[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] You are different from anyone else, and you are defined by those differences. So are students. Each student will learn and perform differently in any classroom. A classroom of a hypothetical […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Step Up and Teach – Part 1: ELA Reading Standards
The year is 1996. I take a huge shaky breath and walk into the classroom. Smiling a welcome, the experienced teacher directs me to a small table. Ten small pairs of eyes gather around me, anxious and just as unsure as I am. I open up the teacher manual and read from the script. We […]
Let's Talk About Sex, Baby
So, let’s talk about the unmentionable, which should be mentioned before kids start giggling and sneaking around experimenting: SEX. We teach all other three-letter-words when kids are young, so why is this one neglected? Sure, it’s the parents’ responsibility to cover this subject. But the fact of the matter is: most parents aren’t doing this, […]
Eliminate Extra Credit!
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] “Mr. Miller, is there any extra credit I can do?” I hear this question at least once a week. At. Least. Once. A. Week. Despite the fact that I spend the […]
Project Based Learning: Giving Up Control
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] When I hear people mention project based learning I think of releasing control. Teachers tend to prefer being in control. It makes me think of when a child is learning to […]
Say No to Columbus Day And Yes to Indigenous Peoples’ Day
October 14th was Columbus Day this year. I remember that as an elementary student in the late 80s/ early 90s, we would do little projects about Columbus and his ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. My parents have a drawing my younger sister did in 2nd grade of Columbus showing the new […]
Teaching and Modeling Persistence: Setting Goals
Goal: noun; the object of a person’s ambition or effort. Aim: verb; having the intention of achieving. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] If we don’t aim for goals, we may end up where we don’t want […]
Child Development: Seven- and Eight-Year-Olds
This article is part of a continuing series on Child Development. To see Paula’s other articles, click here. You gotta love the life of seven- and eight-year-olds. Let’s take a look into the child developmental areas of these kiddos. Cognitive development: For the most part, in this child development stage, these kids are fairly well-established […]
