Protein Synthesis is actually a fun concept for me to teach. For me, there are 2 barriers you need to cross in order for students to learn protein synthesis:1. Learning about the steps of transcription and translation (the easier part)2. Understanding how DNA translates into gene expression (the harder part) Most of my students do ... Read more
Does staying out of the education reform debate make you out of touch, a peacekeeper, or a self-serving a-hole?
Angry children don't rage for anger's sake. Rather, their behavior is a symptom of a deeper issue. Here's a close look at the anatomy of an angry gifted child, plus suggestions for helping her cope.
Anyone who knows me, reads this blog, or uses my resources knows that I am passionate about differentiation. I think that is because I grew ...
'Veggie Tales' co-creator Phil Vischer says it's inevitable that Christian filmmakers will be forced to address LGBT topics on their shows.
Your new favorite teaching strategy: This pared-down version of learning stations keeps the movement, interactivity and variety while minimizing the prep work.
When you're parenting gifted or twice-exceptional kids, you often feel lost and alone -- like nobody will ever truly get what you live on a day-to-day basis. I felt that way, and it's one of the reasons I created RLL in the first place... I hoped to bring other parents of tough kids together -- and to
Explore in-depth reviews and savvy recommendations of the best and latest educational web tools.Discover how these tools can transform education and inspire innovative teaching.
A digital curation project is a fast way to engage critical thinking in any content area. Here's how it works.
Hi Friends! I hope you are able to enjoy getting ready for that special day we share with others. I love Thanksgiving but I must admit, sometimes with all the preparation of the big day- cooking, setting the table, devising kids’ activities or traveling to...
Are your worksheets contributing to meaningful learning, or just keeping students busy?
Dyslexia the Gift
Confused about differentiating for gifted and talented students? This post offers two powerful strategies to try. Free download included.
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
Explore in-depth reviews and savvy recommendations of the best and latest educational web tools.Discover how these tools can transform education and inspire innovative teaching.
Why I teach comics.
Advice from Real Teachers Series Chances are good that you have at least a few gifted children in your classroom, even if they aren't formally identified as being gifted. These students can be a joy to work with, but it does take a special teacher to know how to motivate them to set high goals
Teaching with the Habits of Mind can be done in many different ways. Here’s a guide with free lesson ideas, video clips, and templates.
Learn how one educator uses G Suite for Education to help students overcome their negative self-images and embrace learning.
Pneumonia is a very common lower respiratory tract infection associated with fever, symptoms and signs of chest pain and other abnormal findings most likely seen on chest x-ray. It is not uncommon to find patients having pneumonia but having the...
source Educational Technology and Mobile Learning
By teaching students to 'drive their own brain' through metacognition, we provide a concrete way to guide them think about how they can best learn.
Find the latest teaching resources and ideas for the elementary and middle school classroom. Interactive notebooks, classroom management, and more
An interview with Michael Linsin of Smart Classroom Management about setting up and implementing a classroom behavior plan that works.
I've been asked to share my assessments and those that I use. Assessments are snapshots of a child's current ability to perform a certai...
Whether you're brand-new to block scheduling or you've been doing it for years, these strategies will have you handling those 90 minutes like a boss.
What if your next unit were self-grading and had students clamoring to work ahead? Yep, you read that right. Your next unit, whether it's skills or facts, could be presented to students in a visible trail of learning that compels them to keep moving forward. In fact, in our classroom, we're doing a game board system for GRAMMAR, and students are doing above the minimum to compete, succeed, and be creative. I've been slowly improving this system for five years in my classroom, and it has manifested into a really cool grammar program for my seventh and eighth graders. Now, I'm finally ready to share it with you. What madness is this? As any quick Google or Edutopia search will tell you, game-based learning is hot right now. A lot of people are looking at different styles of gaming to think about how we can hack the brain's motivation, reward, and learning cycles to help our students make engaged progress. My take on gaming is a basic one, at least for now, but it works. The game board I created is basically the full cycle of learning in disguise: introduce new information, practice, formative assessment, respond to assessment, and repeat... until a final summative assessment happens at the end of the unit or academic term. ...But when presented in the game board, suddenly all this learning isn't just a pile of work anymore - it's a compelling trail that makes students say things like "Challenge accepted!" Example 1: Grammar When I teach The Grammar House Cup, students follow a learning sequence for each grammar topic, gathering "points" for their houses along the way. (Learn more in this blog post.) Example 2: Essay Writing What if you sequenced your "game board" to teach all the parts of an essay, alternating between instruction and writing? The game board could have built-in checkpoints so that you are giving rough draft feedback (OR actually grading the essay pieces) as you go! It also opens up self-paced learning and a writing workshop format. Get the EDITABLE templates! I hope you've been inspired to think of options for how you could reframe or reformat your teaching and learning sequence! Check out my game board download on Teachers Pay Teachers if you want to try a game board program out for yourself! What do you think of this game board madness? Tell me in the comments below!
The Unfair Game is a totally unfair twist on Jeopardy that your students will LOVE to hate! Learn how to play and find sample game boards in this post.
How to use education technology with the Socratic method - http://t.co/pCzt7pl7j4 #edtech
'Do you think you can fit through this index card?' My daughter looked at me like I was crazy as I asked her this question and held up a 3x5 index card. She emphatically answered no, and was very curious when I told her that I could show her how she could very easily fit through an index card. What followed was one our favorite science experiments for kids as we learned how to make an index card chain. Why this experiment is fun for kids With this science experiment, kids will learn about how physical objects change. As a bonus,
Students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities often learn differently and require an alternative approach to learning basic reading. What's more, these young learners are working full tilt while sitting in the classroom and by the time they get home and have to complete their homework, they are mentally spent. As a result, tagging on remedial reading lessons to a cup that is already overflowing can be enough to turn these kids off to learning altogether. How Do We Help These Students Learn the Core Skills Needed to be Successful Readers? First, use a remedial program that is backed by time, testimonials and research. The Orton-Gillingham approach to reading is a well-established and researched approach that offers a multisensory, sequential, incremental, cumulative, individualized, and explicit approach. There are many programs that are available. Click here to learn about a selection of these programs. Second, employ an individualized approach as each student has unique challenges and gaps in knowledge. If you need to assess the areas that require remediation be sure to use an assessment tool such as the Good Sensory Learning Reading Assessment Third, the process needs to be fun and engaging. Many programs required students to slog through boring lessons, complicated rules, and bland workbook pages. Many of these concepts can be instructed through cute memory strategies and fun activities. You can find many fun supplemental materials here. Fourth, integrate a student-created, colorful, language arts handbook or guide. Click here to learn more about this method. Fifth, help students learn how to visualize what they are reading. Many struggling readers do not have the cognitive space to use their mind's eye when reading, therefore, developing this skill to automaticity is key. To learn about the research behind visualization and learning as well as how to teach this needed skill click here. Sixth, and most important, supplement all reading programs with card and board games that allow students to practice the concepts they are learning. This brings the fun factor into learning and can help to nurture a love for reading. Where Can I Find Multisensory and Fun Reading Games? At Good Sensory Learning, we offer a large selection of downloadable card and board games that work with any Orton-Gillingham or phonics based reading program. In addition, we have many other supplemental multisensory reading activities and materials. In fact, we just unveiled a new website. Let me know what you think! Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Go Dyslexia, in Ossining, NY. To learn more about her products and services, you can go to https://godyslexia.com/, www.goodsensorylearning.com, www.dyslexiamaterials.com & www.learningtolearn.biz
We all have those students that raise their hand and say, “I’m done, now what do I do?” We also have those who finish with their work and decide its time to
If we know what works to motivate students, why are so many students still unmotivated? These five questions will help you determine if your practice is really in line with research.
I've been teaching gifted and high achieving students for the past 15 years. In that time, I've come to have a great understanding o...
Today’s post features a response from Kimberly Kappler Hewitt and a number of suggestions from readers on differentiation strategies.
Whenever I evaluate a child who has been referred for assessment of probable ADHD, I also include a screening instrument for dyslexia as part of the evaluation. Conversely, if a child who has been properly diagnosed with dyslexia is referred to me for further assessment, I assume that she/he may also have dyslexia/ADHD comorbidity.
We need to understand that gifted children are not just “bright” – a highly subjective label. 15 signs of a gifted child--read on to learn.
Last week, I blogged about Bloom's Taxonomy and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). (See April 2, 2012.) My friend, Andrea, over at One Teacher's Take...is Another's Treasure commented that she also uses Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Levels and Marzano's Dimensions of Thinking, both of which are new to me. So, I immediately googled them. Here's what I found. . . Webb's DOK Levels look like this: What I like about Webb's model is the 4 levels versus Bloom's 6. It's always nice to condense things, isn't it? At least in my realm of preparing dozens of lesson plans each day, less is more! The 4 level descriptors (the inner circle) boast newer and somewhat clearer concepts. Then my eye wanders over the outer circle. Ouch! Another sea of verbs to swim through. The 4th level, presumably the quarter in which we strive to spend most of our time, is curiously short on verbs compared to the other 75%. Are those 8 verbs/phrases just more succinct? Or, do they reflect the limitations foisted upon teachers by the Common Core of Teaching Standards, standardized testing, and uniform time lines? Surely that triad has bearing on it. Perhaps there is more to be considered, however. Is the 4th level truly where teachers strive to be? I hope, in my heart of hearts, that the answer is YES. However, it is possible that some, if not many, teachers find little motivation to work on level 4. Their efforts are not evaluated by standardized tests, depriving them of extrinsic approval. Paychecks remain static whether teachers push their students toward extended learning or not. Indeed, rewards are esoteric. Certainly the dedicated, professional teacher experiences intrinsic satisfaction. S/he may even be fortunate enough to receive accolades from students, parents, colleagues, and/or administrators. Is that enough? In a future blog, I'll discuss Marzano's Depth of Knowledge Levels. Until then, I'd love to hear your thoughts about teaching HOTS.
Read 81 Fun Critical Thinking Activities by ESOL Club on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!
Yup, I just used the G-word. Did you cringe just now, when you read it? To be honest, I still cringe a little too. As the mother of a profoundly gifted and twice-exceptional child, I think that gifted is a terrible label; it brings to mind images of beautifully-wrapped packages with neatly tied bows. Our gifted reality is sometimes beautiful but complicated and challenging and anything but neat. When folks hear the word gifted, they tend to make assumptions.
Want your students to have rich, complex conversations about the texts they read? This method leads to the kinds of classroom discussions you thought only happened in college.
Sometimes, we're using project-based learning and other times, we're just doing projects. Here's a project based learning ideas checklist to help clarify.
Are you curious about how to give your child a Thomas Jefferson Education? And why it's unique from other styles of homeschooling?
Outlawing the words "I'm done" changed my classroom! Find out how to reform fast finishers and improve the quality of work in your room!
Session Essential Questions 1. How can educators encourage high levels of cognitive response in classroom activities and projects? 2....
Here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging.
