Frank Buck is back with Part Two in his series for school leaders on developing a digital productivity suite. Keeping up with plans on a digital calendar or a smartphone Notes app is frustrating. Buck outlines what a full featured task app needs to do and suggests a free option.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Social Skills
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 01/24/2016 · Last modified 11/26/2019
Cheryl Mizerny considers the “soft” skills of social interaction to be as essential to success as the ELA skills she teaches. To help fill students’ wide social skill gaps, she’s identified problem behaviors and resources she’ll use to build a mini-curriculum.
In “Standing in the Gap” Lisa Dabbs and Nicol R. Howard encourage all educators, especially new teachers, to find support by connecting on social media, using internet resources in class, and facilitating e-communication with parents. A must read, says educator/writer Mary Langer Thompson.
Conferences are valuable ways to grow professionally. Consultant Anne Anderson, who attended many such events as a teacher, shares ideas for getting buy-in and funding, prepping for the trip, getting the most from talks and exhibits, and bringing it all home.
Working Draft / Writing & Game Design
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 01/12/2016 · Last modified 12/14/2019
Where is the literacy in the ELA classroom when all of the students are engaged in designing and producing video game projects using science and other content? Kevin Hodgson explains why the work his sixth graders are doing satisfies writing standards.
Literacy expert Regie Routman takes teachers for a ride and demonstrates how to avoid roadblocks that make writing less than doable, effective and gratifying. The destination? Classrooms where students routinely write to think, problem solve, create and explore.
After reviewing the history of grading, Cathy Vatterott shares reasons for implementing a progressive standards-based grading system, noting the challenges as well as the benefits. Teacher Michael DiClemente sees the need for research-based changes but wonders how to get there.
Too often students get little more than a schedule and a friendly pat as they enter new schools. Counselor Dana Worden is changing all that at Travis Ranch MS where student volunteers not only welcome newbies but buddy with them until they fully blend in.
Annual resolutions to “get organized” usually fade quickly, despite ready access to smart devices and clever management apps. What we need, writes organizing expert Frank Buck, is some good advice. He begins his 5-part series with the digital calendar.
Amp Up Your Year! / It's Not Easy Being Tween / New Year's Resolutions
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 12/27/2015 · Last modified 11/29/2019
An NCTE workshop convinced Cheryl Mizerny that if she’s going to expect her students to set challenging goals, reflect, and try again, then she needs to practice what she preaches. Her resulting resolutions may ring true for many middle grades teachers.
