Articles / Writing across Content Areas
by MiddleWeb · Published 01/25/2016 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Four educators explain how the Western Massachusetts Writing Project joined forces with the National Park Service to help middle school teachers and students explore and write about a major history resource right in their backyard – the Springfield Armory museum. DIY tips included!
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Social Skills
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 01/24/2016 · Last modified 11/26/2019
Cheryl Mizerny considers the “soft” skills of social interaction to be as essential to success as the ELA skills she teaches. To help fill students’ wide social skill gaps, she’s identified problem behaviors and resources she’ll use to build a mini-curriculum.
To move from a classroom culture of grading to one of feedback, teachers first need to help students learn to critique each other in non-threatening ways. Popular author and 6th grade teacher Bill Ferriter suggests emphasizing observation, not evaluation.
Conferences are valuable ways to grow professionally. Consultant Anne Anderson, who attended many such events as a teacher, shares ideas for getting buy-in and funding, prepping for the trip, getting the most from talks and exhibits, and bringing it all home.
How are you going to tackle the STEM challenges coming in 2016 following passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act? Anne Jolly shares 4 ideas which could join your other education New Year’s resolutions to broaden horizons for you and your students.
ESSA Opportunities / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 01/04/2016 · Last modified 11/14/2019
With passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act Elizabeth Stein says co-teachers must continue to keep their eyes on the prize of student achievement, continuing to ask: How does this law translate into my school? Into my classroom? And with my students?
Annual resolutions to “get organized” usually fade quickly, despite ready access to smart devices and clever management apps. What we need, writes organizing expert Frank Buck, is some good advice. He begins his 5-part series with the digital calendar.
It seems, with the holidays upon us, that some companies have decided it’s a good idea to acknowledge underrepresented groups in their marketing, advertising, and media coverage. But consultant Frank W. Baker is wondering: What took them so long? He shares tips to raise student awareness.
Principals can use social media to improve communication, provide information during school safety situations, increase collaboration, and enhance professional development. Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn argue, in fact, that social media is a leadership essential today.
Like many other teachers, Curtis Chandler is trying to uncover all he can about learning and cognition to better understand and serve his students. Here he shares 3 brain-savvy teaching principles – beginning with the primacy-recency effect – drawn from recent research.
