Close Reading the Media / News Literacy
by Frank Baker · Published 08/07/2019 · Last modified 11/20/2019
With the 2020 election underway fake news and deceptive social media posts and imagery are expected to become commonplace. Media literacy expert Frank Baker offers a lesson to help our always-connected students acquire some of the “healthy skepticism” skills they’ll need.
Clustering / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Tan Huynh · Published 08/04/2019 · Last modified 12/02/2019
Instead of peppering English learners around a large network of schools, districts can benefit those students and their EL support teachers by strategically clustering them, writes Tan Huynh. Included: Ideas to help achieve buy-in from content teachers.
Building Bridges provides strategies and techniques that can help engage students at risk through the power of relationships and create classrooms and schools where teachers can teach effectively. A worthwhile refresher and book study for educators, writes Anne Anderson.
6th grade teacher Amanda Xavier was skeptical when colleague Rose Reissman suggested a Mary Poppins book study, but their multimedia approach was a hit. “If a very old fashioned nanny can bring smiles and make modern kids sit up in class and take note, I say, ‘Cheerio’!”
Being a teacher who writes is the secret to being a successful teacher of writers! To help up your game, consultant and author Stacey Shubitz suggests ways to share your own writing in class with students and offers hints on how to develop and stimulate a personal writing habit.
Jennifer Serravallo’s new book on reading conferences is a must-have if you’re ready to up your teaching game during independent reading time, writes Rita Platt. Her organized approach and bonus online resources provide everything teachers need to have quality conferences.
When middle schools see afterschool programs as partners, they help keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and give parents peace of mind, says Jodi Grant, CEO of Afterschool Alliance. The value added to students’ academic and social-emotional growth may surprise you!
If you’re thinking about a transition to school leadership, The Aspiring Principal 50 is a must read, writes educator Stacey Knighton. The book’s reflective format allows the reader to think about themselves as an instructional leader and prepare for the key interview.
Students can follow the trek of early humans toward global expansion through inquiry-based lessons and use resources to hypothesize responses to organizing questions. Ancient History teacher Joanne Bell says the book’s connections approach “is a phenomenal find for me.”
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.
