Sixth grade ELA and social studies teacher Kathee Lamberies expects she will be using Teaching Literacy in the Visible Learning Classroom from Fisher, Frey, Hattie and Thayre and tabbing its pages for years to come. It is likely to become her new “bible” of teaching!
Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 11/02/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
The content of “Teaching Kids to Thrive” will help teach students positive ways to think, practice executive functioning skills, and create a culture of caring and responsibility. Linda Biondi describes why she found it to be one of the most empowering books she’s read.
Google Docs can make writing tasks more efficient, providing teachers and students with templates, commenting features, voice typing, and more. While 30 million U.S. students now use Docs, Curtis Chandler says many do not take full advantage of its “power-up” features.
Digital student portfolios have tremendous potential, writes author and principal Matt Renwick, from organizing passion projects to promoting student-led assessment. They can be the main method for students to document their own learning and demonstrate what they can do.
It’s scary to think how much misinformation about STEM one famous individual can put out, and how many people might be misled, writes author-consultant Anne Jolly, who critiques the STEM comments of WaPo columnist and CNN host Fareed Zakaria in a recent PCMag article.
Future of History / History and Spoken Poetry
by Sarah Cooper · Published 10/22/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
In a recent post, Sarah Cooper wrote about her fears surrounding a new current-events project – her 8th graders creating spoken poetry videos on issues of interest to them. Here she reviews the experience and its power to create community as it engaged her students.
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?
Engagement / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 10/02/2017 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Emotions are a natural part of learning, writes co-teaching coach and NBCT Elizabeth Stein. In fact, she says, when teachers in inclusion classrooms tap into emotions and provide quality feedback, they’ll find they’re better able to serve diverse learners effectively.
Close Reading the Media / News Literacy
by Frank Baker · Published 09/26/2017 · Last modified 11/16/2019
No one knows for sure whether there will be actual war with North Korea, but talk about the potential conflict abounds on TV and in social media. Media literacy expert Frank W. Baker calls on teachers to help students learn how to identify trustworthy news sources now.
Math teacher Michelle Russell has come to believe that having students working at the whiteboard is a good teaching practice. Even so, she’s been busy exploring advantages and disadvantages via online and student research, striving to make a good practice even better.
