space for students, because once they feel safe to make mistakes, once they feel safe to be able to have conversations in the math classroom especially, that really does open more opportunities for that learning to stick, and that's really what we want. We want the learning to stick. We want them to be excited about coming into class. So let's think about all those little things that keep kids engaged and think about how we can better incorporate them into our daily instruction.
Sari Laberis:Yes, yes, we're not saying you know, baby them where they are and have those high expectations so they can meet them.
Sari Laberis:It reminds me I recently listened to a podcast with Anne Morris and Francis Frey that we'll put in the show notes too podcast with Anne Morris and Francis Frey that we'll put in the show notes too. But they talked about how and this could go with any relationship, whether it's teacher to student or parent to child or colleague to colleague. But the way to think about your leadership for whoever you're leading, is twofold One, by your standards, how high are you setting the expectation? And two, are you showing deep dedication and the love for them? Right? And so if you have one without the other, it can be pretty detrimental to their learning and your relationship. And so, essentially, what you just described is like setting those high expectations. You are scientists. Today we are going to discover X while also knowing them more than saying that you have deep dedication, that you care deeply about who they are as a person, about their success, about what they know and need to know and everything in between.
Naneka Brathwaite:Right, and I think you know, setting a culture for high expectations is so important because it really shows that when students know that their teachers have high expectations of them, they actually want to do better, right they? They actually perform better. They want to, you know, make their teachers proud of them because their teachers believe in them. So it's like hey, ms B is really setting up this space for me. She thinks that I can do this thing, even though I might be having some difficulty in this particular topic. She's not just assuming that, oh, that means I need to give them a second grade worksheet. They're thinking about how we can really help them with age-appropriate scaffolding, age-appropriate activities that include manipulatives.
Naneka Brathwaite:Manipulatives are not a bad thing to use in middle school, and even many will say even in high school, quite honestly. So it's important to really match up those expectations with the kind of work we're giving them, giving them access to grade level work, even when you know they may be a year or two behind, right, even though they need more support, that does not mean that they should not have access to that grade level work. We just have to be a little bit more creative in how we approach that instruction, how we really honor their middle schoolness right, how we honor the fact that they're 11, 12, 13 years old and that it's okay to give them choice, it's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to have them talking in class if we can keep them on task and just give them an opportunity to just be all, while, of course, making sure that we are giving them standards-based instruction. But we need to also make it fun. It should be fun for the teacher as well as the students.
Sari Laberis:Yes, exactly, and on that note we are going to wrap up because that was so powerful. Thank you so much for being with us, nika. Unfortunately, that is all the time we have for today, but appreciate your expertise and insight, as always. Thank you so much, sari. Until next time, get inspired by following us on social media and please tag us in your posts on X at Curriculum Asoce and on Instagram at my Eye Ready. If you have feedback about the podcast, a topic of interest or if you want to be a guest, email extraordinaryeducators atcainccom. Please subscribe where you listen to podcasts and if you'd like to help more educators, just like you, join the conversation and please leave a review. Remember, be you be true, be extraordinary. The Extraordinary Educators podcast is produced by Curriculum Associates, editing by Shane Lowe, social media by Atsiti Hanan, guest booking by Sari LaBarris and production by Haley Browning. This podcast is copyrighted. Materials and intellectual property of Curriculum Associates.