Whether school leaders network using traditional methods like books and conferences or virtual solutions using social media tools and platforms, it’s vital to be a learner and to model learning in your organization. Ron Williamson and Barb Blackburn explore the PLN option.
In MATH-ish, youcubed.org co-founder Jo Boaler brings together real-world math, neuroscience, equity awareness, and classroom experiences to forge a powerful multi-faceted tool to encourage students’ collaboration and engagement, says math teacher and NBCT Kathleen Palmieri.
It pays to be strategic when managing time, writes teacher Kelly Owens. Without compromising good practice, educators can learn to ditch time drainers and invest those precious minutes in time savers. Reduce, reuse and recycle to work more efficiently and effectively.
Teachers Samantha Layne and Susanne Croasdaile introduce a new UDL-friendly tool to promote higher thinking, using a model-building strategy. TPRY helps students break down visual content, analyze it, and even build their own visual texts. See a food web modeling example.
Katie Durkin has begun adding picture books and read alouds to her seventh grade classes. She finds that in units like historical fiction and social justice, they bring students a sense of nostalgia, help them grasp difficult abstract concepts, and create a shared experience.
As pre-service teachers anticipate their first classrooms, former Kansas TOY and teacher educator Curtis Chandler is ready with expert strategies to help them select the right schools and successfully complete the interview process. He stresses staying positive and being persistent.
100-Word Stories: A Short Form for Expansive Writing by Kim Culbertson and Grant Faulkner is a wonderful resource for teaching with micro texts and for helping students in levels 5-12 develop both writing and reading mastery, writes middle school ELA teacher Erin Corrigan-Smith.
Watching a movie in class doesn’t have to be passive, says Jason DeHart. Teachers can engage students in a critical process of “reading” film and also responding as readers by creating video products. It’s time to broaden literacy education to meet students where they are.
Educator and author Regie Routman considers heart-centered principles that can help us go a long way to ensure that what we do and are asking our students and loved ones to do will result in personal and professional growth, gratitude, generosity, and even sparks of greatness.
What can you and your students accomplish the last few weeks of school? In this MiddleWeb resource educators share activities that align learning with fun, offer ideas for responding to stress, and suggest strategies to help sustain your classroom community.
