6 Simple Ways to Make Test Prep Activities Less Boring
State testing season is upon us…or maybe not? Perhaps you’re one of those teachers who plans ahead and incorporates best practice test prep activities all year long. Either way, test…
Proven Ways to Make Your Teaching Stick and Increase Learning!
Inside this Post: Tired of students forgetting what they’ve learned? Research emphasizes the value of previewing and reviewing. Keep reading for practical, manageable ways to build spacing into your classroom. Travel…
Using Student-Created Graphic Organizers to Elevate Learning
Inside this Post: Need to deepen student investment in graphic organizers? Try differentiating. One of the highest levels of choice we can offer is student-created graphic organizers. Find the details in…
How Specialized Graphic Organizers Can Encourage Critical Thinking
Inside this Post: Are your graphic organizers getting stale? Unlock the power of specialized graphic organizers, and watch critical thinking soar. (I’ll also be speaking about this topic at a…
3 Ways to Inspire Students with Eye-Catching Graphic Organizers
Inside this Post: How to maximize student engagement with a simple secret…eye-catching graphic organizers. This is the second post in a series about graphic organizers. Want to start at the…
Modeling with Graphic Organizers: A Surefire Way to Increase Learning
Inside this Post: If your experience with graphic organizers has been less than enchanting, stick around. This post has simple, specific suggestions for modeling with graphic organizers to increase learning!…
8 Ways to Make Student-Led Discussions More Productive
Looking to improve student-led discussions? While these conversations may be packed with some of the most powerful skills we can teach students, they certainly pose plenty of challenges. Consider, for…
Best Practices | English Language Arts | Instructional Strategies | Lesson Design | Reading | Writing
How to Use Text Sets to Build Background Knowledge
Searching for engaging ways to build students’ background knowledge? Perhaps you need an activity to help students prepare to read a complex text, to write an essay, or to engage…
10 Simple Ways to Engage Quiet Students
You’ve just asked one of the most thought-provoking questions of your teaching career, and you look out upon a sea of faces with anticipation. Fully expecting students to exude wonder…
What is Meaningful Homework?
What is meaningful homework? In middle and high school, stereotypical visions of students weighed down by heavy backpacks and up all hours of the night completing packets and studying for…
How to Get Started with Sketchnotes in the Classroom
So you want students to do something…to show thinking…to process learning…and to communicate information. But, maybe you’re tired of recycling the same approaches and just need something refreshing. Enter sketchnotes….
How to Create Classroom Norms with Students
Inside: Students need to learn how to take charge of their learning. This involves developing independence and metacognition…along with some focused classroom norms that give students a voice. I taught…
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