In Money for Good Grades and Other Myths, Barbara Blackburn provides insight for parents and teachers regarding student motivation, expectations, and rewards. By highlighting common myths, Blackburn is able to debunk popular misconceptions, writes teacher Julianna Maurer.
Browse our top 10 posts since January 1. Topics include fair grading, dyslexia, teaching ELLs academic vocabulary, connecting with students, teacher buy-in, and SEL for MS’ers. Plus, practical tips on quick-writes, class starters, and “helping students remember stuff.”
While the leaders of Algonquin Middle School do not claim to be “on the cutting edge of utilizing data in every aspect of our school’s program,” AMS teachers and staff are making headway with seven action steps that are benefiting students, says principal Rob Messia.
By blending social emotional learning into writing workshop, we can spark student confidence and commitment. Author and ELA educator Lynne Dorfman describes a class where students feel safe to express themselves, celebrate writing achievements, and self-identify as writers.
Efforts to improve your school will only be successful with widespread support and ownership. This means involving all stakeholders: teachers, staff, families, and community voices. Leadership consultants Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn offer some helpful guidelines.
Want to help middle school students improve their reading skills? Mark Weakland suggests providing direct and explicit spelling instruction. Emphasizing syllables – roots and affixes – offers lots of building blocks for students. Weakland includes differentiation tips and activity ideas.
Are you a multitasker? Do you use interesting examples to make learning more relatable? Do you teach to learning styles? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be interested in Five Teaching and Learning Myths Debunked, says principal Rita Platt.
Beyond sharing titles, librarians Christina Dorr and Liz Deskins discuss justifications for circulating LGBTQAI+ literature to children and teens and share a brief history and approaches to “dealing with objections.” Sarah Cooper found ideas for her own classroom library.
Create Compose Connect / Reflections
by Jeremy Hyler · Published 06/26/2019 · Last modified 11/17/2019
In 2018-19 Jeremy Hyler taught 6th grade for the 1st time in 15 years. A classful of 11-year olds “felt very new.” What’s more, after a decade-plus teaching 7th graders, this year’s group “ranked high on the all-time challenge scale.” Fortunately there were bright spots!
Is it ever possible to do everything needed to be a consistently effective teacher? Look over Barbara Blackburn’s strategies to develop circumstances where you can thrive: avoid perfectionism, try incremental change, peruse helpful time management resources, and more.
