Nonfiction Lessons to Use Now
Nancy Akhavan builds her nonfiction strategies and routines into fully realized lessons to help students develop higher level comprehension across content areas, says reviewer Sandy Wisneski.
Teaching and learning in grades 4-8
Jumping Off the Digital High Dive This Summer
This summer middle grades teacher Mary Tarashuk is diving into the deep end of the technology pool, accepting a challenging online leadership role. Yet she’s determined to protect the beach time she needs for family and reflection on the school year ahead.
The Nonfiction Guide You Need Right Now
The Nonfiction NOW Lesson Bank (Grades 4-8): Strategies and Routines for Higher-Level Comprehension in the Content Areas by Nancy Akhavan delivers everything the title promises and more, raves reviewer Linda Biondi. Plus 50 lessons and 5 close reading ideas, ready to use.
A New Way to Think about Student Motivation
The new book Motivation to Learn doesn’t just talk about the theories behind motivating learners. Using a fresh metaphor (river rafting), it gives new & veteran teachers “concrete strategies for creating a classroom culture that maximizes student engagement,” says reviewer Tasha Kirby.
Activators for the Real World of Today’s Classrooms
Activators: Classroom Strategies for Engaging Middle and High School Students brings a new and valuable perspective to a familiar teaching strategy, says reviewer Sarah Grieb. And the authors understand what’s it like to work in real classrooms with real kids.
What an Effective Teacher’s Classroom Looks Like
Teaching experts Annette Breaux & Todd Whitaker contrast the typical characteristics of effective and ineffective classrooms using two simple but compelling bullet lists. Excerpted from the 2nd edition of their bestselling book Seven Simple Secrets with new teachers especially in mind.
Teaching STEM This Fall? Here Are Some Things To Do in July
New to the STEM classroom? Returning for another year of STEM when fall arrives? Either way, summer is the ideal time to wrap your head around what you’ll be doing. Try some of Anne Jolly’s suggestions for what you can do in July!
Don’t Just Survive – Thrive in the Classroom
Professional growth & student engagement should be “a central daily goal of every teacher in every classroom,” writes our blogger Kevin Hodgson. He points to THRIVE, a new book by teacher leader Meenoo Rami, as a source of guidance and inspiration.
Close Reading: Visual Literacy through Photography
While most students understand how to operate smart phones, they understand far less about what they see on their digital devices. Learning visual literacy in school is a vital skill today, says Frank W. Baker.
Using Science Notebooks to Grow Student Ownership
The authors of Science Notebooks: Writing about Inquiry not only offer a practical standards-aligned guide to helping students gather and assess data in the inquiry classroom, they help teachers envision how science notebooks can promote student ownership of learning.
