Ideas: For Your Classroom
Engaging Learners in Online Productive Group Work
Engaging Students in Online Productive Group Work In our urgency to put content in front of our students, it's easy to slip into assigning a lot of independent work, which can be a shock for students who are used to guided instruction and collaborative work. Here are...
Teaching Students to Think: YOUR QUESTIONS
Teaching Student to Think: YOUR QUESTIONS This playlist of videos was created based on questions I often get from teachers who are doing the tough, complex work of designing instruction that helps students learn to think. In these videos, I tackle their questions and...
Unit Design: A Think Aloud
Unit Design: A Think Aloud Sometimes unit design can feel like a liberating opportunity to imagine learning in new ways. Other times it can feel overwhelming, because we're filling out the appropriate documents, but not necessarily understanding what's underneath...
Using Shared Slide Decks for Reflection & Discussion
Using Shared Slide Decks for Reflection and Discussion This strategy isn't about the tool as much as it as about the possibilities. I'll share how I'm using it in this particular example, but also offer several iterations to jump start your own thinking. Determining...
Voice Memo Feedback for Students
Voice Memo Feedback for Students I've been using voice memo feedback for students since I was a student teacher lugging around cassette tapes for each student so I could record feedback for them. Now, there are all kinds of apps and extensions we can access to give...
Student Well-Being Survey
Student Well-Being Survey If you want to check in, at any time, on your students' well-being, here's a quick way to use a GoogleForm and a few questions to help. Although I created this at the start of the Covid-19 school closing, it could be useful throughout the...
Creating Poetry Comics
Creating Poetry Comics Are you looking for a way to help students visualize the poetry they're reading? This is an assignment I love to use that helps students visualize what they're reading as part of their analysis process. In addition to what I've shared in the...
Alternatives to Using the Word “Great”
Alternatives to Using the Word "Great" Ubiquitous at best. Overused and cliché at worst. Nevertheless, I was in love. But it was the kind of love affair that reminds me of a July 4th sparkler: you get a quick reaction, but then it forgettably burns out too quickly. I...
Four-Corners Reading Day
the STRUGGLE: It took me awhile to make sense of “reading days.” I know it sounds ridiculous, but I struggled to find the sweet spot between “teacher work day” (which I knew it wasn’t) and “stations” or “mini-lessons” (which I also knew it wasn’t). Ultimately, I...
Purpose Driven Discussions
the STRUGGLE: I’m constantly working towards creating more purposeful and authentic discussions in class. I’ve written about the way grading discussions don’t work for me and have offered other ways I’ve tackled this same question. I’ve wondered what a simplified...
Paint Chip Discussions
the STRUGGLE: I often have trouble determining how engaged students are in discussion. There was a point (long ago) when I tried to use some kind of graded discussion as evidence of participation and engagement. Largely, all I ended up with was something that felt...
From the Archives: Concept Attainment
This lesson is part of my “From the Archives” series: 20 lessons in 20 weeks from 20 years of teaching. Enjoy! Context & History I originally taught this lesson in my first year of teaching to 10th grade students. As part of a longer investigation into a “Teaching...
TOPIC: Assessment
Engaging Learners in Online Productive Group Work
Engaging Students in Online Productive Group Work In our urgency to put content in front of our students, it's easy to slip into assigning a lot of independent work, which can be a shock for students who are used to guided instruction and collaborative work. Here are...
Teaching Students to Think: YOUR QUESTIONS
Teaching Student to Think: YOUR QUESTIONS This playlist of videos was created based on questions I often get from teachers who are doing the tough, complex work of designing instruction that helps students learn to think. In these videos, I tackle their questions and...
Unit Design: A Think Aloud
Unit Design: A Think Aloud Sometimes unit design can feel like a liberating opportunity to imagine learning in new ways. Other times it can feel overwhelming, because we're filling out the appropriate documents, but not necessarily understanding what's underneath...
Using Shared Slide Decks for Reflection & Discussion
Using Shared Slide Decks for Reflection and Discussion This strategy isn't about the tool as much as it as about the possibilities. I'll share how I'm using it in this particular example, but also offer several iterations to jump start your own thinking. Determining...
Voice Memo Feedback for Students
Voice Memo Feedback for Students I've been using voice memo feedback for students since I was a student teacher lugging around cassette tapes for each student so I could record feedback for them. Now, there are all kinds of apps and extensions we can access to give...
Student Well-Being Survey
Student Well-Being Survey If you want to check in, at any time, on your students' well-being, here's a quick way to use a GoogleForm and a few questions to help. Although I created this at the start of the Covid-19 school closing, it could be useful throughout the...
TOPIC: Differentiation
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
TOPIC: Disscussion
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Follow along on social media: