English Learners: In the bustling library at Kennedy High School in Richmond, CA, Carlos, a determined senior, recently embarked on an inspiring journey. He was preparing a presentation for the upcoming Latinx Heritage Month Celebration, eager to present options for cultural games that his peers could vote on. He came to me to help him […]
English Language Learners
Over 11 percent of students in the United States—more than 4.8 million kids—are English language learners (ELLs), and the number is on the rise. Though these students do not learn differently than their native-English-speaking peers, they do have particular educational needs.
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
The Headlines About Student Reading Levels are Sobering, But There’s Hope if We Change the Conditions
This morning I opened my laptop, and in my inbox, there were two article titles on reading levels that immediately gave me anxiety. Hear me out. What Teaching Secondary English/Language Arts Used to Be Like As a former High School English teacher, my goal was to make my students think critically about the world around […]
Posted inBook Review
Teacher Fired for Teaching Dear Martin
A former North Carolina teacher sued a North Carolina public school in federal court, alleging that he was fired from his job for teaching students the novel Dear Martin about racial justice after white parents complained. On Monday, June 12th, Markayle Gray sued Charlotte Secondary School Inc. in North Carolina in federal court Monday. The allegations include […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
From STEM, Let’s Pivot to the BRANCHES of the Humanities
There is no doubt that the neglect of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – better known as STEM in educational circles – has come at our own peril. Our students’ achievement in mathematics is surely not where other Americans expect it to be, and the comfort of anyone saying “I hate math” is embarrassing. As […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Acknowledging and Celebrating Bilingual and Multilingual Students and Families
April is over. However, we acknowledge, celebrate, and honor multilingual and bilingual students and families continues. As we come to the end of another month, some might see it as a couple of months closer to summer break, others as another month closer to the holidays, but some see it as an opportunity to embrace […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching Writing to Secondary Students is Hard, But It’s Necessary
During my first year of teaching, I had a brilliant student named Joshua*. Joshua was a Junior who was wise beyond his years. He loved to talk about books. He loved to debate different topics in class. However, it wasn’t until we read the cult favorite, The Color Purple, during the first nine weeks when […]
Posted inPedagogy
Freshen Up Your National Poetry Month Lessons with These New Releases
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! As an English language arts teacher of many, many years, poetry has always been one of my favorite subjects to teach my students. Poetry brings out the best in students’ language abilities and challenges them to write in a way […]
Posted inPedagogy
Use Kagan Strategies to Create Student-Centered Classroom
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! My students began to get a little “off” as the second semester approached in my classroom. Off task, off behaviorally, off academically – call it what you will, but they were not the cooperative, attentive fourth graders I had […]