Traditional vocabulary strategies are passive exercises that have little impact in the long run, write Lynne Dorfman and Aileen Hower. Students need lots of exposure to a word before they can fully understand and apply it. They need frequent, engaging and meaningful encounters with words.
Imagine an activity that takes little class time but engages students in current events and encourages them to speak with their families about what’s happening in the world. Teacher Megan Kelly longed for just such an activity and finally found it in “fantasy geopolitics.”
A culturally sustaining and relevant pedagogy for multilingual students assures grade-level academic progress, strengthens first-language usage and sustains cultural connections. Dual language programs are the best path forward, writes language specialist Tan Huynh.
In her first year as a team leader, teacher Katie Durkin understands she has a lot to learn. But she’s already come to understand that effective leadership means building relationships, trust, and community among colleagues – with student success as the guiding principle.
Students can explore content, tap into their strengths, and learn about themselves when they dive into projects. Teachers Maggie and Piers Blyth offer a framework for planning, implementing, and following up projects to help kids use creative thinking and problem solving.
When teacher Jay Wamsted tweeted about why and how teachers should leave school on time and not work at home or on weekends, he lit up edutwitter as teachers took sides for and against his proposition. In Dina Strasser’s interview, Wamsted explains and expands on his thinking.
Learn how middle grades teacher and NBCT Kathie Palmieri is using the upgraded and rebranded Flip video tool (formerly Flipgrid) on a daily basis to engage her students, show quick lesson reviews, and get them talking about what they did and didn’t understand. Helpful tips included.
After 16 years teaching math, Michelle Russell has the confidence to make her own decisions about day-to-day best practices. “I’m the teacher in my classroom, I know my classes and my teaching style, and I’m the one in the position to decide what is best for my students.”
A safe and stable school is essential to a successful instructional program, write Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn. That’s why it’s so critical for school leaders to anticipate what may be needed in a crisis and develop plans with contingencies for anything that may occur.
8th grader Lily Strickland offers teachers a student’s perspective on homework. She knows her teachers care about kids, but she’s not sure they always understand the impact that assigning homework has on busy adolescents. Her six tips draw on the ‘good policies’ of some of her teachers.
