The Genius Hour Guidebook by Denise Krebs & Gallit Zvi provides a practical guide for teachers who want to encourage students to pursue their passionate interests and expand their 21st century skill set. Reviewer Laura Von Staden also recommends the companion website.
Civics Lessons / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 08/29/2016 · Last modified 11/30/2019
This year, with an historic Presidential election in the making, civics studies take on a bit more relevance for Mary Tarashuk’s 4th graders. As she worked on her lesson plans this summer, she uncovered fresh resources to help her met five key teaching goals.
Adolescents constantly work to make sense of new information, often by referencing what they already know. Teachers can help by introducing analogies. Curtis Chandler shares tips and tech tools to help put analogies to work, including Metamia and Google Slides.
Why should we use performance tasks in math class? How do we adapt them for formative or summative assessment? How do we create effective rubrics? The authors provide answers in a step-by-step guide featuring many examples, says veteran math teacher Jan Roberts.
For teachers who have considered implementing a Genius Hour program but haven’t quite made it to launch, passion-based learning experts and #geniushour chat leaders Gallit Zvi and Denise Krebs have organized a wealth of tips and resources to get you started.
Transformational leaders know how to invite conversation and listen deeply, writes middle school assistant principal Mike Janatovich. They use this skill to grasp and understand a school culture, building trust and helping shape a successful school community.
Middle grades writers can learn about the writer’s notebook used by many professional writers and get tips about creating a notebook of their own in this Powerpoint slide set developed for teachers by literacy coach Juli Kendall.
Make no mistake says productivity expert Frank Buck, how well we bring our vision for the school year to fruition rests upon the things we do on a daily basis. Getting organized by going digital is the overwhelmed educator’s best hope. Buck recommends Toodledo.
Class Apps / Quick Communication
by Curtis Chandler · Published 08/07/2016 · Last modified 03/03/2024
With the goal of encouraging learning at school and beyond, Curtis Chandler describes two free tech tools to help get students and the school year off to a good start: Poll Everywhere will quickly spark discussion and the Remind app will keep everyone on track.
With its comprehensive collection of CCSS-ELA graphic organizers, The Visual Edge provides a very visible way for students in grades 6-12 to approach Common Core-related standards. Teacher-reviewer Joyce Depenbusch has numerous suggestions for the next edition.
