Characteristics of Middle School Students

Knowing who you are teaching is half the battle in being successful. If you cannot or do not know how to relate to your students they will not connect with you. From my experience, and think back on your own, the best teaching and learning experiences I had were with those teachers that related to me and took an interest in what I was doing.


Pick five characteristics of middle school students that you have seen throughout your module experience. How did these affect you as a teacher? How can you use these characteristics to your advantage as a teacher? Do you think these characteristics differ between all 3 middle school grade levels (6th, 7th, 8th)? 

Liability Case

Liability Case

Check out the above case. What has to be present in order for any teacher to be deemed negligent? Specifically in regard to this case, why was the teacher deemed negligent?  Give three defenses you could use to protect yourself in a court of law.

Teaching behaviors

From the list of pre-assessment definitions, pick four that you believe are the most important as a teacher.  Define them and then detail why you believe they're important. What experience have you had in using them? How would you like to integrate them into your teaching more?

Teaching Styles

Reciprocal, self-check, and practice styles of teaching are just a few that are useful as a middle school teacher. Give two characteristics of each, and then give an example of how you would use one of them.


Have you been able to integrate any of these into your lessons? Why is it useful to be able to teach in all styles?

"The New P.E.?"

Grading on Personal Best

Check out the above article. How do you feel about this way of grading? How do you feel about this curriculum?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a curriculum like this? Please cite specific examples from the article to support your answer.

Music

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. -Berthold Auerbach

Music can be a means of entertainment, therapy, relaxation, and many other things. What does it do for you, if anything? What's your favorite music to listen to and how has this changed since you were younger?

I love music and it does many things for me. Releasing frustration, entertainment, and connection to memories are three of the biggest things for me personally. In middle school I listened to some rap (Juvenile), but also started listening to more rock and metal. Rap was easy to listen to because it was everywhere and mostly everyone liked it. I also had an affinity for blues and classic rock because of my dad, like Stevie Ray Vaughn, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, etc. I can truly appreciate all types of music but mostly listen to metal.

One very special thing music does for me is connect me to memories. I'm sure you can all think of a song and it reminds you of a time, place, or person you were with. I love this about music. Two very special songs remind me of a friend I grew up with who passed away this summer. We both enjoyed riding our motorcycles, and unfortunately he passed doing something he absolutely loved. The first song is "Rose of Sharyn" by Killswitch Engage, and the second is "In This River" by Black Label Society. Those two songs will forever remind me of Ricky and mean a lot to me.

To the right is a picture of when we were in middle school. Ricky's in the back left next to Kyle. To the bottom left is Caitlin, Ricky's sister and also one of my best friends, making a sweet face.

In This River  <-- check out one of the songs.

 

Guitar God, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society.

Curriculum

We discussed it just a little bit in class today, but I'm wondering what everyone thinks personally. Take some time to think about your Physical Education philosophy. Do you think yours is more with getting children active or more on the sports concepts and making them more efficient movers? Do you agree or disagree with standardized fitness testing at the middle school level?

  

    

This is one of the fitness tests that some schools use.