In The Invent to Learn Guide to Fun Josh Burker situates the Constructivist theories of active learning within the playful exploration and creation of the Maker’s Movement while also providing detailed guides for intriguing projects, says reviewer Kevin Hodgson.
Iconic images from popular culture can raise consciousness about issues, many of them tied to health and gender awareness, writes media literacy consultant Frank W. Baker. He offers memorable examples and ties this phenomenon to teaching visual literacy.
Relationships are built when children know that caring adults are on their side. If teachers team up with parents and families, they can help create success for even the most difficult students. Amber Chandler shares the strategies that work in her MS classroom.
Author and literacy consultant Regie Routman is a passionate cook who loves to make fresh fruit tarts. Here she draws connections between learning to bake and learning to teach, using her Optimal Learning Model as a framework. Fruit tart recipe included!
Whitaker, Zoul and Casas show how to fit digital connections into an already busy life, along the way packing their new book with digital resources to make PLNs a source of professional growth and friendship. Digital immigrant Laura Von Staden highly recommends it.
Current Events / Future of History
by Sarah Cooper · Published 05/31/2015 · Last modified 12/03/2019
Social studies teacher Sarah Cooper has found it “heartening to talk about the news every day” with history students this school year and wonders about activities that might engage next year’s kids even more deeply in the important questions facing the world.
With its inquiry focus, Learning for Real reminded reviewer Linda Biondi of “the value of teaching thinking strategies, connecting content learning and content literacy, and making my classroom a place where my students’ passion for learning is evident.”
Kate Messner was a veteran middle grades teacher when she began to write books for children and often shared work in progress with students as part her teaching process. This article includes advice from her new book for educators who want to be authors.
In sharing his own journey through the world of educational gaming, former teacher and USA Today reporter Greg Toppo helps readers consider both the potential and the possible pitfalls of game-enhanced learning, says sixth grade teacher Kevin Hodgson.
Amber Chandler describes a PBL unit, built around the dystopian novel The Giver, that takes students deep into the book’s ideas by having them create and debate their own ideal communities and explore unintended consequences. Tips and handouts included.
