To move beyond traditional classroom discussion focused on answering a few teacher questions, Dr. Barbara Blackburn advocates student-driven discourse that emphasizes “on-task” talk and academic vocabulary. The result: purposeful dialogue leading to deeper understanding.
The life skills students learn in our classes prepare them to thrive in the real world. Middle grades teacher Laleh Ghotbi shares some lessons from her effort to use weekly community-building circles in her classroom to help students learn to respect their differences and focus on common values.
Choice in reading is about student autonomy and motivation. It’s especially effective with kids who don’t like to read. Stephanie Farley’s well-honed system lets 8th graders read any text they choose AND meets standards – even though they never all read the same book.
The Joy of Reading “is manna for those of us who love reading and can’t imagine not having a book at hand,” writes Cathy Gassenheimer. It’s a must-have tool for educators who teach students how to read and seek to expand their own comprehension and love for stories.
Literacy champions Lynne Dorfman and Aileen Hower join children’s author Frank Murphy in a frank, well-informed review of the book banning controversy. Students need books that help them see themselves and understand others. “The opposite of censorship is intellectual freedom.”
In The Power of Teaching Vulnerably David Rockower explains how personal, relational, and dialogic vulnerability can help educators build healthy classroom dialogue. Amy Estersohn would have liked more guidance for teachers facing job loss if they discuss sensitive topics.
Content Learning / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Tan Huynh · Published 09/18/2022 · Last modified 01/26/2023
Teaching academic content is less about receiving students who are ready to learn and more about creating conditions to support learning. Tan Huynh shares a geography lesson he designed to meet three conditions multilinguals need to learn content and language simultaneously.
Grandin & Moore’s Navigating Autism invites readers into that perfect space for learning between familiar territory and new information, writes middle school dean Bill Ivey. The nine mindsets explored can benefit kids on the spectrum as well as the whole spectrum of kids.
When Stephanie Farley coaxes her students into a good frame of mind – happy, relaxed, confident – they learn more, just as positivity research predicts. Join her as she shares 10 joy-inducing methods – including dogs – and suggests ways to reach across content.
Lisa Eickholdt and Patty Vitale-Reilly’s favorite student collaboration is the Writing Club – an opportunity for kids to write in authentic, engaging, and creative ways. They prepare a foundation for this work with read-alouds, feedback structures, partnering activities, and more.
