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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 […]
Grit, self-control, curiosity. These are all qualities we undoubtedly wish to instill in our students. With curricular demands continuing to grow, the time we have to devote to character education sadly seems to dwindle. But can we develop the best and the brightest without devoting sufficient time to character education? Even if we could, what would […]
A great video with key points outlining the difference between descriptive and evaluative feedback, as well as formative vs. summative assessments. If you haven’t already, check out Chronicle to see how it can help you better implement these best practices. Use Chronicle’s powerful note-taking capabilities as a tool for providing and following up on descriptive […]
Education is a one-shot deal for our students. As teachers, we can often try new things, but are we wasting time trying new things that don’t work? Dylan Wiliam discusses these ideas and others as he talks about his book, Embedded Formative Assessment. I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Wiliam about a decade […]
As readers and writers, it’s important to know how a character’s decisions affect the direction of the story. This can lead to quality discussions about character traits and overall character development. A character’s decisions can also point to the developing theme(s), which students sometimes have trouble determining. Better Plotting: 7 Ways Your Character Can Screw Up […]
Includes multi-sensory teaching to improve grammar from Edudemic.com http://www.edudemic.com/5-tips-for-teaching-young-students-proper-grammar/
An interesting way to teach math using Legos from Babble.com. http://www.babble.com/kid/want-an-easy-way-to-teach-kids-math-try-using-lego/#_a5y_p=2055507
Athletes, businessmen, educators. The competitive edge is a common goal. The deep down desire to accelerate speed, sales, or student growth – this is a good thing. But a coin has two sides. Tails: The competitive edge has an ugly side, aside well-known in the world of sports and business. But how about in the […]
Bad days. We’ve all had them. It’s during these days that a kind gesture of the smallest kind can encourage us to press on, or perhaps change the entire course of our day. I recently received the following email from a parent in response to a conferring note. Here’s how it happened: Google Apps […]
Just as being a fluent reader frees up the brain to focus on deeper comprehension of the text, math fact fluency frees up the brain to focus on higher-level math concepts. With the mastery of math facts comes less time-solving problems, less fatigue, and frustration, less math anxiety. This year one of my SGOs (Student […]
Word Study has become a popular component of many districts’ balanced literacy approach. Donald Bear’s Words Their Way is one of the more well-known programs to provide an alternative approach to traditional spelling instruction. This program includes spelling inventories, administered 2-3 times a year. Having finished our first full week of school, I just administered the first […]