No single practice stops cruelty, but a combination of proven strategies used by committed staff trained in anti-bullying will maximize impact. Michele Borba outlines six rules that can help defeat the culture of bullying and replace it with the power of character.
Create Compose Connect / Digital Writing Portfolios
by Jeremy Hyler · Published 03/06/2019 · Last modified 12/05/2019
Although many of his colleagues disagree, middle school teacher Jeremy Hyler is convinced digital portfolios are the best way to measure student growth in writing skills over the whole school year. Learn why he thinks so, and how he does it, with plenty of useful tips.
Close Reading the Media / Government Hearings
by Frank Baker · Published 03/05/2019 · Last modified 06/10/2020
Exposing students to broadcasts and other news of past Congressional hearings brings those events to life and can help kids relate to current hearings. Media literacy consultant Frank Baker traces 60 years of hearing coverage, underscoring the vital role of a free press.
Memory research leads us to an important insight: not only do we have to help students store information, they also need to be able to retrieve it. Expert Marilee Sprenger shares 13 rehearsal and retrieval practices to make learning stick. Re-reading isn’t one of them.
Service Learning / Wide Open Learning
by Megan Kelly · Published 02/24/2019 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Incorporating more service learning in your teaching can offer opportunities for students to experience empowered citizenship. Megan Kelly shares how her 6th graders connected learning about the science of water and world-wide challenges with related Kiva fundraising.
Every teacher who works with students as readers should read Jennifer Serravallo’s new book, Understanding Texts & Readers, writes NCBT and principal Rita Platt, noting it brings big-picture reading goals, skills, strategies and texts together in a meaningful hierarchy.
Classroom Equity / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 02/20/2019 · Last modified 11/30/2019
To meet the learning needs of students with diverse abilities in inclusion classrooms, NBCT Elizabeth Stein suggests a focus on equity. She offers four key strategies (with supporting resources) that align specifically with co-teaching strengths and student abilities.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / UDL Strategies
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 02/12/2019 · Last modified 12/01/2019
ELA educator Cheryl Mizerny invites you to have fun developing your own UDL-enhanced unit. The former special ed teacher details how using Universal Design for Learning helps all learners grow, then she shares her argumentative writing unit enhanced with UDL practices.
Write Think Learn is an easy read for busy educators, challenges teachers and students to examine their attitudes about writing, gives readers a purpose and a desire to write, and will be a go-to reference throughout the school year, says teacher educator Linda Biondi.
In The Pepper Effect, middle school principal and Beatles lover Sean Gaillard draws lessons for educators from the Fab Four and their album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” to create a culture where students can innovate, writes teacher leader Laura Von Staden.
