In response to the murder of George Floyd, people have offered lists of actions to take to fight racism. Rita Platt adds another: Get anti-racism books into your community. Read, talk and share. Help people deepen their understanding of white privilege and systemic racism.
Articles / Listening / Speaking Skills
by MiddleWeb · Published 05/31/2020 · Last modified 02/03/2024
The experience of students and teachers doing whole class and small group work online underscores the need to emphasize speaking and listening skills now and for the future, writes principal Matt Renwick. He shares his school’s low-key, standards-friendly teaching ideas.
I Will Screw This Up / Remote Teaching
by Dina Strasser · Published 05/27/2020 · Last modified 09/03/2020
If you’re like teacher Dina Strasser, you may be wondering if your online classes add up to teaching. Yes, she says. You’ve adapted on the fly – suddenly providing virtual school to students who just weeks before greeted you at the classroom door. See if her real-life snippets match your experience.
Social Emotional Learning / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Tan Huynh · Published 05/25/2020 · Last modified 06/18/2020
Social-emotional learning is not a program we add on; it’s a mindset we teach with. Tan Huynh unpacks five strategies recommended by the Institute for Positive Education that can help teachers cultivate an SEL mindset, whether we’re teaching in physical or virtual spaces.
Heart of the School / Remote Teaching
by Rita Platt · Published 05/24/2020 · Last modified 05/27/2020
After weeks of deciphering digital teaching and supporting students in new ways, educators are reflecting on their changed worlds. Principal Rita Platt reached out to collect some of their thoughts on the challenges, the silver linings, and their concerns about public education’s future.
As Mary Tarashuk leads her fourth graders into full-time virtual learning, insights gleaned from the writings of Diane Ravitch and Rosita Boland are helping her see how the pandemic’s sudden jarring changes could lead to a rebirth of public education in the years ahead.
Using reading comprehension strategies in the content area helps students build background knowledge and academic skills. Tara Dale and Mandi White, authors of The Science Teacher’s Toolbox, share four techniques they use to help middle schoolers grasp informational text.
Parents & Inclusion / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 05/13/2020 · Last modified 05/15/2023
Our classrooms have been replaced for now by remote learning platforms, and the connection between students, parents, and teachers has taken on a whole new life. Elizabeth Stein considers how we can make the most of expanding our co-teaching relationships with parents.
Our deep dependency on media for everything from news and entertainment to mail-order buying underscores the urgent need for K-12 educators to make media literacy an essential part of the curriculum in today’s schools, writes author and consultant Frank W. Baker.
Helping students learn to read and love to read are two of the most important jobs of any teacher in the middle grades. You can’t do either without having robust libraries with books of all types, subjects, and levels. NBCT Rita Platt can help you build your collection.
