I realized almost immediately that I wasn’t getting through to my Kindergartners… again. I asked a class full of 5-year-olds to identify feeling words, and I got the same generic responses – happy, sad, mad. Year after year, I struggle with how to teach my primary students, especially my English Language Learners, to use precise […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum, TeacherEdprenur
CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST: THE QUEST FOR PUBLICATION
The following is the second piece of a four-part series entitled “TeacherEdprenur” and will follow the journey of how a simple idea about teaching became the subject of a new book, The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Instruction that Works in Every Generation, published by Rowman & Littlefield next month (May 2016). Non-stop self-loathing. Interminable rejection. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Special Education
Making it Interesting: 5 Easy Ways to Differentiate Processes
All students have different interests, and the fact remains that most students are not interested in worksheets about math, language arts, science, and social studies. Think back to when you were in school and the best lesson you’ve ever been taught by a teacher. What made that lesson stand out to you? Was it the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Want to Revolutionize American Education? PLEASE DON’T!
The following is the first piece of a four-part series entitled “TeacherEdprenur” and will follow the journey of how a simple idea about teaching became the subject of a new book, The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Instruction that Works in Every Generation, published by Rowman & Littlefield next month (May 2016). “It is always a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Want to Revolutionize American Education? PLEASE DON'T!
The following is the first piece of a four-part series entitled “TeacherEdprenur” and will follow the journey of how a simple idea about teaching became the subject of a new book, The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Instruction that Works in Every Generation, published by Rowman & Littlefield next month (May 2016). “It is always a […]
Posted inHigh School, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Literature Circles: Empowering Students
Ideally, by the fourth quarter, I want to be unnecessary in my classroom; I hope that my students are so self-sufficient that I can partner with them instead of lead and coach. To me, this idea is the mark of true learning; the control baton has passed from me to them. I need three-quarters to […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Common Core, Educational Apps, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Technology
Creating Excitement In The Classroom With Hyperdocs
Have you explored using hyperdocs in your classroom? I hadn’t either, until I attended the CUE Conference in Palm Springs, California. The CUE Conference is the largest (this year topped 7,000 attendees) and oldest (35 years and still going strong) conference for educators interested in using technology to make a positive impact in their classrooms […]
Posted inCommon Core, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
The NAEP Chicken and the Common Core Nonfiction Egg
What came first…the NAEP Chicken or the CCSS Egg? In 2009, there were revisions to the reading content in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the “largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.” The revisions increased nonfiction reading. In 2009, the development of the the Common […]