As NBCT Marilyn Pryle concludes her series on key questions to help students become critical readers, she considers how to help them pry open any text and name what they see. “What in this content is meant to grab my attention and evoke emotion? Why do I react the way I do?”
If you know your ‘why’ as a teacher, you can parlay that knowledge into a set of directions that motivate your daily work. Kelly Owens shares how career vision boards can play a significant role in that process. Included: Ideas to help students create their own vision boards.
Whether it’s standing desks, beanbags or low tables, flexible seating helps students feel more comfortable, engaged, and in control of their own learning. Kathie Palmieri shares research showing how flexible seating can meet physical, social, and cognitive needs of students.
Media LIteracy / Wide Open Learning
by Megan Kelly · Published 12/15/2024 · Last modified 01/01/2025
Concerned by the News Literacy Project’s survey revealing teens’ difficulties in separating fact and fiction, Megan Kelly is finding as many classroom minutes as possible to build her students’ media literacy skills. She shares some quick activities her classes like best.
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.
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.”
The most important step in learning to solve math word problems is reflection, writes math coach Mona Iehl, “yet it’s often overlooked or sacrificed for the sake of time.” Iehl shares her workshop approach to problem solving and how she builds quick reflections into her lessons.
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.
Facing the ‘December Dilemma’ of how to include winter holidays in the instructional day? This MiddleWeb resource offers a multi-faceted look at religious and non-religious aspects of the season, legal issues, and some ideas for seasonal lesson planning.
This fall with some tweaks and fresh online tools and resources, Halloween can be fun and packed with learning. Check out MiddleWeb’s updated resource collection for ideas across the content areas.
