The free education site CommonLit has created nearly 1000 document-based lesson plans and a growing collection of differentiated nonfiction text sets. Rob Fleisher, the non-profit’s director of school partnerships, shares some creative ways to tap these rich resources.
First Days of Math Class / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 07/23/2017 · Last modified 12/12/2019
Michelle Russell anticipates her math students will arrive in a few weeks with predictable gaps in their understanding of operations involving fractions and equations. To be more proactive, she’ll offer some refresher activities during the first week of school.
How can school leaders help Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials in the same building work side by side collaboratively? Jennifer Abrams and Valeria A. von Frank define the challenges and offer suggestions Linda Biondi finds essential.
Every school has unique procedures, traditions, and personalities. What if new and transitioning teachers, starting fresh in an unfamiliar space, had a checklist to make induction easy and systematic? Author-consultant Frank Buck supplies that tool!
This year Curtis Chandler’s son set a new one-week record for announcing he was bored by summer. How do we encourage kids to take a break from school, but not from learning? Chandler shares online resources across subject areas to spur some vigorous brain activity.
With its ready-made product menus and immediate applicability, Differentiating Instruction with Menus is one of those books that won’t gather dust, as teachers will turn to it for quick reference throughout the school year, says ELA and gifted facilitator Kim Rensch.
Fourth grade teacher Alex Valencic looks forward to integrating Jan Richardson’s assess-decide-guide framework into his guided reading instruction. Beyond its thorough introduction, the book shows in detail how students at 5 levels of reading can develop their skills.
Close Reading the Media / Visual Literacy
by Frank Baker · Published 06/27/2017 · Last modified 12/12/2019
If your students think a photo can’t change history, have them think again, with this resource-rich article from media literacy expert Frank W. Baker, drawing on the work of civil rights era photojournalist Charles Moore, whose iconic images still haunt us today.
To help students be ready for the challenges of their digital connections, infrequent workshops at school aren’t enough. Media educator and producer Diana Graber outlines what kids need to know and how to provide the curriculum to build competence and protect futures.
STEM Beyond the Classroom / STEM By Design
by Anne Jolly · Published 06/25/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Informal STEM learning – whether it’s after school, in summer settings, or at home – is a major factor in getting adolescents on a path toward STEM careers. Anne Jolly describes the why, where and how, and shares online resources for program and curriculum planning.
