Tagged: student voice

A Poetry Resource Sure to Engage Students

Linda Rief’s Whispering in the Wind shows how poetry helps us listen to the voices of others and allows us to share our voices. She offers practical advice, concrete examples, and specific resources to expand the teaching of poetry by creating “Heart Books,” writes ELA teacher Kasey Short.

Have Students Organize the Classroom Library

After a year of having her classroom book collection in pandemic disarray, Katie Durkin was ready for a restart. “I’d been researching the benefits of promoting student voice and choice by having them assist in organizing an in-class library. Now I wanted to give it a try.”

4 Keys to Engagement in Social Studies Class

Award-winning social studies teacher Ron Litz shares some of the ways he makes student voice a top priority in his history classroom – using teaching strategies that focus on engaging students with the past and allow them to demonstrate their learning in a variety of formats.

Students Write Better for Authentic Audiences

Writing for authentic audiences motivates students to do their best work, says English department chair Kasey Short. Public audiences offer a practical reason to revise and edit and allow students’ ideas to have real impact. See her tips to transform routine assignments.

How Voice and Choice Evolved in My Classroom

When Brent Gilson began teacher training he vowed to one day give his students more choice and voice than he ever had in school. Follow his journey from early experiments to his growing success, thanks to insights gained from mentors like Kylene Beers, Kelly Gallagher and Marisa Thompson.

A Caring Principal’s Tips for Lawnmower Parents

Lawnmower parents have an irresistible urge to clear away all the stress and struggle for their children. The result, says principal and NBCT Rita Platt, can be kids who don’t learn to mow their own paths. Read her tips for parents, educators, and the kiddos themselves.

This Strategy Promotes Real Reading Discussions

Using the Reading Response strategy, Marilyn Pryle writes, class time becomes a time of meaningful discovery. Students do not passively ingest information but actively create ideas through their own thinking, writing and discussion. Teachers facilitate, clarify and celebrate.