William H. Robertson channels his unique perspective and experiences as a skateboarder and educator into a well-written, informative, and enjoyable read in Action Science: Relevant Teaching and Active Learning, says reviewer Hallie Askuvich.
A week of sitting in a teaching seminar has left Sarah Cooper inspired but also thoughtful about how students experience daily classroom life. “I felt new empathy for having to follow teachers’ instructions all day long.” Read her 10 takeaways.
While we want students to fall in love with reading through text choices that excite them, says literacy consultant Sarah Tantillo, teachers must also address challenging skills and content and make sure students grow their background knowledge base. Tantillo shares ideas about finding the balance.
Embracing Technology / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 07/16/2014 · Last modified 11/16/2019
This summer middle grades teacher Mary Tarashuk is diving into the deep end of the technology pool, accepting a challenging online leadership role. Yet she’s determined to protect the beach time she needs for family and reflection on the school year ahead.
While most students understand how to operate smart phones, they understand far less about what they see on their digital devices. Learning visual literacy in school is a vital skill today, says Frank W. Baker.
Teachers who let students choose their own research paper topics are often overwhelmed by all the activity and material – and end up with poor results. Consultant Sarah Tantillo suggests adapting the Document-Based Question (DBQ) Approach instead.
The topic of dictionaries came up in assorted conversations in the past few weeks, reminding Kevin Hodgson both of the power of those esteemed books of words as symbols of thought and scholarship, and the ways in which technology is completely altering the ease and means of how we find information when we need it.
Donalyn Miller’s Reading in the Wild is a great workshop-focused resource for any ELA teacher who wants to cultivate lifelong reading habits and is “looking for a viable alternative to traditional instruction,” says teacher-reviewer Tyler McBride.
An essay without a thesis might have great ideas in it, but absent an organizing principle it doesn’t hold together. Literacy expert Sarah Tantillo shares tools for thesis brainstorming & organizing that can save students and teachers time and pain.
Good writing instruction doesn’t have to be complicated, says literacy consultant Sarah Tantillo. No matter what genre you’re teaching – a paragraph, a timed essay or a full-blown research paper – she recommends these basic steps. Rubric included!
