Middle School: Building Pathways to Success

Articles and References

Research studies and articles from school districts across the nation have validated that course failures and low attendance in middle school are the strongest predictors of high school failure and dropout rates. These studies magnify the need for middle-level strategies that build the path to graduation. Please review the following resources and join the initiative to increase middle school achievement and build pathways to success.

JOURNAL ARTICLES, REPORTS, POLICY BRIEFS

Allensworth, E. M., Gwynne, J. A., Moore, P., & de la Torre, M. (2014, November). Looking forward to high school and college: Middle grade indicators of readiness. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. Retrieved from https://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/looking-forward-high-school-and-college-middle-grade-indicators-readiness-chicago

From the Executive Summary: “Much of the pressure to improve educational attainment is on high schools, but focus has also turned to earlier grades. There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school, which markers they should use to gauge whether students are ready to succeed in high school and beyond, and whether it is possible to identify in middle grades students who are likely to struggle in high school and college.

“This report is designed to provide a detailed picture of the relationship between students’ performance in the middle grades (grades five through eight) and their subsequent performance in high school and college among students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).”

“There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation.”

Balfanz, R. (2009, June). Putting middle grades students on the graduation path: A policy and practice brief. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association. Retrieved from http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet.aspx?ArtMID=888&ArticleID=314

From the Introduction: “The middle grades will play a pivotal role in enabling the nation to reach President Obama’s goal of graduating all students from high school prepared for college or advanced career training. In high-poverty neighborhoods, in particular, our research and school improvement work indicate that students’ middle grades experiences have tremendous impact on the extent to which they will close achievement gaps, graduate from high school, and be prepared for college. Consequently, there is a need to reconceptualize the role the middle grades play in the public education system. The middle grades, broadly defined as fifth through eighth grade, need to be seen as the launching pad for a secondary and post-secondary education system that enables all students to obtain the schooling and/or career training they will need to fully experience the opportunities of 21st century America.

“This brief, drawing on our research and field work, illuminates key policy and practice implications of the middle grades playing a stronger role in achieving our national goal of graduating all students from high school prepared for college or career and civic life. The brief is based on more than a decade of research and development work at the Center for the Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University. It also draws on direct field experience in more than 30 middle schools implementing comprehensive reform and a longstanding collaboration with the Philadelphia Education Fund.”

“…there is a need to reconceptualize the role the middle grades play in the public education system.”

www.voyagersopris.com / 800.547.6747

Dweck, C. S., Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2014). Academic tenacity: Mindsets and skills that promote long-term learning. Seattle, WA: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/~gwalton/home/Welcome_files/DweckWaltonCohen_2014.pdf

From the Introduction: “Most educational reforms focus on curriculum and pedagogy—what material is taught and how it is taught. However, curriculum and pedagogy have often been narrowly defined as the academic content and students’ intellectual processing of that material. Research shows that this is insufficient. In our pursuit of educational reform, something essential has been missing: the psychology of the student. Psychological factors—often called motivational or non-cognitive factors—can matter even more than cognitive factors for students’ academic performance. These may include students’ beliefs about themselves, their feelings about school, or their habits of self-control. Educators, psychologists, and even economists recognize the importance of non-cognitive factors in achievement both in school and in the labor market. These factors also offer promising levers for raising the achievement of underprivileged children and, ultimately, closing achievement gaps based on race and income. The research reviewed in this paper shows that educational interventions and initiatives that target these psychological factors can transform students’ experience and achievement in school, improving core academic outcomes such as GPA and test scores months and even years later.”

King, S. A., Lemons, J., & Hill D. R. (2012). Response to intervention in secondary schools: Considerations for administrators. NASSP Bulletin, 96(1), 5–22. Retrieved from https://rtitoolbox.wiki.farmington.k12.mi.us/file/view/RTI+IN+SECONDARY.pdf

From the Abstract: “Secondary school administrators are increasingly finding themselves in the position of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI). This system of providing progressively intensive levels of intervention for the purposes of preventing academic failure and identifying children with learning disability may be useful at the secondary level. However, many aspects of RTI are based on research conducted in elementary schools. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic description of RTI, to summarize research conducted at the secondary level, and to provide a set of considerations for secondary administrators regarding RTI implementation.”

Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., Murray, C. S., & Roberts, G. (2012). Intensive interventions for students struggling in reading and mathematics: A practice guide. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. Retrieved from: http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Intensive%20Interventions%20for%20Students%20Struggling%20in%20Reading%20%26%20Math.pdf

From the Overview: “This publication provides research-based guidance for intensifying instruction in reading and mathematics for students with significant learning difficulties, including students with disabilities, in kindergarten through grade 12. The guide gives technical assistance providers and states information reflecting ‘best practices’ for implementing intensive interventions to improve education practices for struggling students, including those who receive special education. It can also be used as a resource for instructional specialists and special education teachers who are searching for broad guidelines on the design and delivery of intensive interventions.”

Villavicencio, A. & Grayman, J. K. (2012, February). Learning from “turnaround” middle schools: Strategies for success. New York, NY: The Research Alliance for New York City Schools, New York University. Retrieved from http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/research_alliance/publications/turnaround_middle_schools

From the Executive Summary: “In New York City and around the nation, there is intense interest in the question of what it takes to turn around a struggling school. The turnaround strategies that predominate in federal policy include school closure, conversion to a charter school, dismissal of the principal and a substantial proportion of teachers, and the reassignment of students to other schools. In contrast, the turnaround schools in this study substantially improved student performance without the infusion of extra resources or the wholesale reassignment of students, teachers and administrators. Rather, these schools have made improvements by drawing on existing resources and developing internal capacity to educate students effectively. Although this kind of transformation may not be possible for all low-performing schools, the experiences chronicled in this report suggest important lessons for educators and policymakers, both here in New York and around the country.”

…these schools have made improvements by drawing on existing resources and developing internal capacity to educate students effectively.”

www.voyagersopris.com / 800.547.6747

Lesson 1 | Reading

Unit 4 125

recipea list of the things needed and directions for making something

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10

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Jazz began with a “recipe” that had many different ingredients. Different groups of people, including Africans and Europeans, were part of the recipe. Different kinds of music, including the blues and ragtime, were also a part of the recipe. All of these ingredients combined to make America’s own music, jazz.

Workers sang songs during the long workday. They sang in fields and on ships. They sang while working on the railroads. The work song was an important part of their day. With tools in their hands, they worked to a steady beat. The songs made life a little easier. There were many kinds of work songs, and these songs played a part in jazz.

Church music was important to jazz. African Americans made new kinds of church music. They formed their own churches and rewrote the old songs to express their faith. They changed the words, the beat, and the tune. They used the African “call and response” when they sang. This music became an ingredient in the jazz recipe.

steadynot subject to change; constant

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Lesson 1 | Reading

126 Unit 4

Music of immigrant Americans added to jazz. The Scotch-Irish had ballads. Ballads tell stories of heroes and their bravery, and these stories are often sad. The song is usually simple. In a ballad, the story is often more important than the music. Ballads became another ingredient in the jazz recipe.

In the early days of America, ballroom dance music provided popular entertainment. In the South, dances were held on plantations. They were big social events. There was a demand for musicians to play at the dances. Many slaves learned how to play fiddles and flutes. African Americans invented the banjo and played it too. Black musicians learned the dance songs and changed them. African and European music combined to make dance music. This music became another ingredient in the jazz recipe.

During the 1800s, a new kind of music called ragtime was born. It was loud and fun. Musicians pounded on their pianos. They made up songs to express their appreciation for music. They played in dance halls. The tunes were lively, and the rhythm was catchy. Everybody loved ragtime. It had a strong, irregular beat that was surprising. Ragtime became another ingredient in the jazz recipe.

Sometime in the late 1800s, musicians began to play the blues. Slaves had been freed, but life was still hard. People were sad and frustrated. They expressed their feelings in music. They called it the blues. Today, people still sing the blues when they’re sad. The blues became the final ingredient in the recipe.

The jazz recipe came together in New Orleans. By 1890, New Orleans was one of America’s most musical cities. It had opera houses and concert halls. It had dance ballrooms and street parades. It had Mardi Gras! Many different people lived there. Africans and Native Americans lived in New Orleans. The French and Spanish also lived there. People from many places and cultures created America’s own music, jazz.

Adapted with permission from “Jazz Ingredients” by Heather Mitchell Amey

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simplehaving few parts; easy to understand

plantationa large farm where crops are grown

socialfriendly; involving several people

expressto communicate in words

demandrequirement; need

combineto put together; to join

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Lesson 1 | Reading

Unit 4 123

Let’s Focus: “Jazz: The Recipe”Content Focusjazz music

Type of Textinformational

Author’s Purposeto inform

Big IdeasConsider the following Big Idea questions. Write your answer for each question.

Where did jazz music come from?

Why do people make music?

Informational Preview Checklist: “Jazz: The Recipe”

Title: What clue does it provide about the passage?

Pictures and Captions: What additional information is added here?

Headings: What topics will this text include?

Margin Information: What vocabulary is important to understand this text?

Maps, Charts, Graphs: Are additional visuals present that will help me understand?

Reading for a Purpose 1. Where did workers sing work songs?

2. What did African Americans do to change church music?

3. What stories do ballads tell?

4. Why were freed slaves singing the blues?

5. Where did all the different music come together?

6. What were the ingredients that made up the jazz recipe?

7. Why is New Orleans considered the “Melting Pot of Sound”?

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Lesson 1 | Vocabulary

124 Unit 4

Key Passage Vocabulary: “Jazz: The Recipe”Rate your knowledge of the words. Defi ne the words. Draw a picture to help you remember the defi nition.

Vocabulary Knowledge Rating Defi nition Picture

recipe 0 1 2 3

steady 0 1 2 3

simple 0 1 2 3

plantation 0 1 2 3

social 0 1 2 3

demand 0 1 2 3

combine 0 1 2 3

express 0 1 2 3

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Lesson 2 | Vocabulary

Unit 4 127

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Lesson 5 | Reading

140 Unit 4

Guided HighlightingRead the text and complete the tasks.

Jazz: The RecipeHeadings

African and European Music Unites Immigrant Americans Add to the RecipeAfrican Americans Add to the Recipe Ragtime Surprise!� e Melting Pot of Sound Birth of JazzSinging the Blues � e Song of the Worker

Jazz began with a “recipe” that had many diff erent ingredients. Diff erent groups of people, including Africans and Europeans, were part of the recipe. Diff erent kinds of music, including the blues and ragtime, were also a part of the recipe. All of these ingredients combined to make America’s own music, jazz.

Workers sang songs during the long workday. � ey sang in fi elds and on ships. � ey sang while working on the railroads. � e work song was an important part of their day. With tools in their hands, they worked to a steady beat. � e songs made life a little easier. � ere were many kinds of work songs, and these songs played a part in jazz.

5

Church music was important to jazz. African Americans made new kinds of church music. � ey formed their own churches and rewrote the old songs to express their faith. � ey changed the words, the beat, and the tune. � ey used the African “call and response” when they sang. � is music became an ingredient in the jazz recipe.

10

Music of immigrant Americans added to jazz. � e Scotch-Irish had ballads. Ballads tell stories of heroes and their bravery, and these stories are often sad. � e song is usually simple. In a ballad, the story is often more important than the music. Ballads became another ingredient in the jazz recipe.

15

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Lesson 5 | Reading

Unit 4 141

Guided Highlighting (cont.)

In the early days of America, ballroom dance music provided popular entertainment. In the South, dances were held on plantations. � ey were big social events. � ere was a demand for musicians to play at the dances. Many slaves learned how to play fi ddles and fl utes. African Americans invented the banjo and played it too. Black musicians learned the dance songs and changed them. African and European music combined to make dance music. � is music became another ingredient in the jazz recipe.

20

25

During the 1800s, a new kind of music called ragtime was born. It was loud and fun. Musicians pounded on their pianos. � ey made up songs to express their appreciation for music. � ey played in dance halls. � e tunes were lively, and the rhythm was catchy. Everybody loved ragtime. It had a strong, irregular beat that was surprising. Ragtime became another ingredient in the jazz recipe.

30

Sometime in the late 1800s, musicians began to play the blues. Slaves had been freed, but life was still hard. People were sad and frustrated. � ey expressed their feelings in music. � ey called it the blues. Today, people still sing the blues when they’re sad. � e blues became the fi nal ingredient in the recipe.

35

� e jazz recipe came together in New Orleans. By 1890, New Orleans was one of America’s most musical cities. It had opera houses and concert halls. It had dance ballrooms and street parades. It had Mardi Gras! Many diff erent people lived there. Africans and Native Americans lived in New Orleans. � e French and Spanish also lived there. People from many places and cultures created America’s own music, jazz.

40

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Lesson 9 | Writing

Unit 1 33

Blueprint for Writing: Main IdeaWrite the main ideas and key details to help you retell the passage and write a summary.

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