Karen Chace knows storytelling can build literacy as well as joy. In Story by Story she explains in detail how to develop students’ storytelling skills and how to gain support for storyteller festivals. Reviewer Kevin Cordi especially values her reports of student engagement.
Expeditionary Learning’s free open-source curriculum is framed by Topics, Targets, Texts & Tasks. Co-designer Cheryl Dobbertin shares insights gained during the crowd-sourced development phase, arguing that inquiry learning begins with compelling curriculum.
Nancie Atwell’s passion for adolescent reading and writing permeates every page of In the Middle, says reviewer Jenni Miller. Reworked with over 80% new material, this classic leads teachers through the intricacies of reading and writing workshop.
Students in a state of “flow” learn faster, are more focused, enjoy learning, and often increase the level of challenge. Teacher-author Larry Ferlazzo distills the research and has ideas for teachers that can help students achieve flow regularly in class.
Dan Feigelson makes the case for reimagined reading projects and goes on to share conversations, student notes, and teacher conference plans. The result, says reviewer Linda Biondi, is a fresh approach to having students think for themselves and helping teachers take conferring to a new level.
Kids on the Cusp / Standardized Testing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 02/26/2015 · Last modified 11/15/2019
Teacher Mary Tarashuk has reasserted her “Irish Zen” following the full frontal assault on PARCC testing in her last post. She describes how her fourth graders had fun learning about Chinese New Year while also practicing for the high stakes test in prescribed ways.
Concept Attainment / Future of History
by Jody & Shara · Published 02/22/2015 · Last modified 11/22/2019
The Concept Attainment teaching strategy has students analyze an idea by comparing it to contrasting ideas and determining its special characteristics. When Jody and Shara used the strategy, their history students grasped and retained the content better.
CommonLit.Org is a nonprofit organization building a growing collection of supplemental texts, curated by teachers, for teachers, writes founder Michelle Brown. The free and open resource is cross-curricular, organized around themes and essential questions.
Book Reviews / Narrative for Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 02/19/2015 · Last modified 11/14/2019
Thomas Newkirk makes a convincing argument in Minds Made for Stories that narrative is the framework for all good learning experiences, says teacher-reviewer Jenni Miller. This insight about storytelling can be used by teachers to help students learn and retain more in any subject.
Teaching versus Testing / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 02/15/2015 · Last modified 11/14/2019
“There is this race to absorb content just in time for the tests,” writes teaching coach Elizabeth Stein. But where is the time inside our secondary schools that students need to really connect to the learning process? Simple answer: there isn’t any.
