“Appositive?” “What is an appositive?” “Is that even a word?” These were snippets of conversations overheard in a teacher’s book study at Liverpool High School, a large, suburban school north of Syracuse, NY. The assembled teachers, from a variety of disciplines including World Languages, English, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics and Special Education, comprise a group studying […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Administrators: Don’t Move Ineffective Teachers to a Lower Grade; Help Them Improve
Guest Writer: Shawnta S. Barnes The great school mix up is one strategy elementary principals use to remove ineffective teachers from upper elementary grades, the grades where state standardized tests are taken. Apparently, moving these teachers to an ‘easier’ grade will magically fix the problems they faced in their upper-grade classroom. There are a few […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Staying Engaged and Motivated Around the Holidays
As teachers, we often talk about ways to keep our students engaged and motivated during the holiday season. With lengthy breaks just around the corner, it can be easy for them to lose steam. But what about for us as teachers? The reality is that teachers, just as much as students, look forward to time off. […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Why I Teach
In my family, teaching has become a time-honored tradition. My mother taught English, French, and German to high school students. She was a dedicated minister’s wife until she died of brain cancer in 1984. I became a social studies teacher in 1983, so I am now in the middle of my third decade in education. […]
Posted inCommon Core
3 Steps to Helping Students Develop College-Ready Writing Skills
Teachers are forever reminding their students that what’s going on in their classrooms will be ‘important to know in high school and college’ – but how many students actually believe them? I remember one student who replied to me when I said that: “Yeah, that’s what they say every year. And it’s never really true […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Using Experts in My Classroom
When I think about using experts in the classroom, I think about an experience my fourth graders had last year. It was roughly a month into the school year. We had built a community of learning, but at the same time, we were still working on certain fundamentals like listening respectfully to the speaker. But […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Civics Teacher Conundrum: Teaching Trump
By George Cassutto Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016 and inaugurated on January 20, 2017. He holds the highest office in the land, and for most scholars, he is the “leader of the free world” as long as the United States holds the status of the last remaining superpower. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Interview Tips from the Other Side of the Table
Whenever my school has interviews for an open position, I do my best to be able to be a part of the process. Our candidates are always really impressive, and there are just a few things, for me, that set certain candidates apart. I’ve come up with four areas that could make or break a […]