The authors of C.R.A.F.T. Conversations for Teacher Growth offer sustainable practices school leaders can implement immediately to build positive relationships with teachers and help them cultivate expertise. The reflective questions are particularly helpful, writes Tanya Roy.
After 20+ years of teaching, Dina Strasser has found one thing almost never fails to connect with adolescents: the positive reaction you get when you genuinely compliment a kid on their appearance. Check out the strategy she’s developed to help reap smiles and build rapport.
As she works on a grant proposal to fund an update of her classroom furniture, Kathleen Palmieri shares what she’s learned from researching how students benefit from flexible learning environments, including boosts in creativity, engagement, collaboration, focus and achievement.
The authors of Shifting the Balance (Grades 3-5) invite literacy educators in the upper elementary and early middle grades to “engage in both the headwork and the heartwork required to ensure our practices are science-aligned and student-centered.” And do it in a safe space.
Author and master teacher Debbie Silver begins her case for spirit-building humor and laughter in classrooms and schools with a personal story from her years as a middle level educator. “Pay attention to how much you laugh together. Teachers and school leaders who laugh, last.”
Gholdy Muhammad’s Unearthing Joy offers ways to elevate meaning, reflection and joy so readers can offer cultural and historically responsive teaching most effectively. Sarah Cooper calls it “one of the most beautiful, inspiring, actionable books about pedagogy I’ve ever read.”
Given the challenges educators are facing today, Silver and Berckemeyer’s new edition of Deliberate Optimism could not be more timely. Kathie Palmieri finds lots to like, including a new focus on mental health, Silver’s humor, and the message that teachers “have to take our power back.”
This fall with some tweaks and fresh online tools and resources, Halloween can be fun and packed with learning. Check out MiddleWeb’s updated resource collection for ideas across the content areas.
Prior to 9/11, Barbara Blackburn’s first choice when crisis and tragedy impacted the classroom was to allow an open discussion. After an inappropriate statement by a student shut down communication, she began to develop more tractable writing strategies, which she shares here.
Want to start a writing club to reach beyond curriculum boundaries and provide a comfortable, social experience for all writers? Sharon Ratliff did just that and shares what worked for students as they took the lead in setting it up and now meet regularly across grade levels.
