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.
Ben Curran offers a future classic on lesson planning as a reflective, deliberate, on-going practice built with precision and thought. Teacher Linda Biondi thinks pre-service teachers, teacher educators and classroom veterans will all benefit from his practical advice.
Differentiation / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 05/21/2017 · Last modified 11/25/2019
Talk of differentiated instruction in large, diverse classrooms makes many secondary teachers feel defensive. Math educator Michelle Russell is no exception, but because “I know it’s important” she’s set out to find strategies that will better serve all her learners.
Consultant Suzy Pepper Rollins loves dogs and ponies, but she’s not eager to see them in the classroom. Here she shares tips that will help principals, coaches and others who do “Learning Walks” set the stage for authentic observations of student and teacher work.
“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.
Educator James Alan Sturtevant is ready with quick, low cost or free hacks for those days when teachers need to generate curiosity and enthusiasm. His 50 tips and tools are clearly laid out and further explained through individual podcasts, says teacher Linda Biondi.
Difficult Topics / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/09/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
As teens respond en masse to the Netflix series Thirteen Reasons Why, the story of a girl who chooses suicide, Mary Tarashuk considers how difficult topics can be part of learning for her 4th graders and how their read-alouds and personal writing can build empathy.
Fads are an integral part of the adolescent social fabric. Middle schoolers “embrace each passing fancy with a zeal we wish they brought to their school work,” writes Laurie Lichtenstein, leaving teachers at their mercy. Unless, of course, you turn the table.
end-of-year learning / It's Not Easy Being Tween / Spring Learning
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 05/07/2017 · Last modified 05/02/2024
As summer approaches, finding a balance between post-testing fluff and demanding, multi-week projects can be a challenge. Middle school teacher Cheryl Mizerny shares a bevy of her own classroom-tested activities that are brief, enjoyable and likely to spur learning.
