Meaningful Math / Year End Reflection
by Michelle Russell · Published 06/18/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
With her classroom door closed for summer, Michelle Russell looks back at the goals she set 9 months ago: to know her students in a meaningful way, to use formative assessment effectively, and to bring more joy to her classes. She shares her successes and some fails.
Whitaker, Zoul and Casas present a clear four-part framework to build leadership skills, stressing the importance of having a vision and taking the first step. Educator Laura Von Staden notes the standards relate both to teachers and to leaders identified by title.
In an era of fake news and “alternate facts” how do we teach kids to read responsibly? Respected literacy authors Kylene Beers and Robert Probst share three Big Questions that students can use to anchor themselves as they examine nonfiction and their own values.
Building Community / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 06/12/2017 · Last modified 11/25/2019
Here’s your invitation to stay connected and continue learning through the summer months. Instructional coach Elizabeth Stein looks at four essential questions for co-teachers and welcomes you to the conversation to share your observations and experience. Bookmark it!
Teachers at Florence (AL) Middle School use common planning time to discuss many instructional strategies. Once a month they look at student work together, across grades and subjects. Here, instructional coach Jill Edwards shares six video clips and related resources.
Reading Nancie Atwell and Anne Atwell Merkel’s The Reading Zone, 2nd edition, is like getting a letter from a good friend and mentor, says ELA teacher Amy Matthes. Find reading workshop case studies to help readers become passionate, skilled, and habitual.
Jenny Grant Rankin’s First Aid for Teacher Burnout: How You Can Find Peace and Success is the perfect salve for the tired teacher’s soul. This short book is packed full of great ideas to relieve, rejuvenate, and energize, says teacher-librarian Rita Platt.
Close Reading the Media / Infographics
by Frank Baker · Published 05/30/2017 · Last modified 11/21/2019
Increasingly information is being conveyed in visual terms, and the flashy graphics can both clarify and mislead. Media literacy expert Frank Baker has teaching ideas to help students think more deeply about the infographics and visual data flooding our brains.
Baby Boomer teachers are rapidly retiring and being replaced by members of Generation Y or “Millennials” who hold very different beliefs about the workplace and the way principals work with them. Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share ideas to help them thrive.
“Since many students are in my class multiple times,” writes ELL teacher Wendi Pillars, “I’m always seeking new topics to tie literacy skills together.” This year one theme was “Zero Hunger” through sustainable agriculture. A perfect hook for a unit on eating insects.
