Have you jumped into Socratic Seminars in your classroom yet? If not, I’ve got a few easy tips to help you get started – including a ‘real life’ demo video! If you’re already using Socratic Seminar, maybe I’ve got a way you can snazz yours up and take your students’ thinking a little bit deeper. […]
Instruction & Curriculum
From Literature Circles to Inquiry Circles
Last spring, my 8th grade students were involved in Literature Circles where they read one of six Young Adult Historical Fiction selections. The Literature Circles took about five weeks to complete. Previously, I wrote a series of articles that cover procedures, mini-lessons, and assignments and assessments. One of the major areas I worked on with my […]
Distrust of Facts Highlights Need to Return to Primary Sources
“Get your facts first,” quips satirist Mark Twain. “Then you can distort them as much as you please.” These words were first put to print in an 1899 Rudyard Kipling interview of the timeless sage, but they could have just as easily been written yesterday. In an era where the news makers are jabbing back […]
How to Teach Parents to Help their Children Develop a Growth Mindset
Research has shown that when students have a fixed mindset they are less likely to find success than those with a growth mindset. As teachers, we can do many things to encourage a growth mindset. However, parents play a huge role in the lives of students, so coaching them using growth mindset language is essential […]
Five YA Novels to Understand Refugees
Staying informed by watching and discussing current events is one way for students to know what is going on in the world outside their immediate universe. Sometimes those events seem so far away–even when they are happening in our own country. Research has proven repeatedly that reading builds empathy. Whether the latest current events about how […]
Using Banned Books to Teach Resistance
Guest Post By Elena Heglund What might The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Anne Frank the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, all have in common? This […]
Close Reading and Deep Thinking = “Textploration”
My focus in this piece will be on inspiring truly close reading and deeper thinking as a facet of ELA instruction. When a reader can go beyond recall; go beyond simple inference and analysis, and go spelunking deep into reflection on and evaluation of story characters and elements (while using the text to support their […]
Podcasts in the Classroom: Benefits, Tools, and Tips
In part one, I talked about some of my experiences with and the reasons for using podcasts in the classroom. This week, I will show you some uses, tips, and tools for using podcasts. Podcast Uses and Benefits Real-World Connections while Going Farther with Content Let’s face it. Sometimes our students are disconnected and board […]