A strengths-based approach to teaching multilinguals means understanding what students bring to schools. We can use dialogue journals to invite students to have a conversation with us about their strengths. Tan Huynh shares how he implements the weekly exchange of notes.
Every school leader needs a focused, intentional process to move a school from what it is to what it can become, writes veteran principal Frank Hagen. Robyn Jackson offers a “new way of thinking” through the phases of her Buildership Model and its 90-day iterative blueprints.
The “You do” phase of Gradual Release of Responsibility should give students many opportunities to reveal signs of mastery and indicators of readiness, with teachers serving in the role of “active observers.” Experts Sunday Cummins and Julie Webb guide us through the process.
Some students may not have school work high on their priority list after two years of watching their normal adolescent world fall apart. Right now they may be focused on surviving, writes school psychologist Katelyn Oellerich. “We need to be focused on helping them do that.”
The more students interact with the rubric, the more ownership they take over it, writes Megan Kelly. Once they feel empowered by the rubric, they can use it as a tool to accomplish their goals rather than a means of judgment, putting them on the same team as the teacher.
To help kids capture the benefits of summer reading, ELA educator Kasey Short shares what you can do before summer break begins: communicate with families, motivate readers, provide book choices, increase access to books, and link students to public library summer programs.
In Katie Durkin’s ELA classroom, seventh graders pass along what they’ve learned to future classes via this Inheritance Box project, part of a literacy plus history unit that also teaches collaboration and promotes student choice. Katie takes us through it step by step.
Geraldine Woods led independent study at her school for more than 25 years. She’s convinced some version will work in most subjects and for most middle school students if three basic principles are present: student choice, adult guidance, and students teaching students.
Middle grades teacher Kathleen Palmieri uses a time-saving digital tool to create quick and concise visual instructions. Show students how to share a document, use an add-on, find an online resource and much more. Kathie outlines the basics and recommends a good YouTube how-to video.
The many Aha! moments in Chris Hall’s The Writer’s Mindset will lead the reader to reexamine classroom practices – from reimagining revision to building student self-awareness and much more. Literacy consultant Anne Anderson appreciates the activities that pack the book.
