In the aftermath of a school year full of challenge and uncertainty, teachers are looking forward to something closer to a normal summer. Middle school teacher Kasey Short shares ways she plans to regroup, relax, and recharge: unplugged, outdoors, by journaling, and more.
Jackie Acree Walsh’s Empowering Students as Questioners provides teachers with the skills, strategies and structures to help each learner reach their potential by transforming their understanding of questioning, writes 5th grade teacher Kathleen Palmieri.
The school year is winding down and the prescribed math curriculum is in its final pages. A perfect time for NBCT Kathleen Palmieri to offer her fifth graders activities that use the magic of math to help review concepts and skills and encourage mathematical conversations.
Helen Keller was real, despite what some TikTok’ers posted in 2021. Help history students uncover and affirm actual history using gaming techniques to spur engagement. Rochelle Melander shares how she has tweaked research to include questing with allies, power-ups and more.
Class Apps / Measuring Engagement
by Curtis Chandler · Published 05/11/2021 · Last modified 11/08/2022
Education stakeholders agree that student engagement is essential. The challenge arises when we’re asked to define and measure it. Curtis Chandler shares a number of free methods and tools educators can use to measure three types: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive.
Are students becoming more prejudiced and racist, or have students always been this way? In his rural, predominantly white Midwestern town middle school ELA educator Jeremy Hyler felt an urgency to advocate for antiracist teaching practices in his school and community.
Teaching poetry can give students a sense of connection, collaboration, and creativity as they express themselves and read the expressions of others. During National Poetry Month, teacher-author Marilyn Pryle shares fun activities from her classroom that touch on all three.
Collaboration / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Tan Huynh · Published 03/23/2021 · Last modified 03/28/2021
Every co-teaching partnership has a story. One of language specialist Tan Huynh’s partnerships started off rough but became the most collaborative team-up in all his years teaching. Why? They created a schedule that included co-planning time and used the time strategically.
Similar to the benefits of class read-alouds and independent reading, podcasts can be incorporated as a way to increase students’ understanding of stories and information, with kids often making “text to self” connections. Kathie Palmieri includes sources and favorites.
As school leaders navigate challenging times, roadside assistance from higher-ups can be invaluable. Award-winning middle school principal Jessica Cabeen shares five practices she’s developed to make sure the paths of communication and support stay open now and in the future.
