Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Technology

Assessments: Pen Pals Part Two

Read Part I “Assessments: Upgrading the Age Old Practice of Letter Writing” here.  In this time when school securities are threatened by unmitigated attacks, technology in education serves to open campuses between distant communities. A recent pen pal project entered a second phase of practice with letter writing and Skype. It has served to distract […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Uncategorized

Assessment: How to Create Learning Tasks that Lend to Better Understanding

One of the hardest parts of teaching is learning how and when to assess your students.  In colleges across the country there are entire classes that teach aspiring teachers how and when to assess.  However what happens after you create the assessment? How do make sure students are able to accurately complete their assessment? These […]

Posted inElementary School, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, New Teacher Bootcamp

Assessments—Using Incentives to Change the Image

Assessments…it’s almost become a dirty word in education.  Those of us in the trenches know assessments are necessary and have a purpose.  We understand there are different types of assessments that guide our instruction, help us focus students on their learning objectives, and show us where re-teaching and extension need to take place.  Everyone has […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum

Let's Just Sit Down and Talk! The Socratic Discussion: Creative Implementation of Common Core Assessment

One of the most misunderstood aspects of implementing Common Core standards is that they are about learning goals, not methods.  This opens up lots of possibilities for including the standards in assessments across the curriculum.  The standards currently include core skills and knowledge in Reading, Writing, and Math.   However, the idea is not to limit […]

Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, New Teacher Bootcamp

A Pocket Full of Assessments: Using Quick SIOP Strategies to Check for Understanding

One of the biggest contemporary challenges of teaching is a classroom that is not only significantly overcrowded, but also packed full of students at all levels of learning abilities, English language speaking and reading skills, and emotional maturity.  Mix all that together in one classroom and any teacher, new or veteran, has the potential to become very […]