If schools are always being “held” accountable, asks leadership coach and veteran principal Matt Renwick, how will students ever learn to “be” accountable? When do they get to make important choices that affect others and themselves? Three shifts can change the paradigm.
Jennifer Bogard and Lisa Donovan share ways to humanize social studies and bolster student engagement with history by pairing Library of Congress primary sources and arts-integration strategies. Try their lesson plans for altered text, soundscapes, and sketching to observe.
This January, don’t hastily jump on the bandwagon with the latest decorating fad. Design a place where students want to learn and grow. Your classroom environment may be one of the most powerful tools in your teaching toolbox, writes teacher and former marketer Kelly Owens.
The question Tan Huynh hears most often from English language development (ELD) colleagues is “What can we do when our co-teacher is resistant to collaborating?” After many years of failing with persuasion, Tan has developed a “Traffic Light” approach that works much better.
Sean Ruday and Katie Caprino show that by centering students in assessment, literacy instruction can be tailored to meet their needs and asssure their learning is more authentic and relevant. Theresa Wood says the book is a blueprint to “put the verb back into ‘teacher’.”
Anne Jolly is thankful for so many remarkable STEM educators – willing to step out and try new cutting-edge ideas and practices, take risks, and educate kids in ways that grow skills, knowledge and leadership. Jolly explains why industry respects STEM teachers and students too.
Learning focused schools have a collective growth mindset and a shared belief that every student can learn and grow. Education leaders Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share six characteristics that define such schools and offer ideas about how to accomplish each one.
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.
Kasey Short recommends offering middle schoolers YA novels with multiple narrators as a way to enrich opportunities for content instruction and SEL. They’re also really engaging and fun for kids to read. Included: sample questions and activities and lots of suggested titles.
Lauren Buell’s 8th grade ELA team works with students on a comprehensive unit that helps all participants develop speaking, listening, writing, reading and life skills as they prepare end-of-year TED-style talks. She shares the unit’s impact once students enter high school.
