Close reading is engaged reading. It’s the opposite of read-as-fast-as-you-can. It encourages readers to read for deeper meaning and requires taking time to understand what is read. Here are a few tips to focus your thinking about close reading: Practice close reading yourself. As you read ask why questions and open-ended questions to move beyond… Read More »
Show and Tell is more than talking about your weekend or the new puppy, especially with older students. It’s an early step in scaffolding (early steps in breaking down learning into chunks). It involves talking, looking at vocabulary and information as well as previewing text. So how does Show and Tell fit in? Learning by… Read More »
We want students to dig in, become engaged in their education. So what do we need to do to foster that outcome? 1. Make activities meaningful to the students. All of us become more engaged in activities when we feel a personal connection, a tie to our lives or our experiences. Find the connections; allow… Read More »
Opinion EdWeek.com/blogs by Jal Mehta and Robert Rothman In this blog, organized by Harvard education professor Jal Mehta and Washington-based education writer Robert Rothman, students, teachers, administrators, researchers, and policymakers explore the practice and policy issues around expanding deeper learning. « Leaders as Learners: Exploring Equity | Main Five Secrets to Operationalize Deeper Learning By… Read More »
While the United States settles into refining their Common Core State Standards, let’s take a quick look at a few of the why’s that make it important. * The benchmarks are international in nature and meant to reflect real world skills students need to complete in our global economy. * The standards hold teachers and… Read More »
The Search-Institute.org writes interesting articles for educators and families. Their article on February 3, 2016 addressed ways to support students as they take on m. Here are a few of their comments with my suggestions added onto each item: “Play with” the problem. Brainstorm, manipulate the facts, build models, step outside the proverbial box before… Read More »
The following is part on an article from Search Institute: Character strengths can be hard to talk about in the abstract, so here are some provocative questions and examples that stimulate hypothetical conversations that unpack character strengths and how young people think about them. These can be used as icebreakers in classrooms or groups, during… Read More »
When spare minutes arise during a task, this type of activity fits in easily. It requires no paper, pencil, pen or book. All you need is creative thinking. Ask one question. Use wait time to encourage better answers. Start a discussion. Examples: 1. A. Which is the most interesting animal and why do you think that: a… Read More »
Do as I say, not as I do is NOT the best way to share yourself with kids. Instead, it’s important to model behaviors you want your children or children in your care to emulate. So, what are those behaviors? (1) Manners How we treat others says a lot about who we are. Kids are… Read More »
Looking for great teaching/learning materials that are free or inexpensive? Checkout these two: TeachersPayTeachers.com and TeachersNotebook.com to see ideas for parents and teachers. You will find pre-K through high school sections of worksheets, ideas and books recommended by teachers. You will also find my Educating America books and materials as well as my primary freebies… Read More »