In today’s budget-conscious and time-stressed schools, virtual field trips are a great way to excite students without leaving the classroom. Teaching expert Barbara Blackburn shares a sample lesson idea and some good places to hunt for relevant field trips.
Kids on the Cusp / Spring Learning
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 04/20/2015 · Last modified 11/21/2019
As Mary Tarashuk anticipates the second round of PARCC testing this spring, she tackles stacks of paperwork and teacher evaluation forms. She’ll also make sure her 4th graders celebrate Earth Day, revisit engaging writing prompts, and enjoy some fresh air.
Web-browsing teachers must not only harvest the ideas of others but curate what’s valuable and create opportunities online to stretch and grow, says former Kansas Teacher of the Year Curtis Chandler. He shares five digital tools to help make that happen.
Faced with students struggling to learn complex science ideas in traditional ways, middle school teacher John Coveyou turned to classroom gaming as a solution. His colorful card games teach core concepts like ion-bonding, DNA principles and protein building.
Kevin Hodgson begins his 6th grade poetry unit “with a listening field trip across the United States, powered by our imaginations.” Before young writers can compose poetry, they need to listen closely to its rhythms and “make the shift away from prose.” The anthology My America provides mentor texts.
Using Mindset, Rigor, and Grit as examples, veteran teacher Cheryl Mizerny weighs the potential value of trendy pedagogical ideas while pointing out how easily they can be misinterpreted or poorly implemented by educators, to the detriment of students.
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.
