Kelly Gallagher’s “In the Best Interest of Students” considers both the strengths and shortcomings of the Common Core ELA anchor standards. In this excerpt, Gallagher stresses the need for students to have “worthy models” at every stage of the writing process.
Veteran teacher-educator Jennifer Gonzalez knows the anxiety and frustration associated with learning to teach with technology. In this excerpt from her new book, Jenn shares her 7-step framework for adding more digital prowess to your teaching practice.
Veteran educator Cheryl Mizerny is surrounded by committed teachers, but she knows that even the most well-intentioned can fall into bad habits that may make some students dread coming to their class. She shares the warning signs of five problem behaviors.
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.
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.
Kids on the Cusp / Teaching writing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 03/11/2015 · Last modified 12/01/2019
Looking for a “standardized writing prompt” that will really engage her students, Mary Tarashuk hits upon favorite essayist Andy Rooney and his reflection on a favorite teacher, then fashions a multi-day practice assessment to get her 4th graders thinking and writing.
In this brisk book in ASCD’s Arias series, Jane Bluestein reviews 7 popular classroom management practices that don’t work and then offers teacher behaviors that can build a positive learning environment. Reviewer Angie Grimes finds the 43-page book “short, sweet, and to the point.”
In “59 Reasons to Write” Kate Messner shifts from teaching writers workshop and writing books for tweens to helping teachers build their own writing skills, assisted by more than 30 published authors. Reviewer Wendy Moore plans to try out their strategies.
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.
When Cheryl Mizerny invited her 6th graders to pursue a “passion project” of their own choosing, she included the option to help someone in need. The results surprised her. “I greatly underestimated my students’ capacity for wanting to make a difference.”
