Michelle Russell’s math students were eager to learn as this school year began but found the mechanics of solving equations more challenging than Michelle’s pre-Covid classes. After research and talk with colleagues, she’s trying several strategies to give kids the grounding they need.
Curtis Chandler looks into implicit bias, the unconscious stereotypes that drive each of us, including educators, to behave and make decisions in certain ways. He shares a Teacher Tracker Tool that can help uncover patterns and make sure we treat all students fairly.
To help middle graders learn and practice social and emotional skills, teacher and Director of Studies Kasey Short offers ways to incorporate SEL across the content areas, from considering the motivations of historical figures to creating reality-based math word problems.
Does email steal your time? Your problem isn’t so much about having too many. It’s that they’re in the wrong places. Use these tips from educator and digital organization expert Frank Buck to unmask your email time bandits and make your inbox tidy and surprisingly sparse.
Teachers can capitalize on what our students already know and can do by purposely choosing to employ the independent “You do” phase of the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) at the start. Sunday Cummins and Julie Webb show how this strategy can build student agency.
Middle grades teacher Kathleen Palmieri is taking advantage of her students’ growing comfort level with online apps to set up interactive notebooks in Google Jamboard and use Google Slides to simplify the process. She includes all her steps plus extra tips and resource links.
Learning about lots of books students might enjoy is not an easy task, write literacy educators Lynne Dorfman and Brenda Krupp. How can teachers become experts in children’s literature? First “we have to really read the books.” Browse their many tips and resources.
Future of History / Making History Meaningful
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 09/15/2021 · Last modified 09/21/2024
How should we teach US History? Is it mostly about caring? Or critical thinking? What about historical knowledge? Teacher Lauren Brown stands firm for content. “If we’ve learned anything from the culture wars this year it’s that too many Americans do not know their history.”
Using the strategies he shares here, ELA teacher and professional development author Jeremy Hyler has been able to reach more middle grades students and help them understand how they can power up their ability to communicate by learning grammar skills and code switching.
Digital storytelling lets student writers share their own characters who come to life, engage in dialogue, and move around the setting. Best of all, it helps middle grades teachers reach all types of learners. Sam Weigle and Katie Caprino offer examples and suggested tools.
