As product placement ads invade more of our visual space, educators can use the trend as a hook to engage students in critical thinking about what it means to be media literate. Expert Frank Baker uses the NBA’s 2016-17 plans for jersey advertising as an example.
Book Reviews / Vocabulary Instruction
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/09/2016 · Last modified 11/25/2019
Joanne Billingsley’s Making Words Real provides specific, detailed instructions for teachers to use when introducing a vocabulary strategy. Anne Anderson recommends her systematic approach to card sorts, sample lessons, sentence starters/stems and more.
Believing that real-world student projects are “essential for deeper learning and investigation,” MS lead teacher Sandy Wisneski secured funding for a sustainable hydroponics program. Learn about the development process and the PBL activity’s first-year results.
Rethinking how we construct our emails and how email fits into school culture can lead to time-saving and clearer communication. Organizational expert Dr. Frank Buck offers simple strategies to improve the way educators exchange vital and not-so-vital information.
In “Text Structures From the Masters,” educators Gretchen Bernabei and Jennifer Koppe did the hard work for English and social studies teachers of grades 6–10 when they collected 50 quality, nonfiction mentor texts and created an easy-to-follow lesson structure for each one.
What motivates teens to innovate in STEM? Anne Jolly researches the background of young inventors who are making a difference for our 21st century lives and identifies some common experiences that helped them be successful, including the support of teachers.
Book Reviews / Response to Intervention
by MiddleWeb · Published 05/19/2016 · Last modified 11/12/2019
Best Practices at Tier 1 will help teachers learn how to create brain-friendly environments, develop a powerful core curriculum by shifting to more collaborative teaching, apply differentiation strategies, and use data to inform instruction, says Linda Biondi.
Adolescents have a strong attraction to parody, says media literacy expert Frank Baker. Luckily the Common Core includes parody as a genre worthy of study. Baker shares resources and ideas to involve middle graders in some fun as they learn important skills.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Makerspace Learning
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 05/16/2016 · Last modified 12/02/2019
Cheryl Mizerny is excited about the maker movement and all that it implies for education, but she hopes educators will take school-based makerspaces in the direction of incorporating 21st century learning goals, avoiding rote projects, and promoting innovation.
“We hate email,” says productivity expert and former principal Frank Buck, “because every time we check it, someone is adding to our already-crowded schedule.” In the 5th post in his Productivity Suite series, Buck shows educators how to keep your inbox empty.
