Although “You Can Do This” is targeted to 1st year teachers, experienced educators & new administrators can also benefit from reading about a novice teacher’s experiences through the lens of an accomplished instructional leader, says reviewer Jason Gordon.
Most public school students take a US History course at least three times during their K12 careers. So why don’t they know more about America’s story? History educator Lauren S. Brown offers three ideas to help better focus teachers and engage students.
Op-ed columnists often spread misconceptions about STEM education, says expert Anne Jolly. An article by Fareed Zakaria claims STEM is threatening the future of liberal education, but Jolly says good STEM programs can actually address several of Zakaria’s concerns.
Kids on the Cusp / Making Connections
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/05/2015 · Last modified 11/30/2019
Students’ success in making connections – whether listening, writing, or linking ideas with bits of yarn – is essential to learning. Mary Tarashuk sees those connections in her 4th graders’ notebooks and in their eyes. But can PARCC prompts capture them?
Guest expert Dr. Susan Pruet stresses the need to stretch beyond simple arithmetic to incorporate more challenging math content in STEM lessons. Pruet also cites the supports middle grades math teachers will need to spark student engagement in STEM careers.
In today’s budget-conscious and time-stressed schools, virtual field trips are a great way to excite students without leaving the classroom. Teaching expert Barbara Blackburn shares a sample lesson idea and some good places to hunt for relevant field trips.
If you need content-rich short nonfiction texts to support social studies lessons, this spiral bound book is for you. “The American Revolution and Constitution” also provides online access to a ‘trove’ of lesson-ready images and resources, says reviewer Linda Biondi.
In “Loving Learning” Tom Little showed a keen awareness of trends in best practices, connecting progressive pedagogy to 21st century evidence-based teaching, says reviewer Eric Moore. How Little’s concepts take hold in public schools is not demonstrated.
Web-browsing teachers must not only harvest the ideas of others but curate what’s valuable and create opportunities online to stretch and grow, says former Kansas Teacher of the Year Curtis Chandler. He shares five digital tools to help make that happen.
Kevin Hodgson begins his 6th grade poetry unit “with a listening field trip across the United States, powered by our imaginations.” Before young writers can compose poetry, they need to listen closely to its rhythms and “make the shift away from prose.” The anthology My America provides mentor texts.
