Supporting learners through effective vocabulary instruction is critical to their success. Curtis Chandler offers a “crash course” – a compendium of key principles, strategies, and research-backed methods to help students build key vocabulary skills, whatever your subject area.
Using the simple question “How am I reacting?” NBCT and author Marilyn Pryle shows how she teaches students to observe, identify, and manage their emotions when they encounter any text so that they become not only stronger critical thinkers, but better citizens and human beings.
While many multilingual students gain social language in two years, abstract, highly structured academic language requires much more time. Tan Huynh advocates teaching MLs at the sentence level because it facilitates understanding of content and fosters academic writing skills.
Teacher Dina Strasser agrees that our schools need to be spaces where students have the freedom and support to come to their own reasoned political conclusions about the world. “But it is a mistake to assume public education as a whole is, or should be, politically neutral. It is not.”
Mandy Manning’s book is essential reading for teachers who are new to the world of language diversity and would be a great PD resource for general education teachers and staff. Teacher Jeanette Pine finds the book clear, concise, easy to navigate, and filled with important reminders.
Exploring human experiences through personal stories promotes discussions that focus on facts and individual realities rather than generalizations and stereotypes and helps students develop empathy, compassion and understanding, writes Kasey Short. Reading suggestions included!
Effective questions build in opportunities to scaffold student learning. Teaching coach Barbara R. Blackburn suggests creating questions that encourage multiple answers, include hints and context, allow students to help each other, and provide a clear indicator of success.
Kathie Palmieri has been exploring the significance of vocabulary and the use of context clues to decipher meaning across all the core subject areas. After researching and working with her own students, she shares her findings on the impact of word study on academic success.
Michelle Russell recently revisited random grouping for her math students and found the environment was much better. Students were talking more together, and there was more work being done during discovery activities and concept practice. Included: a free grouping card site.
Rather than despairing over grammar mistakes in their corrected papers, Jason DeHart suggests students can succeed in ELA by noting the varieties of sentences, talking about their impact on the narrative, and describing the feelings and actions these stylistic choices evoke.
