As math coaches and other instructional leaders begin to think about the upcoming school year, they may want to consider Nicora Placa’s teacher team-building activity. It sets the foundation for a successful year of learning collaboratively and improving student group work.
Writing poems for two voices lets student researchers delve deep into multiple sources and unearth differing perspectives. Jenn Bogard and Lisa Donovan offer a sample poem based on Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother image, merging the stories of the photographer and the subject.
Math and ELA rule in the early middle grades. Kathie Palmieri asked her 5th graders to reflect on the science and social studies wedged into her class this year. She’s amazed at all they retained and their ideas to blend in more. Now she’s plotting to put their ideas to work.
Boys and young men are in crisis. Middle school is where negative masculinization takes root, creating social pressures that can impair mental health and lead to marginalization and harmful misogynistic beliefs. Author and former principal Jason Ablin shows how SEL helps.
What makes our lessons memorable? Looking into semantic, episodic, emotional, procedural and automatic memory, teaching consultant Marilee Sprenger shares ways to engage students’ long-term storage systems so that memories take hold. Start with visuals and play based learning!
If you are an educator trying to explore what AI can do without becoming overwhelmed, edtech expert Shawn McCusker recommends you start small. Jot down some questions or topics to explore. These might include academic integrity, lesson design, or how AI can save precious time.
Williamson and Blackburn highlight four good reasons to be optimistic about the future of America’s public schools. Community approval is the highest in nearly 50 years; teachers are better prepared for the future, and the resilience of public educators remains remarkable.
Editors Davis and Douglas have organized a valuable research-based collection of articles by field-based practitioners of gifted education, writes teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith. A major focus: instructional methods that address the under-representation of minority and twice-exceptional students.
Learning Transformed offers a still timely blueprint of practical ideas to reinvent schools so all students receive a useful education, all teachers are treated as professionals, and all families and community members are welcome and value the role schools play, says teacher Theresa Wood.
When students learn to identify and name the ideas and emotions in poetry and share their own emotions through writing poems, they better understand their feelings and build empathy and understanding for others. Teacher leader Kasey Short shares methods and lots of poems.
