The Drama Book a great resource for introducing drama into the ELA classroom, especially for inexperienced teachers who are unsure how to best tackle it. It offers practical teaching advice and amazing lesson plans, writes middle school teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith.
Understanding concept words like ‘innovative’ can help students to make sense of complex sources. Britany Harris and Sunday Cummins share a four-step process to introduce a few new vocabulary words before reading an information text and then focus on them as kids read, talk and write.
Bringing the four types of writing from ELA to math class allows students to explain their thinking, opening a big window for teachers into their level of understanding. “Why Write in Math Class? K-5” by Linda Dacey shows how to make this happen, says Kathie Palmieri.
Teacher Social Media has had a powerful positive effect on Brent Gilson’s professional growth. That’s the plus, he says, but there are also the minuses, including too-safe and comfortable conversations, edu-celebrity, and frequent failure to give credit where it is due.
Are students who increasingly communicate through bits of digital text missing the chance to develop live conversation skills? In her middle grades classroom, Nancy Costanzo has crafted strategies to help kids both deepen their understanding and become skilled conversationalists.
In Measuring What We Do in Schools, assessment expert Victoria Bernhardt provides a framework schools can use to evaluate and reconfigure plans for continuous school improvement. Doctoral student Scott Holcomb highly recommends the text’s clear and practical models.
I Will Screw This Up / YA Reviews
by Dina Strasser · Published 02/19/2020 · Last modified 09/03/2020
Acknowledging that as a white woman of privilege she cannot fully experience the depth of meaning in Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, ELA teacher Dina Strasser shares four takeaways from her limited perspective as an educator and lover of speculative Young Adult fiction.
Retention / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Valentina Gonzalez · Published 02/16/2020 · Last modified 02/29/2020
Talk of grade retention revs up each spring. But it’s seldom a good answer for English learners. EL expert Valentina Gonzalez shares research that debunks the idea that retention helps ELs and suggests ways to boost their academic progress all year long.
Future of History / Writing in Social Studies
by Sarah Cooper · Published 02/10/2020 · Last modified 03/23/2020
Writing a letter to a politician is about as “civic” an assignment as we can do within our classroom walls, and it feels so relevant in our polarized political climate. After 3 years of tweaking her project, teacher Sarah Cooper shares tips to boost the response rate.
Students need more writing support than we can possibly offer them, writes literacy consultant Lynne R. Dorfman. Peer conferences are a safe, supportive structure that will help writers grow in their problem-solving capacity while experiencing the joy of collaboration.
