Can Pop Culture and Shakespeare Exist in the Same Classroom? The answer is “yes,” says reviewer Judi Holst. All that prior knowledge can help students understand and discuss complex text. The authors show how to make complex text pop.
Social Media / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 05/18/2014 · Last modified 12/03/2019
Elizabeth Stein constantly searches for professional development opportunities to strengthen co-teaching. Her district offers excellent PD, and she values virtual colleagues she’s found online. Lately her favorite PD comes with her own hashtag: #coteachat.
The topic of dictionaries came up in assorted conversations in the past few weeks, reminding Kevin Hodgson both of the power of those esteemed books of words as symbols of thought and scholarship, and the ways in which technology is completely altering the ease and means of how we find information when we need it.
Embracing Technology / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 02/19/2014 · Last modified 02/20/2014
“It’s hard to come to terms with the digital dinosaur in myself,” writes 5th grade teacher Mary Tarashuk, who’s been asked to help create online courses. “Technology benchmarks are a bit vague for this novice traveler on the Information Superhighway.”
Our chief guideline is the same for articles, book reviews and interviews: Tell our visitors what YOU would want to know if you were the reader, not the writer, and you are looking for ideas, practical tips, inspiration and collegiality.
Anne Jolly offers her take on the debate over STEM education and the motives behind the movement to promote a STEM learning approach.
Amid all the exciting teaching plans for a new year, Heather Wolpert-Gawron (TweenTeacher) shares her list of must-do-firsts to establish a solid classroom culture.
Book Reviews / Response to Intervention
by MiddleWeb · Published 07/02/2013 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Like CCSS, Response to Intervention is something teachers need to know right now, says reviewer Julie Dermody. Elizabeth Stein’s book, Comprehension Lessons for RTI (Grades 3-5): Assessments, Intervention Lessons and Management Tips to Help You Reach and Teach Tier 2 Students, is the place to start.
Cemeteries: Alive with Learning, Barbara Kissling’s short book describing a PBL experience focused on old cemeteries, is a unique idea sure to engage middle schoolers, says reviewer Carolyn Baker.
Raptors in the City opens a web portal on peregrine falcons living in a skyscraper during spring nesting season. Engaging ideas for science classrooms!
