Looking ahead to the Milan-Torino Olympics, there are many activities you can incorporate into learning. The choice board above incorporates AI into the tasks. You can find additional choice boards here.

One year our school had everything complete with an opening ceremony by homeroom "countries", different puzzle-type activities during advisory, and a culminating mini-Olympics.

Here are several activities from Texas Computer Educators (note: there are several comments asking for the answers to the breakout!)

SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

*Official Site of the 2026 Winter Olympics

*NBC's Olympic Site (includes schedule)

*Great overview of the Olympic venues, from the AP

*Activities from Formative/Newsela

*Resources from the Canadian Olympic Committee

*Although Elementary-Based, Still Has Useful Ideas

*This Site has a Lot about Music, but Many Useful Links

*Math Meets Sports: How is Math Used in the Summer and Winter Games?

*TCEA's Activities from the 2022 Winter Olympics are Good Too!

*Several Activities from the International Olympic Committee

*Winter Olympics Hyperdoc

This article by Chris Balme flips the too-prevalent view that middle school is a time to simply endure and move on; those of you teaching in the middle know differently! Similarly to Phyllis Fagel's excellent book, Middle School Super Powers, this piece reframes the adolescent years and could lead to a great discussion. You can also find an episode of AMLE's "Walk and Talk" podcast with an interview of Balme on this page. (Image created with Gemini Nano Banana.)

Looking Ahead to Changes for Math in Fall, 2026

With new regulations for math mirroring requirements for language arts, many of you are probably already looking at scheduling and needed remediation for next fall. This article from MIddleWeb, "Breaking Down Fluency for MS Math Kids," takes a different look at math remediation, something you might want to consider; it would be interesting to have your math teachers discuss it. (Image credit)

The new guidelines for math in the administrative code can be found here.

GETTING READY FOR KINLCON

The request to present at KINLCon is now open, as is registration (2 days for only $99). This year's event will be held at Plainfield High School on June 9 & 10. The keynote speakers will be of great interest to middle school teachers: Katie Powell is the Director of Programs for the Association of Middle Level Educators (AMLE), and Matt "Ditch That Textbook" Miller is one of the best speakers on AI I've seen. Even more special-- they are both educators from western Indiana! What started as MidCon two years ago evolved into KINLCon last year, with many sessions of middle-level interest. Please consider presenting this year, or encouraging those who you think would be great speakers!

You can also nominate someone for one of the awards that will be presented at the conference. Awards are in the areas of Community Partnership, Educational Leadership, or Innovative Educator.

OTHER SUMMER PD OPPORTUNITIES

* Applications are now open for many summer programs through the National Endowment for the Humanities. These take place at various places across the country, and include stipends for expenses. It includes everything from the poetry of Emily Dickinson in Amherst, MA, to the Space Program in Florida, to Shakespeare in Brooklyn, and many more. Deadline to apply is March 6.

*There is a fantastic opportunity to attend an expense-paid workshop at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C from June 28-July 2. The workshop will use the lens of intelligence and espionage to uncover pivotal moments in U.S. history, from the American Revolution to the Global War on Terror. (Social studies/history teachers preferred, but others may be considered.) Deadline to apply is January 30.

*DOE's Summer of Learning has been scaled down, but there are still districts hosting some great PD. This includes Franklin Township's Spark Summit in Indianapolis on June 4, with a theme of "Fever for Learning, Fueled by AI" , and Eastern Hancock's "Joy Jam" on July 14-15.

*And, congratulations to the many teachers who received Lilly Extending Teaching Creativity Workshops, and will be traveling to various places around the world this summer! There seemed to be more middle level teachers than usual this year! See who they are, and think of what YOU might like to do in writing a grant in the future!

Online Book Study with Pooja Agarwhal Available

Pooja Agarwhal is one of the top experts on retrieval practice. Her most recent book includes research and tips from ten different cognitive scientiists, and she is offering a free book study. You might even find a "free" copy of the book on hoopla through your public library. The sessions are typically at 7:30 pm on Mondays, starting January 26.

This covers such topics as:

Retrieval Practice

Spaced Practice

Interleaving

Neuromyths Debunked

TIMES ARE EST; FREE UNLESS NOTED

Many are available via recording, especially if you pre-register.

January 26-February 1- Crayola Creativity Week, Sponsored by Horace Mann

January 27- Leslie Fisher Webinar about Knowt, It was great! Available on Demand until Feb. 10

January 29- *Rescheduled due to Technical Difficulties*CELL Webinar,Thinking about Math Education: Insights from Top Performing Nations

January 30- Deadline to Apply for International Spy Museum Workshop

February 1-28- Black History Month

February 2-6- National News Literacy Week

February 4- World Read Aloud Day

February 5- Literacy and the Science of Learning, Including Natalie Wexler & Doug Lemov, Noon

February 5- Applications for Jack Kent Cooke Scholarships Opens (7th graders)

February 6- Winter Olympics Begin!

February 8- Updated Launch Window Starts for Artemis II, Return to the Moon

February 8- Super Bowl LX; Some Lesson Ideas Linked Here, & Here

February 10- Antarctica Virtual Field Trip, Noon (Free Delayed Access with Registration)

February 10- CELL Webinar: Building Efficacy Through Literacy with Adolescent Readers with Dr. Nancy Frey, 3 pm

February 11-13- NCTM"s Spring Conference in Indianapolis, $

February 17- Speaker Proposals Due for KINLCon26 (recently extended from 2/9)

February 19- The Science & Story of Reading: How the Reading Brain Teaches Us All with Dr. Maryanne Wolf, 6-8 pm

February 20-22- HASTI $

February 27- Deadline for Students to Enter the Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Challenge

March 27- Award Nominations Due for KINLCon

June 9-10-KINLCon at Plainfield Community High School

ONGOING EVENTS

Indiana Learning Lab Workshops (Requires Sign in for Registration, Also Access to Archived Events)

Teachers First OK2Ask Online Workshops ; (Past on-demand sessions)

Keep Indiana Learning (KINL); Live Events (some $) Past Recordings/Digital Content

edWeb.net Webinars (Can watch at later date; if sponsored, "commercials" are at the end)

Leslie Fisher Webinars

AMLE Podcasts: Walk and Talk & Research to Practice

AMLE Events (some free, some paid)

Corwin Webinars, Additional Free Corwin Resources, Including Past Webinars

Please note: Webinars and events mentioned in this space are not an endorsement of commercial products; on the contrary, we try to avoid listing events that appear to be commercial in nature. Every effort is made to strip social media/tracking data from provided URLs. In many cases, you can register and receive a recording later.

Olympic Torch Background image license

ABOUT IMLEA

The only organization in Indiana devoted to promoting, improving, and supporting middle level education. We are the Indiana affiliate of the national organization AMLE, and administer the Schools to Watch program for the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.

Join us! Membership Benefits and Application

Joint Membership, AMLE/IMLEA

Susie Highley, Executive Director

FIND US:

11025 E. 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN. 46229 (Inside IASP)

(317) 759-4344

FACEBOOK X (Twitter) EMAIL LinkedIN

Our partner, Horace Mann, is a proud sponsor of Crayola Creativity Week — a free, fun-filled program that inspires students, educators and families through imagination and creativity.

Sign up for free and enjoy:

Free creative learning resources and activity videos
Giveaways and sweepstakes with celebrity creators and virtual classroom visits
Year-round access to digital resources that support cross-curricular learning

Horace Mann and Crayola are also hosting an exclusive sweepstakes just for educators where you could win:

A four-day creative getaway to southern California
$500 in Crayola art supplies

Don’t miss your chance to get inspired and win some amazing prizes!

SIGN UP TODAY!