It’s at the precise moment when students are bombarded by facts, whether historical or current, that we need to be especially vigilant, writes American history and current events teacher Sarah Cooper, paraphrasing historian Sam Wineburg. Sifting through sources has become a life skill.
Accessibility / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Valentina Gonzalez · Published 03/24/2019 · Last modified 12/11/2019
Simply making content available to students is not enough. We have to make it accessible to each and every one, including English learners. Specialist Valentina Gonzalez offers ways to identify obstacles to accessibility and create paths to learning in every subject.
With this volume of their Jacob’s Ladder program Joyce VanTassel-Baskel and Tamra Stambaugh have devised a way to garner the most impact from nonfiction mini-lessons while allowing for flexibility and choice within the texts, says educator Erin Corrigan-Smith.
Count on it, writes STEM educator Anne Jolly, spring is almost here and your students’ energy and concentration are about to start slipping. Nice weather and seasonal events interfere with lesson continuity. How can you snag your kids’ interest again? Citizen science!
No single practice stops cruelty, but a combination of proven strategies used by committed staff trained in anti-bullying will maximize impact. Michele Borba outlines six rules that can help defeat the culture of bullying and replace it with the power of character.
Classroom Equity / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 02/20/2019 · Last modified 11/30/2019
To meet the learning needs of students with diverse abilities in inclusion classrooms, NBCT Elizabeth Stein suggests a focus on equity. She offers four key strategies (with supporting resources) that align specifically with co-teaching strengths and student abilities.
Future of History / Student Research
by Sarah Cooper · Published 02/11/2019 · Last modified 11/23/2019
Sam Wineburg’s new book Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone) is a game changer, writes Sarah Cooper. Here she focuses on his ideas for teaching students to evaluate websites laterally in addition to vertically, in the manner of professional fact checkers.
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.”
Co-teaching Reflections / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 01/08/2019 · Last modified 11/24/2019
As the new year (and 2nd semester) unfolds, coach Elizabeth Stein suggests forgoing resolutions in favor of a set of reflective questions than can strengthen your co-teaching effectiveness. Stein uses the story of teacher “Joan” to illustrate and suggest some solutions.
Building Empathy / Future of History
by Sarah Cooper · Published 12/30/2018 · Last modified 12/01/2019
While photos and texts can bring alive an issue one medium at a time, reality-based comics have the power to drop us into a story both visually and verbally. Sarah Cooper’s eighth grade students learned that lesson when they followed the trek of Syrian refugee Mohammad.
