Close Reading the Media / Infographics
by Frank Baker · Published 05/30/2017 · Last modified 11/21/2019
Increasingly information is being conveyed in visual terms, and the flashy graphics can both clarify and mislead. Media literacy expert Frank Baker has teaching ideas to help students think more deeply about the infographics and visual data flooding our brains.
Future of History / Teaching with Movies
by Sarah Cooper · Published 05/29/2017 · Last modified 11/27/2019
Showing short video clips to her history students is easy for Sarah Cooper to justify, but with full-length movies she is more cautious about the time investment. Here she shares three films that make the cut: Iron Jawed Angels, Glory, and All the President’s Men.
Baby Boomer teachers are rapidly retiring and being replaced by members of Generation Y or “Millennials” who hold very different beliefs about the workplace and the way principals work with them. Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share ideas to help them thrive.
If a school can agree to have both ELA and content area teachers use the ideas in “Strategic Journeys for Building Logical Reasoning” there is potential for students to achieve more intense thinking rather than surface learning, says reviewer Mary Langer Thompson.
Kevin Hodgson invites Troy Hicks and Kristen Hawley Turner to share their thinking about the need to teach argument in the context of students’ authentic digital lives, using the structure of a traditional argument approach with such texts as videos and social media.
Research leaves little doubt that strategic use of groups and teams boosts achievement for most students, says teacher educator Curtis Chandler. Learn about the key elements of group work and several digital tools that make forming groups flexible and efficient.
After using Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop for Students with her 7th graders, ELA teacher Nicole Waychol is convinced that once you read the book, author Kwame Alexander is going to have you saying “yes.” Yes to jazz. Yes to writing. Yes to poetry. Yes to publishing.
Close Reading the Media / Quick Media Lit Lessons
by Frank Baker · Published 05/01/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Consultant Frank Baker often hears teachers and media specialists raise concerns about the time it takes to facilitate a visual or media literacy lesson. In this post he shares several ideas for 15-minute lesson segments using familiar magazines for kids and adults.
In science educator Anne Jolly’s mind, protests on behalf of science-based policy making are not about partisanship but about protecting jobs and the economy, our children’s health and prosperity, and ultimately our planet. That’s why she joined the March for Science.
end-of-year learning / Meaningful Math / Teacher Stamina
by Michelle Russell · Published 04/25/2017 · Last modified 04/28/2025
Standardized testing and the end-of-year rush leave Michelle Russell feeling low on energy, ideas and patience. She shares strategies she uses to bounce back and help her students do their best, starting with strengthening school relationships and having some fun.
