Book Reviews / Vocabulary Instruction
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/22/2014 · Last modified 11/23/2019
No matter how long or in what content area you have been helping students learn vocabulary words, reviewer Anne Anderson expects you will find Mariliee Sprenger’s Vocab Rehab a whole lot of help packed into a tightly focused book.
In our lives beyond school we expect understanding, trust, and a sense of fair play. We want our concerns validated and taken seriously, and we want our voices to be heard. Our students are entitled to the same, says veteran teacher Elyse S. Scott.
Loaded with ideas for blending fun and joy into the serious business of learning, the new book Serious Fun: Practical Strategies to Motivate and Engage Students is easy to read and ready to use in the classroom, says reviewer Laura Von Staden.
Future of History / History & Current Events
by Sarah Cooper · Published 05/20/2014 · Last modified 04/17/2024
Middle level students want to know how their studies relate to their lives, writes teacher-author Sarah Cooper. “The history we teach reaches them best when it involves novelty, humor, meaning, a sense of self, and a connection to the real world.”
Teachers who let students choose their own research paper topics are often overwhelmed by all the activity and material – and end up with poor results. Consultant Sarah Tantillo suggests adapting the Document-Based Question (DBQ) Approach instead.
The topic of dictionaries came up in assorted conversations in the past few weeks, reminding Kevin Hodgson both of the power of those esteemed books of words as symbols of thought and scholarship, and the ways in which technology is completely altering the ease and means of how we find information when we need it.
In Dispositions: Reframing Teaching and Learning, Costa & Kallick present evidence of the important role dispositions play in student success and how to strengthen them. The book may be too scholarly for some readers, says reviewer Laura Von Staden.
Integrating curriculum / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 04/15/2014 · Last modified 12/03/2019
Applying literacy workshop principles, Mary Tarashuk discovers new ways to blend ELA & social studies content. She describes how a novel about the Old West exploits of disguised woman Charley Parkhurst increased 4th graders’ interest in American history.
Too much close reading is boring, say Mike Fisher & Danielle Hardt, as students comb through fiction, constantly analyzing lots of text. Ask them to read and write digital microstories. They’ll build evaluation & synthesis skills and have some fun.
Blending fiction, mystery and scientific investigation can be an effective way to excite tweens and young teens about science topics, says former teacher and NSTA trade book award winner Gail Hedrick, who shares her own writing & publishing story.
