With the “let’s be nice” novelty of the first weeks of school fading, you’re tired and the kids are restless. It may be time to refresh your systems for maintaining positive behavior. Discover ways to overcome the challenges of DEVOLSON in Rita Platt’s resource-rich post.
With the workplace pressure most teachers experience, it’s crucial to prioritize tasks so you can accomplish everything you need to do. Julia Thompson’s 5-step process can help you move forward, meet goals, and reduce your stress levels to achieve a work-life balance.
Class Apps / Communication Skills
by Curtis Chandler · Published 10/14/2018 · Last modified 11/26/2019
Texting isn’t talking. With so much digital communication among students, Curtis Chandler wants to be sure they can also speak, listen and make eye contact with others, skills they need now and in the future. He has ideas and tools for bridging the communications gap.
Jerry Burkhart’s explorations challenge accelerated students with Common Core based math study while engaging other students with creative, and differentiated, problems to solve. Kathleen Palmieri notes the fully developed resources that support the explorations.
Future of History / Making History Meaningful
by Sarah Cooper · Published 10/08/2018 · Last modified 11/16/2019
Sarah Cooper’s world has expanded since she became a podcast convert. She’s found many podcasts to love: Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, Jennifer Gonzalez’s Cult of Pedagogy and more. Among her top favorites is “Teaching Hard History” from Teaching Tolerance.
How we start lessons makes a huge difference in learning during the remainder of our class instruction time. Teaching consultant and author Barbara Blackburn shares strategies to employ three keys to beginning lessons with a bang: focus, activation, and excitement.
Teacher Rebecca Crockett writes author Jessica Shumway has given her all the tools she needs to really commit to using number sense routines with her fifth graders, including explaining routine types, building community, and engaging all students in the discussion.
Collaboration doesn’t always come naturally (or calmly) for middle level students. Teacher Michael McClenaghan shares his success with three edtech tools (Soundtrap, WeVideo and the free G Suite) in facilitating meaningful teamwork and higher levels of student engagement.
STEM curriculum expert Anne Jolly shares her enthusiasm for the free teaching resources available through the PBS platform Design Squad Global. Jolly highlights the engineering-oriented lessons and DSG’s new Global Clubs that involve kids in Inventing for a Sustainable Future.
Current Events / Future of History
by Sarah Cooper · Published 09/23/2018 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Current events add immediacy to history class, but with crowded curricula and the challenges of the political climate, Sarah Cooper is fine-tuning the news discussions in her 8th grade classes. She shares several stories and explains what makes them right for fall 2018.
