Teachers can help students explore important connections across different genres and subjects using “text sets” – collections of books and other media with a common theme. In this MiddleWeb article, teacher educator Amanda Wall details an assignment creating text sets for ELA and math.
Too much close reading is boring, say Mike Fisher & Danielle Hardt, as students comb through fiction, constantly analyzing lots of text. Ask them to read and write digital microstories. They’ll build evaluation & synthesis skills and have some fun.
Thomas Newkirk urges us to consider how, in a test-crazed culture, we can stay focused on what matters for our students. Holding On To Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones is not a literacy ‘how-to’ book, says Jenni Miller, but important nonetheless.
Education consultant Mike Fisher invites readers to be active participants in a Curriculum Brainstorm, using popular music and a song’s associated music video as a way to engage close reading of text, comparative analysis & use of digital tools.
Former teacher Paddy Eger offers detailed training guidelines to prepare adult assistants for the classroom, says reviewer Karen Linch. “I spent many years learning to be a teacher, so it makes perfect sense that parents and volunteers need to be trained.”
Filmmaker Kesa Kivel worked with middle school students in an after-school YWCA program to produce a short film about the slavery experience in the United States.
The greatest gift we can give our students is the confidence and know-how to teach themselves. Joseph Ball shares a project that does just that.
Amy Benjamin successfully shows content teachers how to focus on reading comprehension with their subject material, says reviewer Anne Anderson.
MS math teacher Kathy Felt makes her case for the Common Core standards and the need for educators to “teach mathematics in deep and engaging ways.”
Future of History / Historical thinking
by Jody & Shara · Published 08/29/2013 · Last modified 11/28/2019
Our history bloggers describe a beginning-of-course activity that helps students think about what history really is – by experiencing the work historians do.
