STEM curriculum expert Anne Jolly sees considerable potential for connecting sports to a variety of engineering challenges and attracting otherwise disengaged students to STEM programs. She shares a range of good resource sites, from NASA’s STEM Mania to the SF 49er STEM Zone.
Exploring History / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 12/04/2014 · Last modified 12/03/2019
Teaching students to “think like historians” begins with making connections between past and present, says teacher Mary Tarashuk. As her 4th graders begin the Age of Exploration, she calls on a Tai Chi parent-expert to help bridge ancient and modern times.
Narrative writing and figurative language are not just for English class anymore, says teacher-author Heather Wolpert-Gawron. “Narrative strategies infuse content with creativity and with an added layer of student personality that aids in ownership.” She shares a science example.
Stretching Beyond the Textbook develops a MINDful reading unit, from an initial focus question to students’ culminating dialogue. Although the post-literature-circle techniques suit in most content areas, the book relies on social studies examples, says reviewer Abbey Graham.
Expert Frank W. Baker wants to convince teachers that toy advertisements are a great media literacy teaching tool. Video clips and colorful ‘print’ ads abound on the Internet and are sure to engage students. Baker provides some good discussion questions & lesson ideas to get started.
When teachers ask all the questions and then rush to supply the answers, “the result is a cognitive disconnect,” says author Nanci Werner-Burke. Stop usurping the “right to wonder” by teaching students to ask deep, Bloom’s-friendly questions of their own.
In “Grammar Matters,” Lynne Dorfman and Diane Dougherty make the case for embedding grammar in Writing Workshop and across the curriculum. Our reviewer recommends this hands-on exploration of mentor texts and engaging instruction and its many useful resources.
Reading comprehension is a primary goal in Aaron Brock’s middle school history classroom. Building on last year’s annotation experiments, Brock has adapted the familiar 5 W’s strategy to help students pay closer attention to the meaning behind the words. It’s working.
If politicians have a “license to lie” in campaign advertising, how are our students going to know who and what to believe? Critical thinking skills are paramount, says media literacy consultant Frank Baker, who shares insights and resources tied to Common Core and social studies standards.
Literacy expert Laura Robb offers her research-based argument for refocusing American school reform on strategies to strengthen support for teachers and promote opportunities for all children to become creative, divergent thinkers and problem solvers.
