So many of us teach the way we were taught. We may not even realize we’re doing it. And that means certain practices get passed down year after year without question, methods that are such a normal part of the way we do school, we perpetuate them without realizing there are better alternatives. Today I’m […]
So many of us teach the way we were taught. We may not even realize we’re doing it. And that means certain practices get passed down year after year without question, methods that are such a normal part of the way we do school, we perpetuate them without realizing there are better alternatives. Today I’m
Close your eyes. Imagine a school where we focused on the strengths of English language learners. What if these students’ cultures, languages, countries of origin, unique skills, and life experiences were held up as assets? Let’s decide this school year to focus more on these strengths and assets and the unique potential of our English
What does the word “study” mean to you? Have you ever told your students to study for a test? Have you ever actually taught them how to study? It turns out studying can be taught. And two cognitive psychological scientists, Yana Weinstein and Megan Smith (whose name has changed since this post to Sumeracki), have
The term “culturally responsive teaching” has been around for decades, but it seems to have gotten more attention in recent years. That’s good news: With our classrooms growing more diverse every year, teachers should be more interested in how they can best teach students from different backgrounds. The not-so-good news is that in some cases,
The mobiles hang from the ceiling like jewelry, filling Ms. Jackson’s language arts classroom with bright, twirling colors. They make a pretty canopy over the room, and if you look closer at the individual dangly bits on each mobile, you’ll see that they contain words: Alliteration, says one, and below it hang four more pieces
hen I was a “regular” classroom teacher, my knowledge of specific learning disabilities was limited at best. My teacher prep program required one course in special education; it was very broad, very general, and I barely remembered anything I learned in it. This means I was woefully ill-equipped to support the students in my room
If you’ve opened this post hoping to read something brand-new, you might be disappointed. There will be no fancy bells or whistles here. That’s because a lot of the strategies we’re going to talk about are things you’ve already done; some teachers have probably been doing them for decades. You just might not have known
Istill remember the feeling I used to get when looking at the paperwork for my students who had ADHD, the forms listing the accommodations I would need to make for them—usually extended time on tests and maybe preferential seating. The feeling could be best described as uncertain. I understood what these small changes looked like
Teaching is a complex, multifaceted, dynamic profession. New ideas, new tools, and new strategies are coming at you all the time. On top of that, changing circumstances compel you to make adjustments to the way you normally do things. With all of this spinning around you, it can be hard to find a clear path.
When I ask my students what color this is, most of them say “green.” Then I contrast that green with similar colors, and ask them, “How would you describe the color now?” Then kids generally shift to more specific descriptors like “dark green,” “forest green,” or “emerald green,” and they add names for the other
Ask most adults if they remember anything they learned in high school, and what you’re likely to hear is a lot of different versions of no. Ask most high school kids if they remember what they learned last year, and you’ll probably get the same answer. Although exceptions certainly exist, it’s not a stretch to
