“Let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind,” President Obama urged Americans in his State of the Union address Feb. 12, 2013. Each year our politicians take time to reflect on progress, change, and evaluate what needs to happen for America to grow and thrive. […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum
Classroom Activity Breaks – Reap the Benefits!
Research continues to show that activity breaks in the classroom can lead to improved focus and performance by our students. As a Physical Educator, I get tickled when a classroom teacher drops off their students and says, “Run them! They are WILD today!” This happens more frequently during the winter months when recess time and […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
Concept vs Speed: The Math Timed Test
[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”] Accuracy, speed, process, meaning…these are all words that have been passed around the age-old discussion of math time tests. Do students need to be able to prove their worth with sixty […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Opinion, Uncategorized
"White Hat" and "Black Hat" Reformers
This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. In one of the articles linked today, Alexander Russo tells of a “former reformer” who is now, as a parent, on the receiving end of a harsh reform measure: the forced consolidation of his child’s school. I’m sympathetic. I’m also reminded that, despite the eager cruelty of some, all […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Special Education
Understanding Dyslexia and How to Help Our Students Succeed
We process the sounds of our alphabetic language as we read and write. The three necessary phonological processing abilities are phonological awareness, phonological memory and the ability to retrieve auditory information from long term memory (referred to as rapid naming). A deficit in some aspect of phonological processing is considered to be the cause of […]
Posted inBook Review, Featured, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Book Review: Vocabulary StrategiesThat Work: Do This – Not That!
[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”] In Vocabulary Strategies That Work: Do This-Not That! Lori G. Wilfong does an amazing job of bringing to light the importance of students actually learning vocabulary and making it useful instead […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, Uncategorized
English Teachers Should Have More than a Footnote
The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) wants students to read in every discipline from elementary school through grade 12. The standards demand an increase in the reading of informational texts, the genre formally known as non-fiction. So where is the passage that concludes that English/Language Arts teachers will continue to teach fiction and literary non-fiction […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Social Studies
Teaching Human Rights
by: Ric Domingo Like any profession, we teachers have to keep up-to-date with our craft. Content, methodology and, of course, testing, all go through phases of creation, disfavor, re-creation, and evolution. One trend that is very likely here to stay, especially for the social studies and humanities, is “global” education. State and federal standards don’t […]