BubbleUp Take5: Cell phones, math talk, poverty, emotional resilience, and antsy kids

Take5 touches on so many things that are at the forefront of my mind these days.  First: cell phones. A believer in technology, I no longer think the value of cell phones outweighs the distraction. The research supports my view when it comes to middle schoolers. This week's post also explores the power of "math talk," poverty in wealthier school districts, how to spot and encourage teacher resiliency and how a school turned its hallways into a cure for antsy students.

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This article, Smartphones Aren't a Smart Choice in Middle School  is a must read for anyone with a child in middle school or an educator who works in a middle school setting. It's compelling because it's chock-full of evidence. Thanks for this find, Gretchen! 

In How Kids Benefit from Learning to Explain Math Thinking, KQED's MindShift uses video clips to explore what happens to student's understanding of concepts when they have to talk through the math.

This story broke my heart. So many kids are going hungry in the shadows of well funded school districts. This article, entitled "It's Tragic Students Go Hungry in Northern Virginia," shines a bright light on poverty in the very district where I teach. On a positive note, it finds how some people are trying to solve the problem.  

Emotional Resilience: The Missing Ingredient, dives into ways to detect emotional resilience in teachers during hiring and then how to cultivate resilience of teachers long term so that they continue to thrive. In a world where teachers keep leaving the profession in droves, this matters. Oh, and higher salaries in many states would help too. 

If you teach elementary school you need this hack; if you teach middle school you probably need this hack too. Check out how one school got kids moving in and out of class. I am in love with it.

What are you reading this week? 
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-Corey

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You might also like:

• BubbleUp Take5: College Essays, Poverty, Power Learning with Movement, Effective Talk and lastly Sleep, and how to get more of it (October 31, 2017)
• BubbleUp Take5: "I don't know," Defiance, Podcasts and PBL (September 19, 2016)