Educator Sandy Wisneski finds Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note from Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst “a powerhouse resource of practical strategies and signposts to help all levels of readers.” The information will impact and encourage her own classroom.
The difficulty students have in writing clearly can be traced to many factors, says literacy consultant Sarah Tantillo, from muddled pre-CCSS standards to weak teaching practices. Here she offers concrete suggestions to correct persistent writing problems in the secondary grades.
You know those times where the kids are so spun up that you suspect nothing you say will be remembered tomorrow? You ask yourself, “Why am I even trying to teach today?!” Veteran educator Patti Grayson casts her votes for the most inattentive days of the year.
The 6th Grade Student / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 10/19/2015 · Last modified 11/26/2019
In this “faux” research study, Kevin Hodgson describes the four widely varied 6th grade classes he has this year. His field research reveals four cohorts: The Silent Squad, The Questioning Crowd, The Chatterboxes, & The Selfies. Do any of these sound familiar?
Climate Change: Discover How it Impacts Spaceship Earth with 25 Projects is on a level that most tweens can grasp, yet it is not oversimplified and builds vocabulary. With its cool facts and high order questions, this book gets MS teacher Laura Von Staden’s recommendation.
Connected Reading: Teaching Adolescent Readers in a Digital World lays out the rationale, as well as a path forward, for expanding the definitions of reading, showing how to engage readers in authentic experiences using varied texts, says Kevin Hodgson.
Kate Messner’s 59 Reasons to Write helps teachers who want to write get started and keep at it. Educator Kevin Hodgson reports every chapter is knee deep in advice from Messner and other teachers and writers. And the book is packed with opportunities to write.
In a dialogue with Kevin Hodgson, educator-authors Debbie Zacarian and Michael Silverstone share ways to energize teaching and learning by reaching out to students’ families and communities, all with the goal of building partnerships that help students become confident learners.
Knowing how to respond to counterclaims while developing their own claims in argumentative writing helps students in school and beyond. Educators Leslie Skantz-Hodgson and Jamilla Jones report on their summer studying “They Say/I Say” with teacher colleagues.
When you think of Greek and Latin roots, you think high student engagement, right? No? ELA teacher Amber Chandler plans to make all those old roots rock this fall as she introduces the concepts of language development and acquisition to her students.
