This practical, performance based methods text for middle and second school pre-service teachers is organized around four developmental components: *Why--gives the rationale to support the components that follow *What--what you will be teaching *How--how you will teach it *How well--how well you are teaching it. Organized into four parts that are then split up into ten modules, the text begins with a history of education going back to colonial times. The modules then cover the many and varied aspects of teaching pre and early adolescents, such as teaching students with exceptionalities, classroom management, diversity, instructional planning, using technology in the classroom, assessing student achievement, and self-assessment and continued professional development. The authors contend that the best teacher is one who has an eclectic style and can monitor their own progress and make changes and adapt their strategies if they are not succeeding. The ninth edition has been carefully updated to reflect the diversity and current topics in the field today. The book is a valuable resource for students today and as a reference for many years to come. New To This Edition: NEW!Improved balance of content between middle and secondary schools--this emphasizes that middle school is uniquely different from both high school and the traditional junior high school and that pre-and early adolescence is different from late adolescence. NEW! Technology has been integrated throughout every module of the book--New features including "Teaching Scenarios," "Activities," and "Technology Rich" features were added to all modules. NEW! Contributions from pre-service and in-service middle and secondary school teachers, teacher educators, and educational researchers have been added--to strengthen the tie between theory and practice.