Student Civic Action / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 03/25/2018 · Last modified 11/12/2019
If ever there was a time to think about how to prepare our students for the larger stage of the public civic sphere, it’s now. Teacher Kevin Hodgson interviews author and educator Steven Zemelman who has been working with teachers to move kids from inquiry into action.
Take an alphabetical tour through advocating for your school in this new book from Robert Blackburn, Barbara Blackburn and Ronald Williamson. Former principal Mary Langer Thompson shares the highlights and suggests the book can be most helpful in ed leadership classes.
Mathematics author and consultant Jerry Burkhart is back with more ways to get students excited about the magic of numbers and ready to become “adventurous learners.” His interactions with a middle grades enrichment class may spark engaging ideas of your own.
Teacher think alouds are great for grades 4-8, says author Molly Ness. “The goal is to provide less savvy readers with a play-by-play of what you – as a skilled reader – think while reading.” The secret is planning. They may sound spontaneous but must be choreographed.
If you want your all of your students to love reading and writing and all to be excellent readers and writers, Regie Routman’s new book will inspire, teach, gently cajole, and help you move your literacy teaching forward in service of these goals, says Rita Platt.
We’re always talking to students about study habits, writes Roxanna Elden, but sometimes teachers need better methods for managing our own daily responsibilities. Good news! Embedded in some of the very lectures we give to our students are tips that can work for us, too.
Class Apps / Student Self-Assessment
by Curtis Chandler · Published 03/07/2018 · Last modified 12/12/2019
How do we help kids become skillful at evaluating their own work and performance against clearly established criteria? Curtis Chandler highlights quality self-assessment practices, sharing how-to’s and apps for rubrics, portfolios, data notebooks, concept maps and more.
Drawing on her national survey of 1500 students, Heather Wolpert-Gawron’s “Just Ask Us” brings their voices to the challenges of engagement. Adding teacher interviews and research, she offers a strategy-filled resource that belongs in every teacher’s hands, says David Bever.
Future of History / Learning from Students
by Sarah Cooper · Published 02/27/2018 · Last modified 03/01/2022
Sarah Cooper’s eighth graders take a “Bread and Roses” metaphor from the Progressive Era to the fight for the ERA – making insightful comparisons Cooper had not anticipated. “Giving students room to make their own connections meant that they could teach me,” she says.
It’s difficult to learn from someone we don’t trust, writes literacy consultant Regie Routman. Bonding with individual students and their families builds that trust. Routman offers 10 ways to make sure that none of our students ever become “mostly silent and unseen.”
