For teachers who are looking for guidance on how to teach informational texts at the high school level, there is a model lesson on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address at the EngageNY website. The text of the speech delivered by Lincoln on November 19, 1863, is short enough to fit on two pages or two bronze plaques on a memorial […]
classroom strategies
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
The Art of Storytelling
Life is a series of stories. By definition, a story is a chain of events. In both formal and informal education, storytelling is an excellent teaching strategy. Think about it – teaching English, History, Reading, Science, Social Studies, Art and even Math can be enhanced by the use of stories. We’ve all told them, whether […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Teaching Through Trickery: A Snapshot of Theory vs. Reality
During my first year of teaching high school, I inherited a remedial reading class that consisted of about eighteen unmotivated juniors. Having just finished a graduate program in educational psychology with emphasis placed specifically on reading and literacy, I saw this as an opportunity to take all of those research-based best practices and make readers […]
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, 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 […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Using Threaded Discussion to Generate Peer Feedback
Peer feedback is an essential tool to build stronger writers. But how exactly does one encourage fruitful peer feedback? I struggled with finding the best method that would stimulate meaningful comments among my students. At first, I would have students exchange papers and use generic checklists with items like “Is the thesis statement clear?” or […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Written Text or Audiotext in the Classroom? We Should Have Both
I am passing out Brave New World to the 10th graders. “Is there an audiobook for this?” a student asks. “Why not just read the book?” I respond. “I can’t read this without help,” explains the student. “I’ll see,” I sigh. I admit that in the past I had been a little frustrated at these requests. I […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, Uncategorized
Why I Don’t Celebrate Black History Month In My Classes
I am a black woman. I majored in African American Studies in college. I wrote my dissertation on the integration of Africa-related topics in Georgia’s world history textbooks and curriculum. I used to look forward to Black History Month when I was younger because that was the only time I saw “me” in the school […]