Future of History / Professional Development
by Sarah Cooper · Published 03/08/2015 · Last modified 11/16/2019
Sarah Cooper leaves her MS classroom behind for a few hours to experience life as a history student again. Her online course proves calming and stimulating, challenging and refreshing. She sees how content area PD can strengthen her classroom practice.
The authors of “Blended” clearly know their stuff, says principal/reviewer Matt Renwick, providing multiple examples of blended learning supported by technology. But Renwick questions the heavy corporate focus and one-sided citations he finds pervade the text.
Dan Feigelson makes the case for reimagined reading projects and goes on to share conversations, student notes, and teacher conference plans. The result, says reviewer Linda Biondi, is a fresh approach to having students think for themselves and helping teachers take conferring to a new level.
Initial failures can produce big breakthroughs, as ELA consultant Sarah Tantillo found when students she was supporting failed to translate PARCC practice prompts into viable essays. Check out the tools Tantillo, teachers & tutors used to solve the problem.
Kids on the Cusp / Standardized Testing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 02/26/2015 · Last modified 11/15/2019
Teacher Mary Tarashuk has reasserted her “Irish Zen” following the full frontal assault on PARCC testing in her last post. She describes how her fourth graders had fun learning about Chinese New Year while also practicing for the high stakes test in prescribed ways.
Book Reviews / Narrative for Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 02/19/2015 · Last modified 11/14/2019
Thomas Newkirk makes a convincing argument in Minds Made for Stories that narrative is the framework for all good learning experiences, says teacher-reviewer Jenni Miller. This insight about storytelling can be used by teachers to help students learn and retain more in any subject.
For years Amber Chandler has marched her middle school students through Grammar Bootcamp, believing that grammatically correct language is essential to be college and career ready. Now this year’s 7th graders have convinced her there might be a better way.
Kids on the Cusp / Standardized Testing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 02/11/2015 · Last modified 11/13/2019
New Jersey teacher Mary Tarashuk finds herself in a traffic-snarled “PARCCing lot” waiting for March testing madness to begin. In a new Kids on the Cusp post, she lists her concerns –including a PARCC 4th grade reading test sample that levels at Grade 9.
Upstanders supports the complex challenge of cross-content literacy with excellent lesson plans, and authors Smokey Daniels and Sara Ahmed also describe a path to develop the most difficult skill for young middle schoolers, learning to be truly empathic.
What makes a lesson or unit STEM-worthy? Expert Anne Jolly evaluates two actual lessons that have been given the STEM label. Each incorporates science, math, group work and technology, but one fails the ultimate STEM test. She details the reasons why in this insightful article.
