Future of History / Understanding Religions
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 08/23/2015 · Last modified 11/29/2019
Teaching about Judaism, Christianity and Islam is a staple in many middle school world history and culture classes. To help counter students’ frequent confusion about these religions, Lauren Brown points out misconceptions and offers resource ideas.
When you think of Greek and Latin roots, you think high student engagement, right? No? ELA teacher Amber Chandler plans to make all those old roots rock this fall as she introduces the concepts of language development and acquisition to her students.
The first step toward gamifying your classroom can be as simple as taking the “ew” out of “review” with these helpful game-oriented apps, selected and described by tech integration expert Curtis Chandler. Included: Quizizz, Kahoot, Classcraft and Class Dojo.
Future of History / History Resources
by Sarah Cooper · Published 07/19/2015 · Last modified 04/17/2024
Sarah Cooper emerged from her summer study of Emancipation thinking about the surprises and challenges presented by primary sources. She explores several options that could help students understand sources with antiquated language and complex structure.
Teachers in K-12 will find lots to use among David W. Booth’s strategies for increasing comprehension. Based in his research, Booth’s focus is on 10 modes for understanding texts. His lessons incorporating the arts are particularly helpful, says ELA teacher Julia K. Colombo.
Homa Sabet Tavangar and Becky Mladic-Morales have created the ideal global education toolkit for any teacher, K-12, to bring the world into their classroom. The resource packed book is well written and easy to navigate, says 5th grade teacher Jennifer Druffel.
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.
Teacher Cheryl Mizerny is not anti-tech, just anti-bad pedagogy – the kind that crops up when the garnish of tech overshadows the deep learning that can happen when teaching is “brain based, not screen-based.” Make the app fit the lesson, she says, not the other way around.
Book Reviews / Data-driven Instruction
by MiddleWeb · Published 05/14/2015 · Last modified 11/24/2019
17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be Wrong leaves the reader feeling empowered and ready to make positive changes to reach the next level of engagement and academic strategies in the classroom. It is a must read, says reviewer Jennifer Druffel.
Amber Chandler describes a PBL unit, built around the dystopian novel The Giver, that takes students deep into the book’s ideas by having them create and debate their own ideal communities and explore unintended consequences. Tips and handouts included.
