Increased funding for STEM programs in the new ESSA has heightened interest among proponents of other curriculum areas in getting a piece of the STEM money pie. Anne Jolly warns that diverting funds away from real STEM initiatives could be bad for the nation.
Writing comes alive in Paula Bourque’s book “Close Writing: Developing Purposeful Writers.” Bourque supports her strategies for engaging youngsters in writing, revising and editing with classroom stories, study guides, and videos, says teacher Linda Biondi.
Paid ads and social media give lots of exposure to Presidential candidates. They also get free visibility from magazines, though they don’t always like what they see. Frank Baker offers a magazine-cover activity to help students build media literacy skills.
After a decade of forgoing the activity, Sarah Cooper recently revisited hand-drawn concept maps as a means to further engage her 8th graders in US reform movements. Here she shares ideas she’ll use to deepen the successful assignment next time.
Recent research finds that hesitant adolescent writers seldom respond positively to mentor texts by “stellar” peers. Instead, poet and educator Sara Holbrook suggests a co-creation framework that scaffolds the student writing process in a collaborative poetry workshop setting.
Even before you view the lessons and become acquainted with the many cross-curricular strategies the authors of Smuggling Writing share, you’ll discover a matrix that unifies the strategies, literacy strands, samples, lessons, digital applications and CCSS.
In The Gift of Failure, teacher/writer Jessica Lahey calls on parents to value failures along the way to help children build growth mindsets. She also effectively describes how educators can work with parents, reports retired principal Mary Langer Thompson.
Future of History / Project Based Learning
by Jody & Shara · Published 03/22/2016 · Last modified 11/25/2019
Project-based learning in history class can be challenging as teachers juggle a content-laden curriculum and limited class time. Shara and Jody and their tech colleague Doug Hinko set out to find practical ways to make PBL work with a unit on medieval China.
Effective group work sparks student engagement and builds communication skills for the future. But how do teachers structure teamwork activities so kids are cooperative and everyone learns? Instructional expert Barbara Blackburn offers a step-by-step blueprint.
Blending technology into teaching has been an ongoing and often intimidating process for Gen X’er Mary Tarashuk, but it’s also ripe with possibility. And tech PD is often opportunistic. Take Mary’s recent chat with her teen daughter while doing the dirty dishes.
