25 Years of Teaching Middle School: What Still Matters
A veteran middle school teacher reflects on first-day nerves, tried-and-true classroom activities and what students still need most: welcome, connection and belonging.
Today, in my Facebook Memories pop-up, there is a picture of my students on the second day of school doing our “Tower Building” activity. This activity evolved from the “Marshmallow Challenge” I wrote about in 2014, in “Secret to a Sweet First Day.” One hot September, the second day of school, the marshmallows were melty, kids were licking their sticky fingers, and I mouthed “never again” across the room to my co-teacher, Laura. She knows enough by now that we aren’t giving up our get-to-know you activity; rather, we were going to have to change it up the next year, for sure. We came up with the Tower Building activity that used only pipe cleaners, and we jazzed it up by adding challenges for the groups. You can read about it in TEAMwork: Together Everyone Achieves More.
Why am I sharing this? After 25 years of teaching middle school, I’ve learned three important lessons about starting the school year. There are really three important “takeaways” from a middle school teacher in my 25th year about starting the year (and yes, I know many of you have been back, and I will be super jealous when I am still in school on June 28, our actual last day of school, so humor me).
We Are All Nervous and Excited on the First Day of School
My daughter’s best friend begins her student teaching on Tuesday. I asked her today if she was nervous or excited, and she agreed with me that first days are both. Still, 25 years in, I’ll be having back-to-school dreams that I’ve lost all control of my classroom where I’m teaching the wrong grade level or something ridiculous like that. I’ll also wear a cute outfit and glasses that project “cool” but “tough” (I have a glasses collection;-I’m obsessed with how inexpensive they are online and now buy them like jewelry). If you’d like to see them, follow me on Instagram @Amberrainchandler and #threeminutethoughts. That nervousness and excitement never go away. I’ve yet to meet a teacher who would disagree. It isn’t just those of us with fully formed frontal lobes feeling this way; kiddos feel the same way, but they are mostly too cool to talk about it, so whatever you do, make them feel welcome. After 25 years of teaching, I’ve learned that one of the most important things educators can do on the first day of school is help every student feel welcome and at ease. I’ve said it many times: No kiddo has ever said, “Her syllabus was amazing,” but many can remember a teacher who put them at ease.
It isn’t just those of us with fully formed frontal lobes feeling this way; kiddos feel the same way, but they are mostly too cool to talk about it, so whatever you do, make them feel welcome.
When You Find the Magic, Bottle It: Classroom Activities That Work
We all have those lessons. The “when I get observed” lesson that is always engaging, goes off without a hitch, and is tried and true. Our Tower Building activity is one of those lessons. We walk around with clipboards making note of the most important data: Who are these kiddos? While I’ve also gone down the rabbit hole of Instagram’s first-day activities just like most of you, I am not trying them out on the first day. I’ll save those activities for a day when we are returning from a break and need to re-acclimate. The first day is too important to leave to chance. So, I’m not advocating for stagnation, but I do think we should try new activities strategically. If you are looking for some other people to follow who share use-it-right-now content, check out Barbara Blackburn, Sarah Dahlman, and IMKessel. Take note of your “magic” lessons that never fail, and make sure you use them strategically throughout the year, and if you haven’t yet, upload them to Share My Lesson!
A Few of My Other "Magic" Lessons:
What are your “magic” lessons?
Middle School Students Have Changed—But What They Need Hasn’t
We’ve all been saying it, and I wroteReclaiming Connection in large part because of it: Kids aren’t like they used to be. They seem to be far less resilient, have little stamina and are, by and large, struggling. But they are also a different kind of resilient, one where they have to shoulder through constant communication, comparison, and try to grow up in the spotlight without anyone thinking they are giving “pick me” energy. That seems exhausting. They are creative in ways that most of us don’t even know. They create Discord channels, reverse engineer code to update old games, and create mods. They don’t just consume content; they have strong opinions about it, and they aren’t afraid to hold companies accountable; in fact, The Rise of Gen Alpha is staggering. Considering that when I was 13, I thought writing a letter in support of Boy George (true story) was impressive. Gen Alpha has been a part of organized grassroots campaigns against AI data centers, and youth activists in 2026 are suing the Trump administration for their fossil fuel policies. Kiddos aren’t the same as they used to be, but neither is our world. But, if you know teenagers, they still want to belong, be heard and seen, and have a safe space to land: all possible in your classroom.
Twenty-five years teaching middle school is pretty crazy if you think about it, which is what this blog allowed me to do. A quarter of a century. Teaching is such a unique experience because you are a part of the evolving culture while it happens, and you are expected to prepare students for a world that is wildly unpredictable. However, as I am going back to school, I’m inspired to know that I have some magic that will still reach these different kinds of kiddos, and it’s exciting to meet these pretty amazing people.
More Resources for the New School Year
Get the new school year started off on the right track with more resources on topics such as classroom management, social-emotional learning, family engagement, supporting English-language learners, building successful community schools, and more.
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Amber Chandler is a National Board Certified middle school ELA teacher in Hamburg, New York with a Master’s Degree in Literature, as well as a School Building Leader certification. She is the 2018 Association for Middle Level Educators’ “Educator of the Year.” Amber has enjoyed a wide variety of... See More
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