David Goldberg wanted to create thought-provoking lessons that taught his fourth graders 21st century skills while also integrating history content about the settlement of California. He shares his first experiment, using the popular Minecraft video game.
Iconic images from popular culture can raise consciousness about issues, many of them tied to health and gender awareness, writes media literacy consultant Frank W. Baker. He offers memorable examples and ties this phenomenon to teaching visual literacy.
Children’s writer and systems engineer Robert Black, who is finishing his third mathematical novel for middle schoolers, describes the challenges of making math stories engaging and offers tips for students and teachers interested in the new fiction genre.
Relationships are built when children know that caring adults are on their side. If teachers team up with parents and families, they can help create success for even the most difficult students. Amber Chandler shares the strategies that work in her MS classroom.
Author and literacy consultant Regie Routman is a passionate cook who loves to make fresh fruit tarts. Here she draws connections between learning to bake and learning to teach, using her Optimal Learning Model as a framework. Fruit tart recipe included!
Many students don’t expect math to make sense and learn to disengage their reasoning and even distrust it. Teacher-experts Cathy Humphreys & Ruth Parker highlight an 8-step “Number Talks” process that can promote deeper discussions about how numbers work.
“The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching” by Goodwin and Hubbell is framed by a daily checklist and filled with common sense, easy-to-apply tips to grow a more demanding, supportive and intentional classroom practice, says PD consultant Anne Anderson.
Playing with Stories is THE book for those in love with stories and those who believe that we “think in story,” says reviewer, poet and retired principal Mary Langer Thompson. Author Kevin Cordi shares strategies for building stories solo, with a partner or within small groups.
Formative assessment is good practice, as every teacher knows, says tech consultant Curtis Chandler, but finding time to measure individual student understanding is challenging. Chandler offers seven apps that can make the practice both routine and engaging.
Educators who read policy pundit Rick Hess’s new book The Cage-Busting Teacher will find plenty to disagree with, says instructional specialist Curtis Chandler, but “they will also learn quite a bit about their potential and influence as an educator.”
