Close Reading the Media / Literacy and Film
by Frank Baker · Published 11/28/2017 · Last modified 11/28/2019
Film, video and television media are powerful engagement tools for literacy teachers. Author and media consultant Frank W. Baker shares lots of ideas about using screenplays, closed captioning, and media-related projects to boost reading and other literacy skills.
Future of History / Writing in Social Studies
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 11/26/2017 · Last modified 12/12/2019
Lauren Brown’s eighth grade classes are undergoing a “writing revolution” since she discovered the ideas and strategies of Judith Hochman. Thanks to writing templates and explicit instruction, students are beginning to write more complex answers to history questions.
Heart of the School / Stress Avoidance
by Rita Platt · Published 11/19/2017 · Last modified 01/31/2024
Teaching truly is a never-ending job. You can’t stop time, but there are simple strategies to help you save time and decrease stress. Rita Platt offers 10 ideas to help put yourself in a teaching sweet spot instead of constantly struggling in a frantic survival zone.
STEM engineering – in class or after school – can come alive when young students encounter the 10 projects in McBride and Gonzales’ Engineer This. Reviewer Linda Biondi expects students will gladly accept their mission to solve interesting problems in creative ways.
The strength of John Strebe’s book is that it offers practical solutions for teachers who want to better engage, allow for a collaborative culture, include student voice, and deepen student content knowledge. Rita Platt expects most will find his enthusiasm contagious.
What’s one of the most fun ways to introduce students to a new science concept, a historical era, or a math idea? A picture book biography! NBCT and media specialist Christina Dorr suggests tying them to standards, using them as read alouds, or for individual student motivation.
Math Homework / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 11/12/2017 · Last modified 11/23/2019
This fall Michelle Russell implemented a new policy of assigning but not checking math homework, and then checking homework understanding with short quizzes. After 15 weeks of school, she’s ready to share the results so far. Learn her “good, bad, and ugly” findings.
Sixth grade ELA and social studies teacher Kathee Lamberies expects she will be using Teaching Literacy in the Visible Learning Classroom from Fisher, Frey, Hattie and Thayre and tabbing its pages for years to come. It is likely to become her new “bible” of teaching!
Successful Group Work can help teachers provide structure within groups of students to help classrooms run more smoothly, says teacher Stacey Knighton. It’s most likely to be useful to a beginning teacher or someone just starting to do collaborative team work.
In Gallup surveys, students report increasing levels of classroom boredom, topping out in high school. How do teachers counter the trend? Harris and Bradshaw offer strategies in their 2nd book on Battling Boredom. Rita Platt finds lots to use with her own students.
