One school’s approach to rethinking advisory From our first days on campus, it was clear that the school had once been committed to an advisory program. There were dusty advisory binders in the corners of classrooms, and many teachers remained passionate about the aims and some features of the program, but it no longer had
Two Quick Tips for Helping Students in Anger With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to write about anger. Sounds about right. Before I was a middle school teacher and administrator, I was a young adolescent. And as I’ve mentioned on previous posts, my middle grades diet was a balance
Read More… from A is for Anger: How and Why Should We Teach it?
A case for primary source analysis. Jay Leno: Debbie, where you from? Debbie: South. South San Francisco. Jay Leno: South San Francisco. OK, and you’re a citizen of the United States? Debbie: I sure am. Jay Leno: Born here? Debbie: Sure was. Jay Leno: What country did we fight in the Revolutionary War? Debbie: [Pause] France. Jay Leno: What does the Emancipation Proclamation mean What
Part One: What is the hardest part of your position? This is the first of a six-part series exploring the relationships between administrators and teacher leaders. Curated by Kristen Engle, Laurie Rigg, and Megan Vosk of the AMLE Teacher Leaders Committee) Teacher leaders and administrators work closely to ensure that the mission, vision, and values
Returning to the text invites deeper learning and understanding Much of the writing we assign our students is public writing—writing to communicate with others. Writing-to-learn is personal writing, writing that helps students increase comprehension of texts—fiction and nonfiction—in all disciplines. Reader response compels readers to interact with the text and makes visible for readers and
Read More… from After-Reading Response: Taking Readers Back to the Book & Sharing What We Read
5 Tips to Support Students and Staff in the Grand Narrative Homework vs. no homework. Soft skills vs. hard skills. Chunky vs. smooth peanut butter. BYOD vs. low tech. Axe body spray vs. breathing normally. Ugh. I typically avoid writing or speaking about binary relationships because nothing is ever that simple. Especially not in the
Read More… from Major and Minor Characters in the Story of School