Teaching and learning in grades 4-8

Here’s How You Can Help Students Set Goals

Educators talk about giving students “voice, choice and agency,” says NBCT Rita Platt, but how does that actually happen in a practical, curriculum-friendly way? Platt believes the secret is teaching students to set goals. Learn about her 5-step process (tools included).

10 Easy Class Hacks Boost PBL and Inquiry

Hacking Project Based Learning is a rich resource for teachers and administrators who want to begin implementing project-oriented inquiry learning, says PBL teacher Sandy Wisneski. She appreciates the strong emphasis on student ownership in each of the book’s 10 hacks.

Hard Conversations Can Lead to Positive Change

The framework Jennifer Abrams develops in Hard Conversations Unpacked focuses on professional growth, and ultimately on positive outcomes for student learning. Principal Mike Janatovich will never again attempt a challenging conversation without this guidance.

Empowering Students as Digital Leaders

By expanding our focus in school from digital citizenship (safety) to digital leadership (effective voice), teacher and author Jennifer Casa-Todd says educators can help students learn to harness social media in powerful and meaningful ways, for the common good.

When Staying Nonpartisan Feels Just Too Difficult

Regardless of where educators land politically, it can sometimes feel like tiptoeing through a minefield to facilitate a balanced discussion of current events, writes teacher Sarah Cooper. Are there times when it’s appropriate for teachers to reveal their own views?

New Teachers: 3 Tools Help Manage Learning

As new teachers develop routines for their classrooms, Class Tech Tips founder Monica Burns says it’s important to plan how they will check for understanding each day to gather information and inform future instruction. She shares three simple class assessment tools.

A Refreshing Approach to Teaching Poetry

Shirley McPhillips’ non-traditional book about teaching poetry is both insightful and fun to read, says retired principal and former California senior poet laureate Mary Langer Thompson. She predicts teachers will not be able to read for long without writing poetry themselves.

Active Strategies for Inclusive Classrooms

In the 2nd edition of Joyful Learning, Alice Udvari-Solner and Paula Kluth provide a great resource to promote teacher collaboration and move inclusion classrooms beyond the superficial and toward more meaningful engagement of every student, says Erin Corrigan-Smith.