Asking three basic questions can help middle grades readers connect with informational texts and make sense of their meaning. Literacy consultant Sunday Cummins describes several classroom-tested steps that can aid students in identifying and analyzing new information in nonfiction material.
To cope with the next iteration of our world, students will have to master the art of continual learning. Fresh from a lengthy stint writing workplace-savvy STEM curriculum, Anne Jolly has insights educators can use to reboot teaching and help students better create their future.
Dual Language / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Tan Huynh · Published 06/28/2021 · Last modified 07/09/2021
Drawing on his podcast with Dr. Sonia Soltero, language specialist and co-teacher Tan Huynh explains 9 myths that often prevent language learners from receiving the most equitable, rigorous learning experiences and can sever connections to their communities and families.
As educators reflect on the past year, NBCT Elizabeth Stein shares insights from co-teachers in her coaching circle who are grateful for the support they received from one another. She encourages all of us to rest, relax, and find ways to carry forward our own silver linings.
Middle grades ELA teacher Dina Strasser shares ways we can change our language so that all of our students are included. We’re seeing an uptick of kids who are comfortable expressing their gender in nonbinary ways. Which of our grammar lessons don’t really apply anymore?
Writers often put unsatisfying drafts on the back burner, but our students seldom have the luxury of time, says literacy expert Lynne Dorfman. They need to take a piece through the complete writing process. Knowing when to let go and choose a new topic becomes a valuable skill.
New YA books by Amanda Gorman, Lois Lowry and Margarita Engle are all written in verse, says Katie Caprino, yet each tells a story in a different way. One is a poem to America. Another is memoir. And the third is historical fiction, set in 1990s Cuba, with a singing dog.
Language specialists and multilingual educators can boost achievement for their students by using Ester de Jong’s principles of multilingualism, making sure ML learners study grade-level content in two languages as a daily practice, writes teacher and podcaster Tan Huynh.
Literacy experts Robb and Harrison draw directly from their current middle grades teaching practice to identify the causes of reading hesitancy. Their tested lessons focus on improving student reading and vocabulary using videos and high-interest texts included in the book.
For his final post at the end of the most challenging school year ever, Jeremy Hyler went to his students in grades 6, 7 and 8 and asked them: “Is there something you want to share with the education world?” Here’s what they had to say – and what Jeremy thought about it.
