Students love when teachers share videos as part of a lesson in any subject. But they can be vague when asked to recall the rich details or ideas that were included. Sunday Cummins, author of Close Reading of Informational Sources, has five quick lessons that can help.
Social Emotional Learning / STEM By Design
by Anne Jolly · Published 10/08/2019 · Last modified 08/28/2024
Guiding students to master SEL skills like self-control, empathy, collaboration, and problem solving can be harder than teaching content. The key to infusing social-emotional learning is teacher intentionality, says Anne Jolly, and STEM class offers a perfect SEL framework.
Controversial Content / Future of History
by Sarah Cooper · Published 10/07/2019 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Assigning The Hate U Give as a summer read for history and English eighth graders seemed like a slam dunk to Sarah Cooper and her colleague. Looking back, she weighs the experience to better understand how she can prepare to teach, and then lean into, difficult topics.
Grownups get to go to conferences. Why not kids? Rita Platt’s school offers an all-day gathering featuring a professional author as keynoter, concurrent sessions, and time to network with peer writers and authors from the community. See Rita’s how-to’s and budget tips.
Notice and Note / Teaching with a View
by Brent Gilson · Published 10/02/2019 · Last modified 01/19/2024
The Notice and Note reading strategies “changed my life as an educator,” writes Brent Gilson in a post he unabashedly describes as a “love letter” to Kylene Beers and Bob Probst. You’ll understand his passion when you learn how he integrates the 6 Signposts into lessons.
Podcasting is exploding, and teachers are discovering that listening to and producing podcasts are great ways to promote deeper learning. Former NPR reporter Monica Brady-Myerov shares the whys and hows of engaging kids in their own projects, with examples and resources.
ELs are capable of doing the same kind of thinking that non-ELs can do. They might just have to temporarily show their understanding differently than their peers do. EL teacher Tan Huyhn shows how teachers can focus on the ELs’ thinking and differentiate everything else.
Climate Change / I Will Screw This Up
by Dina Strasser · Published 09/25/2019 · Last modified 09/03/2020
We can no longer avoid teaching about climate change because it’s not in our content area or curriculum guide, writes teacher leader Dina Strasser. Educators can’t shield children from “eco-anxiety,” but they can give them hope and the knowledge and skills to take action.
Class environment, student attitude toward writing, student choice, and teachers who write with kids are overarching themes that help to make Welcome to Writing Workshop a good resource for creating a productive writing program, says 5th grade teacher Kathleen Palmieri.
Jonathan Plucker’s book is for teachers and administrators who want to extend their understanding of creativity beyond the surface level and to rethink how their schools can better support their students as creative thinkers, writes teacher Claire Reddig.
