Google Docs can make writing tasks more efficient, providing teachers and students with templates, commenting features, voice typing, and more. While 30 million U.S. students now use Docs, Curtis Chandler says many do not take full advantage of its “power-up” features.
Full to the brim with useful information, master teacher Jim Burke’s book is a must-have for teachers who are looking for ways to unpack their literacy standards and find deeper meaning. Erin Corrigan-Smith says it’s also ideal for those who want quick access to the essentials.
NCTE’s National Day on Writing (#WhyIWrite) is Friday, October 20. To help celebrate, we’ve pulled together a dozen of the many great posts about teaching writing that are freely available at MiddleWeb. You’ll find ideas, inspiration, and ready-to-use activities here.
With slanted news, social media and “reality” TV ceaselessly attracting the attention of young people, literacy consultant Frank W. Baker underscores the importance of Media Literacy Week, urging all educators to teach students how to analyze media “as text.”
Math students retain more and gain confidence when they understand why a process works. But some are more interested than others in learning about the Why. Michelle Russell considers how she can best include the Why as students learn the How of problem solving.
Digital Citizenship / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 10/10/2017 · Last modified 11/13/2019
By expanding our focus in school from digital citizenship (safety) to digital leadership (effective voice), teacher and author Jennifer Casa-Todd says educators can help students learn to harness social media in powerful and meaningful ways, for the common good.
Scaffolds / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Valentina Gonzalez · Published 10/08/2017 · Last modified 12/14/2019
If we provide scaffolds for the students who need it – especially ELLs who represent so many different backgrounds – we can promote independent learning. Valentina Gonzalez offers five easy-to-implement strategies to help make lessons ELL-friendly in any content area.
As new teachers develop routines for their classrooms, Class Tech Tips founder Monica Burns says it’s important to plan how they will check for understanding each day to gather information and inform future instruction. She shares three simple class assessment tools.
Reading is reinforced when students have hands-on experience with the ideas they find in informational texts. ELA teacher Brian Cook’s after-school drones program helps students explore flight, consider privacy and safety issues, and learn more about new careers.
Book Reviews / Response to Intervention
by MiddleWeb · Published 09/28/2017 · Last modified 11/18/2019
Catherine Collier’s strategies for building a multi-tier system of support (MTSS) fit into the planning, implementation, and monitoring of interventions to meet the needs of all students. Educator Rita Platt finds the RTI-focused book a useful addition to teachers’ resource shelf.
