Author and former middle level school leader Frank Buck spends his professional life helping fellow educators manage themselves and their work in ways that maximize performance and benefit students. Buck shares three practical ideas to organize the new school year.
Educator Jennifer Underwood reports Making Number Talks Matter is an excellent read for all math teachers. The book explains both how to do math talks and why these talks are an important means of helping all students become confident mathematical thinkers.
Relationships are built when children know that caring adults are on their side. If teachers team up with parents and families, they can help create success for even the most difficult students. Amber Chandler shares the strategies that work in her MS classroom.
Author and literacy consultant Regie Routman is a passionate cook who loves to make fresh fruit tarts. Here she draws connections between learning to bake and learning to teach, using her Optimal Learning Model as a framework. Fruit tart recipe included!
Sarah Tantillo’s MiddleWeb post, Socratic Seminars in the Middle, has racked up tens of thousands of visits. Now Sarah, author of The Literacy Cookbook, is back with a tweak to her recipe, suggested by colleague Jamison Fort. See his students in action.
Kids on the Cusp / Last Days of School
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 06/17/2015 · Last modified 11/15/2019
Like many teachers, when school ends, new work begins for Mary Tarashuk. “I earn a good salary, but it isn’t enough to pay for ‘summers off.'” There’s professional learning to do, too. But still some time to relax and reflect on the sheer joy of teaching children.
“The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching” by Goodwin and Hubbell is framed by a daily checklist and filled with common sense, easy-to-apply tips to grow a more demanding, supportive and intentional classroom practice, says PD consultant Anne Anderson.
Playing with Stories is THE book for those in love with stories and those who believe that we “think in story,” says reviewer, poet and retired principal Mary Langer Thompson. Author Kevin Cordi shares strategies for building stories solo, with a partner or within small groups.
Mary Tarashuk looks beyond her formal annual review to consider her personal assessment portfolio. Her students have learned “a bit about compassion, sympathy, empathy, the importance of friendship and community. This is the true measure of my Affectiveness.”
Formative assessment is good practice, as every teacher knows, says tech consultant Curtis Chandler, but finding time to measure individual student understanding is challenging. Chandler offers seven apps that can make the practice both routine and engaging.
