Future of History / History & Current Events
by Sarah Cooper · Published 05/20/2014 · Last modified 04/17/2024
Middle level students want to know how their studies relate to their lives, writes teacher-author Sarah Cooper. “The history we teach reaches them best when it involves novelty, humor, meaning, a sense of self, and a connection to the real world.”
Kids on the Cusp / Standardized Testing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/11/2014 · Last modified 11/15/2019
Now in her 16th year of teaching – and administering standardized tests – Mary Tarashuk questions their value in measuring student learning or judging teacher performance. She does not question their ability to suck the joy out of Springtime. Thank goodness for Miss Bonkers and Dr. Seuss.
STEM By Design / STEM Communications
by Anne Jolly · Published 05/04/2014 · Last modified 12/05/2019
For STEM programs to realize their ambitions, kids need to communicate with the world about their projects. Science educator Anne Jolly says social media tools can help STEM students collaborate, tap expertise, and build key communications skills.
Kids on the Cusp / Teacher Evaluation
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 04/01/2014 · Last modified 11/22/2019
How to cope with teacher evaluation rubrics that don’t work in the real world? Shift your thinking and find one that does. That’s what Mary Tarashuk is doing by adapting a student rubric created by Michael Fisher & Nancy Cook to reflect on her own practice.
Teaching allegory / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 03/25/2014 · Last modified 11/23/2019
A convergence of events – from the Cold War-tinged Ukraine crisis to World Read Aloud Day and the birthday of Dr. Seuss – helped inspire 6th grade ELA teacher Kevin Hodgson’s recent lessons on allegory and the difference between nonfiction and truth.
Thomas Newkirk urges us to consider how, in a test-crazed culture, we can stay focused on what matters for our students. Holding On To Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones is not a literacy ‘how-to’ book, says Jenni Miller, but important nonetheless.
Numerous historical adaptions have been nominated for Academy Awards in recent years. Media literacy expert Frank W. Baker offers ideas and resources to help students examine their historical accuracy and address a middle-level Common Core standard.
Experiential lessons / Future of History
by Aaron Brock · Published 03/15/2014 · Last modified 12/15/2019
In history class, experiential lessons have great potential to transport students to another time and place, says teacher Aaron Brock, but they are difficult to orchestrate and can present ethical dilemmas. Brock shares a hands-on lesson from his Civil War unit.
Former principal Sue Stephenson describes how she and a team of teachers recently helped seventh graders prepare and perform standup comedy routines, all the while learning serious writing, speaking and personal living skills. Video link included!
In her book about the social life of networked teens, Internet scholar danah boyd “issues a call to all of us who are adults to take more time to understand the shifts now taking place,” 6th grade teacher Kevin Hodgson writes. The guidance role of teachers & parents “has never been more important, nor more complicated.”
