Paid ads and social media give lots of exposure to Presidential candidates. They also get free visibility from magazines, though they don’t always like what they see. Frank Baker offers a magazine-cover activity to help students build media literacy skills.
History in Fiction / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 04/04/2016 · Last modified 12/01/2019
Kevin Hodgson’s 6th graders learn about church bombings as he reads from The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963. The students also explore primary sources and write about children in the Civil Rights movement to begin to understand bravery in the face of racism.
Recent research finds that hesitant adolescent writers seldom respond positively to mentor texts by “stellar” peers. Instead, poet and educator Sara Holbrook suggests a co-creation framework that scaffolds the student writing process in a collaborative poetry workshop setting.
Where does humor fit into the classroom? Just about anywhere! Check out these refreshed resources on why humor works, how to share it, and where to find it. Funny math, ELA, social studies, and science resources abound.
Wordl clouds are everywhere, in every color and size. Middle grades teacher and Scholastic author Marilyn Pryle shows 10 ways word clouds made from free generators on the web can be crafted into powerful literacy teaching tools, using the right prompts and directions.
Book Reviews / Visual & Media Literacy
by MiddleWeb · Published 03/17/2016 · Last modified 11/16/2019
Roger Essley shares an abundance of visual strategies and tools to help a wide range of middle grades students understand complex ideas in ELA, math, science and social studies. Reviewer Anne Anderson recommends his research-based, classroom tested approach.
Effective group work sparks student engagement and builds communication skills for the future. But how do teachers structure teamwork activities so kids are cooperative and everyone learns? Instructional expert Barbara Blackburn offers a step-by-step blueprint.
Blending technology into teaching has been an ongoing and often intimidating process for Gen X’er Mary Tarashuk, but it’s also ripe with possibility. And tech PD is often opportunistic. Take Mary’s recent chat with her teen daughter while doing the dirty dishes.
Meaningful academic conversation makes for sticky learning, but most students don’t bring a high proficiency in the needed skills to the classroom. Expert Jackie Walsh describes a step-by-step process that can help teachers cultivate deep student discussions.
Spring’s promise of renewal is just ahead. But for many educators, spring is also the season of testing anxiety. Curtis Chandler shares research and wisdom from fellow educators that can help turn angst into achievement for students and for their teachers.
