Over the past 4 years, I have taught a few middle school English classes.  Middle school can be tough; what was cool yesterday is out tomorrow.  And what you try tomorrow was so, "yesterday".  It seems to take extra bells and whistles to gain the attention of students.  I recall one time resorting to a brain break that consisted of licked edible hand scrubs, in return for a promise of undivided attention while we talked about nouns and verbs.  There is one activity that I can say without hesitation that everyone loved: The Online Scholastic Reading Magazine.  

http://scope.scholastic.com/ 

       

There are several things that I love about this magazine: 

1. There is always a good selection of non-fiction articles about current issues that are written at a 6-8th  grade level. Usually they were high-interest stories that kept the attention of everyone in the classroom. 

2.  I felt that the activities for analytical skills are highly effective and easy to understand.  This can be a difficult thing to find when searching for middle school literature.  

3. The magazine uses current technology activities that make me appear "cool"...in other words, all the work was done for me, and the students just needed to log in and follow directions.  Computer time and win for them, and a win for this non-techy English lady. 

4.  For the large majority of the magazines, the topics are non-controversial.  Only twice out of the thirty-two issues that I used did I have to address a value that our institution did not agree with.  However,  it opened up an excellent conversation about our Biblical worldview and what it should look like. I believe in teaching through a lesson and not just avoiding it altogether. 

There is a small fee ($6.99 per student), but that grants access to all volumes of the magazine online for the past 5 years, and gives each student their own hard copy once a month.  I presented the idea at a parent meeting at the beginning of the school year, and each parent saw the value in a new learning activity and eagerly offered to pay the fee.  

There are many branches in the Scholastic family, so it would be easy to find the perfect fit for your classroom.  These options include, "Scholastic Action", which includes real-life danger stories, "Scholastic New York Times" for an investigative reporting magazine,  and even a "Scholastic Science World" to dive into the difficult topics of biology, conservation, and chemicals.  

It is a classroom investment that you will not regret!