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Sad But True. When writing this song, I’m pretty sure Metallica wasn’t thinking of standardized test-cheating scandals, nor the corruption on Wall Street; however, it may be appropriate to title this Jon Stewart piece Funny But Sad But True. Washington Post write-up and video link found here.
Article here. Thoughts on other contributing factors to the declining interest in the teaching profession?
The Blue Devils certainly gave Bucky Badger and the rest of Wisconsin a bad case of the basketball blues. Over here in NJ (where there weren’t even any teams in the tournament!), fifth-grade students were busily researching each team, working with collaborative documents, and learning to utilize Google Maps and QR Codes. To begin this […]
A way to use Google Forms for data analysis (in 5 steps): Currently, in a Connected Mathematics unit called Data About Us, my fifth-grade class is learning about data: collecting data, organizing data, and interpreting data. Striving to provide authentic learning tasks, my goal was to incorporate my students’ enthusiasm for March Madness into this […]
In the beginning, God created the reading and writing workshop. Now reading and writing workshop was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the student desks, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the classroom. And God said, “Let there be conferring notes,” and there were conferring notes. About a week later, […]
iPads vs. Chromebooks? I believe each have their own merits in advancing student learning. Our district decided to go full throttle with Google Apps. I’m fortunate enough to have each student equipped with a Chromebook this year. As such, I find myself using Google Forms ALL the time. This has immensely helped in my ongoing assessment of student […]
Whether teaching math and science, reading and writing, history or any subject area, I think it’s sometimes easy to forget the power of observation. No matter the subject area, making and documenting observations is essential to better supporting and advancing student learning. The term kidwatching personally conjures up images of primary students. Maybe studentwatching would be a […]
Buzzwords. Formative assessment(s) can be included in education’s current list. There’s a good reason. Formative assessment, coupled with teacher feedback, is a powerful way – if not the most powerful way – to advance learning outcomes. Formative assessments help teachers catch misunderstandings and guide students in the right direction BEFORE the test, or whatever the […]
Guided reading groups, book clubs, lab groups. As teachers, we’re constantly managing groups. Check out how Chronicle can help! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAP-DYfuFZA
As we approach the Super Bowl, I’m reminded of how we like to quantify just about everything. Football is perhaps the epitome of this. 40-yard dash times, verticals, bench presses, squats, sacks, interceptions – you name it. But there are obvious intangibles. A wide receiver may not have made a single reception, yet drew double […]
Why document student conferences? To be honest, sometimes I just don’t feel like doing it. Sometimes I don’t feel like working out either, but I do it because I know it holds value. Value. Perhaps that’s part of the problem. Maybe some teachers just don’t see the value of conferring notes. I think teachers who feel this […]