Future of History / Making History Meaningful
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 02/03/2019 · Last modified 11/12/2019
Linking one event or person to later developments opens history students up to seeing how pieces of the massive puzzle of the past fit together and how the issues we face today developed. Lauren Brown shares several engaging strategies to help make those connections.
Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp make the case for dedicated independent reading time and choice in books for all students in all schools – and they push back hard against narrow reading spectrums and the misuse of book leveling, writes 6th grade teacher Kevin Hodgson.
Create Compose Connect / Vocabulary
by Jeremy Hyler · Published 01/30/2019 · Last modified 02/04/2020
What’s the best way to teach vocabulary? It’s a constant topic among educators, writes Jeremy Hyler, and not just among his fellow ELA colleagues. Every classroom teacher needs to teach academic words. Hyler shares some vocabulary strategies he’s developed over 17 years.
Many millions of people who tune in to the 2019 Super Bowl will be there to watch the pricey, high-engagement commercials. Media literacy consultant Frank Baker explains how to teach about these “super ads,” approaching them as informational text worthy of close scrutiny and analysis.
Optimism is alive and well in many schools. It’s not dependent on school demographics or staff longevity, say Jack Breckemeyer and Debbie Silver. It flows from a leader’s ability to demonstrate optimism in action, to inspire others to join in, and to teach them how.
Close Reading the Media / Math & Media Literacy
by Frank Baker · Published 01/22/2019 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Educators are keenly aware that using real life examples in class helps students make important connections between the curriculum and their own lives. Media literacy expert Frank Baker shares some favorite ideas about engaging math students with Nielson TV ratings data.
Future-Focused Learning will drive you to think deeply about your instructional practices and consider what you need to change. Alex Valencic likes the book’s focus on what students both need and want to learn and finds it solidly on-target if occasionally frustrating.
Ask teachers for some Do Now synonyms and they’ll come up with terms like Warm-up, Quick Review, and First Steps. Teaching coach Sarah Tantillo’s favorite is Brain Defibrillator. When done right and used routinely, she says, Do Nows establish a norm of urgency in your class.
Facilitating science-based research around real world problems empowers students through the skills they acquire and the subject knowledge they gain, says teacher Angela Duke. And what better topic than climate change? “The environment of the future will be theirs to live in.”
During classroom discussion, paired Think Times provide a break in the action that helps teachers use student responses to shape effective feedback to learners, says expert Jackie Walsh – provided we “explicitly instruct our students in the what, why, and how of these time-outs.”
