Borrowing books from class and school libraries is less common during the pandemic. Kathie Palmieri encourages her students to read using a Bitmoji Virtual Classroom Library, Virtual Book Tasting Rooms, Flipgrid, and Mentimeter. How-to tips and book sources included!
Purposeful gaming is a natural complement to learning, writes award-winning middle school history teacher Jennifer Ingold. She shares one of her creations – American Modernization Monopoly – in this fully illustrated “why and how” post, complete with SEL and assessment notes.
For teacher Tan Huynh, nothing is more powerful than having students fall in love with reading. He shares ways to nurture readers, garnered from his podcast chat with Book Love author Penny Kittle. Start with self-selected books and in-class reading, guided by conferencing.
While the news about vaccines is promising, many students will continue to learn from home for more months to come. A big question then is how do we create and host energizing environments to sustain learning? Tara Lash and Sunday Cummins came up with this “club” strategy.
Capitol Riots / Future of History
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 01/09/2021 · Last modified 01/10/2021
As U.S. history teacher Lauren Brown prepared for her classes to resume following winter break, she considered what she would say to her students about the Capitol riots. “To say nothing says way too much.” See her full discussion of teaching ideas for now and later.
Using the ideas in The Literacy Workshop: Where Reading and Writing Converge can transform literacy teaching, writes Linda Biondi. The authors offer an easy-to-follow, research-based guide as teachers journey into making a dual reading-writing workshop a reality.
Overcoming the sense of intimidation she’d felt in the face of the US Constitution’s immensity and importance, Sarah Cooper has found fresh ways to draw her 8th graders into the power and complexity of our divided government during this year’s remote learning.
Browse our 15 most-read articles of 2020 and see what you missed! Some (no surprise) speak to the unique teaching and learning circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other top reads include some how-to (and “don’t-do”) stories that teachers rediscover year after year.
Kids in the middle need independent reading time too, writes author Lynne Dorfman. Time to read a book they have chosen, time to practice skills and strategies, time to talk about books and reading with their teacher and friends. Time to be immersed in the joy of reading.
Michelle Russell’s math students depend on her to be cheerful and happy in these difficult times. That can be a challenge, she admits, “but having some new (or not so new) activities to try gets me excited and energized to come to work. I figure that’s good for everybody!”
