Class Discussion / Heart of the School
by Rita Platt · Published 09/09/2019 · Last modified 11/27/2019
Students love to talk! And that’s mostly a good thing, if teachers can harness the natural social drive of tweens and teens “and use it to pull the wagon of content learning through whole-class discussions.” Try Rita Platt’s proven step-by-step map to discussion success.
Rita Platt’s Working Hard, Working Happy is a quick read, with many useful ideas about creating a learning culture in your classroom and school. Any teacher who wants students filled with joy and self-motivation needs to read this practical book, writes Kimberly Higgins.
If we want our students to be readers, we have to let them read, writes principal and reading teacher Rita Platt. We have to give them time for the kind of reading that is guided by curiosity, joy, and love of story. Platt shows exactly how her school made this work.
Jennifer Serravallo’s new book on reading conferences is a must-have if you’re ready to up your teaching game during independent reading time, writes Rita Platt. Her organized approach and bonus online resources provide everything teachers need to have quality conferences.
NBCT and new principal Rita Platt shares the five beliefs that make up her teaching philosophy and serve as the framework of her new book Working Hard, Working Happy. Learn what she “knows to be true about teaching and learning” and why you might want a credo of your own.
Are you a multitasker? Do you use interesting examples to make learning more relatable? Do you teach to learning styles? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be interested in Five Teaching and Learning Myths Debunked, says principal Rita Platt.
What a difference a year makes! Rita Platt reflects on takeaways from her first year as a principal with observations that may buoy other new and aspiring school leaders: avoid your office, encourage laughter, recognize that all staffers play essential roles, and much more.
In response to kids just being mean or in instances of downright bullying, teaching children to be calmly assertive can help. Rita Platt shares strategies that students can use to stand up for themselves and others – learning the difference between tattling and reporting.
Students who love to read: that’s our goal! Rita Platt’s school makes open library access a top priority, with impressive results. She spent eight years as librarian before becoming principal and shares proven ideas to create an efficient and flexible kid-led operation.
Chris Weber’s useful book, Behavior: The Forgotten Curriculum, An RTI Approach for Nurturing Essential Life Skills, seeks to help schools implement MTSS for behavior in a systematic, practical way, with or without formal adoption of PBIS, writes principal Rita Platt.
