Want to start a writing club to reach beyond curriculum boundaries and provide a comfortable, social experience for all writers? Sharon Ratliff did just that and shares what worked for students as they took the lead in setting it up and now meet regularly across grade levels.
Amber Chandler not only says what many educators are thinking but lives her classroom truth in the The Flexible SEL Classroom. Her compelling case for everyday SEL in middle schools is supported by a multitude of activities to benefit students, writes teacher Jenni Kramer.
Middle grades math teacher Mona Iehl applies five of author Gholdy Muhammad’s strategies to unearth joy as her students experience the December classroom scramble. Mona suggests activities to help realize each strategy with your students. Try musical math and much more!
The inquiry-fueled methods that pique student interest, invite critical thinking, and support deep learning can also bring joy and discovery to instructional coaching. Pam Koutrakos shows how collaborative inquiry-based coaching cycles can yield powerful results for everyone.
With the goal of having new middle school students feel seen as individuals while also feeling like a part of something bigger, Megan Kelly offers activities her sixth graders enjoy while getting to know one another. The games can be expanded or contracted to fit your time.
Language specialist Tan Huynh offers a framework called the 3 C’s of Equity – Community, Curriculum and Culture – to guide schools on the journey to provide an equitable learning experience for their multilingual learners. To start, avoid deficit-based models that segregate.
Writing a decade ago, Jody Passanisi and Shara Peters wondered if online learning could replace physical school. Now as they evaluate the costs to students of pandemic driven education, the teachers turned school leaders have their answer: Content in a human vacuum can’t sustain itself.
Short-term projects with specific techniques and ample examples fill Shelley Harwayne’s book, Above and Beyond the Writing Workshop. Helene Alalouf recommends the book’s authentic and interesting writing assignments complete with scaffolds and templates.
In Unconventional Leadership, Minnesota principal Jessica M. Cabeen offers principals extensive resources to move beyond the office and become more connected, collaborative, and creative leaders, writes social studies teacher and school PD director Becky Johnson.
Future of History / Social Emotional Learning
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 08/30/2020 · Last modified 09/11/2020
As Lauren Brown heads back to school for a year like no other, she considers how to combine academics and SEL support across the content areas. Along with activities for the first days of virtual or physical class, she offers three guidelines to engage kids all year.
