Research is a muscle Megan Kelly’s 6th grade social studies students are still building, and just like muscles, their skills get stronger with repetition. The goal is to make sure that the repetition isn’t tedious. Here are some ways she’s improving students’ research savvy.
In Educator Bandwidth, Jane Kise and Ann Holm provide ways to reclaim your energy, passion and time and to gauge your bandwidth with a survey. Factors include balancing priorities, focusing through mental habits, fueling your brain, and more, writes educator Stephanie Choate.
Meetings can waste time and resources. Education consultants Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn’s strategies can help you avoid pitfalls and lead effective meetings with norm setting, planning, agenda setting, and options for decision making. Productivity tools included!
As students experience physical and emotional changes as part of adolescent development, body image can become a complex and sensitive topic. Reading books that explore body image can help. Kasey Short shares some favorite titles and questions for reflection and discussion.
Whether read individually or as a group study, Melissa Collins’ book will help educators understand the growth cycle of a teacher leader and to reflect on their own experiences. Collins includes teacher leader roles beyond the classroom, notes reviewer Stacy Haynes-Moore.
Collaborating on complex tasks builds relationships, a positive classroom culture for learning and a sense of accomplishment for each student. When the team wins, everyone is a winner! Deep learning expert Karin Hess shares tools to create authentic, time-sensitive projects.
Students need to know what to expect when they enter our classrooms, writes teacher Kelly Owens. Consistency on the front end paves the way for more student autonomy and engagement throughout the lesson. Three tips can help teachers achieve “the loyalty to learning we want!”
The negative tone and unkind remarks adolescents use with one another make it tough to develop a classroom sense of community. They won’t learn to communicate appropriately without explicit instruction, write Samantha Layne and Susanne Croasdaile. Learn how UDL strategies help.
The decision to give students “extra credit” should be closely tied to a teacher’s reasons for grading, says teaching coach Barbara Blackburn. Do you grade to measure understanding, provide accountability or compare students? She includes a “redo” tool – her preferred option.
Students’ languages are one of the most effective tools they have to achieve academically, writes language specialist Tan Huynh. When we create space for heritage languages across the learning experience, we help students understand content and more fully express themselves.
