If you’re thinking about a transition to school leadership, The Aspiring Principal 50 is a must read, writes educator Stacey Knighton. The book’s reflective format allows the reader to think about themselves as an instructional leader and prepare for the key interview.
Browse our top 10 posts since January 1. Topics include fair grading, dyslexia, teaching ELLs academic vocabulary, connecting with students, teacher buy-in, and SEL for MS’ers. Plus, practical tips on quick-writes, class starters, and “helping students remember stuff.”
By blending social emotional learning into writing workshop, we can spark student confidence and commitment. Author and ELA educator Lynne Dorfman describes a class where students feel safe to express themselves, celebrate writing achievements, and self-identify as writers.
Want to help middle school students improve their reading skills? Mark Weakland suggests providing direct and explicit spelling instruction. Emphasizing syllables – roots and affixes – offers lots of building blocks for students. Weakland includes differentiation tips and activity ideas.
Are you a multitasker? Do you use interesting examples to make learning more relatable? Do you teach to learning styles? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be interested in Five Teaching and Learning Myths Debunked, says principal Rita Platt.
Create Compose Connect / Reflections
by Jeremy Hyler · Published 06/26/2019 · Last modified 11/17/2019
In 2018-19 Jeremy Hyler taught 6th grade for the 1st time in 15 years. A classful of 11-year olds “felt very new.” What’s more, after a decade-plus teaching 7th graders, this year’s group “ranked high on the all-time challenge scale.” Fortunately there were bright spots!
Umpires focus on the correctness of the game. Coaches concentrate on the growth of their players. Teacher Courtney Rejent and consultant Patty McGee show how to shift the focus from correcting writing to helping students develop good writing strategies through coaching.
Is it ever possible to do everything needed to be a consistently effective teacher? Look over Barbara Blackburn’s strategies to develop circumstances where you can thrive: avoid perfectionism, try incremental change, peruse helpful time management resources, and more.
How can history students use resource books more effectively in their research papers? Taking a cue from a staff meeting, Sarah Cooper devised a handout to help 8th graders quickly scope out a nonfiction book and find stories and quotes to enliven their papers. It worked!
Grading Practices / It's Not Easy Being Tween
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 06/17/2019 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Even if we don’t yet teach in a grade-less utopia, there are steps teachers can take to become more accurate and equitable in our grading policies. Cheryl Mizerny shares steps toward fairer grading: eliminate zeroes, avoid extra points, don’t grade homework, and more.
