Annenberg Learner Search Results

Episode 11: Reading Partners with CEO Adeola Whitney

…and so many other great organizations, why we all need to exist. Nati Rodriguez [07:40] Thank you for sharing that and for connecting that to Reading Partners and this organization that’s powered by volunteers. I assume a strong sense of social justice is why volunteers are part of Reading Partners. Why reading specifically, and not…

Episode 13: Discovery Education with Matthew Woods, DEN Star

…just been great because one, it provides an opportunity to connect with other amazing educators across the country and a lot of them who are using Discovery Ed products and using in that format, but also, just collaboration, right and being able to have thought partners out there to think about different strategies, to talk…

Episode 9: When Schools Work with Bruce Fuller

…behind a shared set of basic proficiencies, tied to early literacy, reading, reading comprehension, writing. This was not without controversy because he did buy a fairly regimented curriculum called Open Court. He sent in monitors to keep track of teachers – were teachers teaching the curriculum with great fidelity and allegiance. This regulation was controversial,…

Episode 14: LabXchange with Marty Samuels

…a teacher who’s more inclusive and antiracist teacher, someone who can support all the students to succeed. There’s a book that I’ve been reading, Racism, Not Race, by Professor Joseph Graves and Dr. Allen Goodman and that’s a completely stunning book. I was also reading another chapter by Dr. Robert Palmer on persistence frameworks and…

Episode 20: Californians for All with Josh Fryday

…have much time to watch more than that. In terms of reading, I love reading biographies and histories. I love reading because there are these characters, wonderful characters. I just read and finished the book about Ulysses Grant, the former President and also the General during the Civil War. He’s someone who you hear about…

Episode 29: Understanding Wildlife Conservation and the Importance of Early Math Interventions

…kind of funny that I turned into a now focused-on-math type of person. But a few years ago, when everything was science of reading, and we were doing all of the science of reading professional developments, and just all this training around reading, I’m sort of a rebel. And so, I was like, “Oh, my…

Episode 17: 2022 Teacher of the Year with William Morejón

…accepted in February or early March 2020, and then all of a sudden – COVID. I felt like I got thrown into the trenches because I had no idea what teaching online was going to be like. I had no idea. All the strategies and things that I had developed in my first six, seven…

Episode 16: Neuroscience & the Classroom – Making Connections

…that something like nationally, 38% of high school graduates are reading at a twelfth-grade level, that as much as 20% of normal children are going to have difficulty learning, no matter how you teach them. And so that, I think helping teachers understand that when children are not successful, it doesn’t mean that they’re doing…

Episode 24: Social Media Literary with Rob Greenfield

…that we’re all going to be facing and are facing now. Nati Rodriguez [26:23] What are you reading, watching, or listening to these days? Rob Greenfield [26:25] I’ve been reading a lot about AI, especially with the ChatGPT rollout situation. Thinking about artificial intelligence and asking some of the same questions about it. If we’re…

Episode 28: South LA Best Buy Teen Tech Center with Thai Buckman

…of those areas. Right now, I’m reading The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer. I think intentionality is critical and I’m trying to be more intentional about every single thing I do. I still have work to do, I’m still growing in that area – reading that and taking those principles into my life. Also,…

Episode 21: Teen Talk App with Franny Reynolds

…weeks. I’ve seen ones that happen right away, or I’ve seen ones that has been going on for a couple of weeks, but it’ll tell you the starting date of the thread. As an advisor, we can scroll through the whole thread, reading from the very first advisor’s response and the entire conversation, up until…

Episode 31: Bringing STEM Education into the Classroom and Making Music Education Relevant

…Thank you, Angel. I’m going to shift gears a little bit here. What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to these days?  Angel Beamer [21:53]  I’m not really reading anything other than articles that I see online about STEM education. That’s all I’m doing. I’m too tired at night. I just close my eyes…

Episode 19: 2022 Superintendent of the Year with Dr. Vivian Ekchian

…for sharing that. Anything else that you’re reading, watching or listening to right now that you’d like to share? Dr. Vivian Ekchian [29:56] With my principals and my cabinet, we’re reading the book, The Listening Leader by Shane Safir, and creating the conditions for equitable school transformation requires listening. We’re on chapter nine now, and…

Episode 8: Best Buy Teen Tech Centers with Chheav Em

…Em [30:22] I hope so. I’ve definitely learned a lot from all my colleagues. Nati Rodriguez [30:28] What are you reading, watching, or listening to these days? Chheav Em [30:32] I’m always listening to Taylor Swift. I might take a couple of days off and then I’ll just be right back at it. I don’t…

Episode 12: Statistics In Schools with Victoria Glasier & Jessica Palmer  

…we have and we’ll be creating new ones based on different stories that are going on, whether that’s in history or math. One of the activities that I find really interesting and this is for an elementary set. We talk about what names mean, and we do a narrative about reading books and just talking…

Episode 22: Games for Change with Luis Saltos

…reading, watching or listening to these days? Luis Saltos [20:46] I just started reading a book called Things to Do and Make in the Fourth Dimension by Matt Parker. Again, I saw this book, in one of my MFA – the Math for America has a library, I saw that book, and it caught my…

Episode 7: Communities In Schools Los Angeles with Elmer Roldan

…brings experience from United Way of Greater Los Angeles, where he served as an Education Program Officer before being promoted to Director of Education, Programs, and Policy. In these roles, he led strategies to increase high school graduation rates in LA County. His experience also includes Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition, where he worked to improve…

Episode 27: LA84 Foundation Part II with Jason Morgan

…do you do? You just move and walk around all day?” I was like, “Oh, no, you just have to be there and experience it.” Those workshops just had a profound impact. It even made the other presenters more playful in how they presented their strategies. I was just hooked, and I was like, “I…

Episode 23: Californians for All with Tania Salinas

…grammar. There are some students that I have that don’t know anything much. It could be probably because of the pandemic. It was online, and maybe they didn’t get the subject very well. Some of them I start from the basics, like letters, sounds, and reading, from kindergarten. Nati Rodriguez [05:04] How many hours a…

Episode 15: Florida Principal of the Year, Adam Lane

…think without that academy piece, kids are going to get lost and possibly lose an interest in school. Nati Rodriguez [30:50] I’m just going to switch gears here. What are you reading, watching, or listening to? Adam Lane [30:55] I’m not too big on watching or listening. I like listening to music. I’m an 80s…

Episode 3: High-Impact Tutoring with Susanna Loeb

…into a couple of focus areas. Those areas at the Annenberg Institute are on student and well-being and educator well-being. There are so many different aspects of development for students that are important. While it’s really important to learn reading, math and science and core academic content, it’s also important to make sure students have…

Episode 18: 2022 Teacher of the Year with Michelle Stradford

…as something that we keep as a part of their day. Nati Rodriguez [23:31] Just going to shift gears here. What are you reading, watching, or listening to lately? Michelle Stradford [23:36] Oh, gosh. I am a huge reader, but I have found myself in the middle of a very long fantasy fiction series, which…

Episode 1: Two Bit Circus with Dr. Leah Hanes

…the pandemics and what the impact has been on the foundation and Two Bit Circus in general? Leah [9:17] Thank you for reading that page because it’s most important to me in particular the radical niceness. Mya Stark, who came to us from LA Makerspace, was the one who put that out as a possibility…

Episode 10: Griffin Education with Tim Griffin

…clam up, right? They’re going to freeze because that can be scary. Once they see that the other kids are reading out loud and that I’m being super positive about it and finding something positive to say about everything they share, then they open up. I try to steer them towards older songs that are…

Episode 26: LA84 Foundation with Renata Simril

…degree. I’m thankful for my public education in LAUSD schools, and certainly sports helped me stay connected. Nati Rodriguez [30:15] What are you reading, watching, or listening to these days? Renata Simril [30:21] I’m not watching anything because I’m pretty busy these days, but I picked up a book just recently on my travels in…

Episode 33: ExpandLA’s Work to Increase Access to Quality Out-of-School Time Programs for Youth

…goals and I think they got the right person for this work. Next with lots of areas and I’m excited to see where ExpandLA goes in the next couple of years. If you have another minute, I have one more question that we like to ask our guests. What are you currently reading, watching, or…

unit: Reading: Big Ideas

…knowledge reconciles with the author’s purpose. Reader factors include background knowledge and experiences related to a topic; purposes for reading; questions asked by the reader before, during, and after reading; knowledge and use of strategies applied while reading that support understanding key concepts; and the motivation the reader has to begin and stamina the reader…

Lens on Literacy

…on the important aspects of a literacy classroom. The Literacy Teaching Practices you’ll see require varying levels of teacher support, from more (as in read-aloud) to less (as in independent reading). Each practice addresses one or more of the Essential Components of Literacy Development, which we’ve adapted from the findings of the National Reading Panel….

Key Terms | Teaching Reading: K-2 Workshop

section: Extend Your Knowledge | New Literacies of the Internet

…these technologies into our classroom. –Donald Leu Internet technology has affected a number of areas in the reading classroom. First, a significant difference in reading strategies is evident when students read on the Web when compared with traditional print text reading. This affects our methods of teaching in computer-mediated environments. In addition, we need to…

unit: Bringing It All Together – Science

…to focus on reading skills—and independently on writing skills—but as students gain proficiency, the next level is for them to always be reading and writing. Cultivating a classroom norm where students easily and frequently move back and forth without really compartmentalizing reading and writing as separate literacies can have a powerful impact. Reading and writing…

unit: About This Course

Reading and writing are no longer the sole responsibility of the English classroom, but a critical part of how students explore and understand complex concepts across all disciplines. By examining general disciplinary literacy strategies and practices—and then focusing more deeply on their own discipline—middle and high school teachers will gain insight into how to support…

unit: Reading in English

section: Examine the Topic | Connecting School and Home

…the fact that it is grounded, almost exclusively, on school-and teacher-based models of education. Are parents to respond to their children’s oral reading as teachers do? Investigations of the ways in which parents naturally assist children during children’s at-home oral reading can allow researchers to identify parental strategies that are, and are not, supportive of…

video: William Finds His Base: A Student Case Study

…and William said, ‘I can read this whole thing!’ All of a sudden, a light bulb went on. His writing increased, his mechanics increased, his reading increased; his hand is up in the air. He feels like a new kid.” Stacey Soto, second-grade teacher, commenting on William’s progress after moving to a new reading group….

section: Extend Your Knowledge | Fluency and Word Study

Examine the Topic Fluent reading, an important goal of literacy instruction, promotes comprehension and personal response to reading. What are the components of fluent reading? How can teachers provide instruction and practice in fluency to ensure effective and interactive comprehension? Read the following statements on the role of fluency in reading instruction. Think about how…

unit: Big Ideas in Literacy – English

…social studies classes, do we still need English class?” The answer is yes! Although all content areas share some reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking practices, English is still unique. In English class, students study the English language and all its contexts and manifestations most directly through reading, thinking about, and responding to literature of…

video: Cassandra Becomes a Fluent Reader: A Student Case Study

Student Case Study: Cassandra Student: 1st grade, age 6, November Birthday School: Young Achievers School for Science and Mathematics, Boston, MA Teacher: Hildi Perez Class Size: 20 Students “When I think about Cassandra back in September and where she was, and how hard she’s worked throughout all this time to get where she is, there…

section: Examine the Topic | Supporting the English Language Learner

Examine Cueing Strategies In this section you will explore an activity to better understand reading as an English Language Learner. Reading is a complex activity that involves interactions between the reader and the text. A reader’s prior knowledge and experiences play a significant role in effective reading and comprehension of text. The more we know…

unit: What Is Disciplinary Literacy?

INTRODUCTION When students enter middle and high school, their teachers expect that they have learned the basic skills and strategies for reading and comprehending text. Students who are still working to develop these proficiencies may need assistance from their classroom teachers and, in some cases, from specialists in reading or special education, to support their…

section: Extend Your Knowledge | Assessment and Accountability

…about it in read-aloud, literature study, guided reading, and independent reading. Attend to students’ reading level. When students are beyond their appropriate level, they are not able to develop effective strategies. Provide numerous opportunities for rereading texts for different purposes. Include numerous opportunities for pairs or triads to discuss and evaluate oral and written responses….

video: Readers as Individuals

…says her classroom design is strongly influenced by the reading and writing workshop model described by Nanci Atwell in her first edition of In the Middle: Writing, Reading, and Learning With Adolescents (1987). The theory underpinning this model centers on the importance of students learning to make informed choices about what they read and what…

section: Before You Watch | Building Comprehension

…texts. Now, think about the strategies you use to teach comprehension as you answer the following questions: What comprehension skills or strategies do you emphasize? What teaching strategies or practices do you use to teach comprehension? What materials do you use? What are some specific activities you use to engage students in reading and responding…

session: New Literacies of the Internet

How has the Internet changed traditional views of literacy instruction? What reading strategies are necessary to comprehend text on the Internet? What challenges do teachers face in providing instruction in the new literacies in grades 3-5? In this session, literacy expert Donald Leu addresses the reading and writing strategies required for using the Internet and…

interactive: Identifying Reading Strategies

video: Close Reading for Understanding

…students, and students with learning needs receive support from the school’s special education assistant. In the featured lesson, Mr. Robertson led a reading workshop. He started with a mini-lesson, pre-teaching any new words and introducing a story, and then allowed time for guided practice and independent reading. The reading workshop ended with the whole class…

unit: Disciplinary Literacy: Big Ideas

Introduction Adolescent students are expected to develop knowledge and understanding of each discipline in school through very focused instruction that includes attention to related reading and writing practices, collaborative discussions about ideas, and ongoing assessment of learning. Within each discipline, these practices differ due to the nature of the content, the structure and language of…

video: Thinking About Thinking: Metacognition

…understand what metacognition is and how it improves learning. They will become familiar with two aspects of metacognition: reflection and self-regulation. Developing metacognitive skills – Teachers will understand what it means to develop a culture of metacognition in the classroom. Teachers will become familiar with strategies for helping students regulate, monitor, and guide their learning….

session: Fluency and Word Study

Students in the intermediate grades continue to develop as fluent readers, using specific strategies for reading and understanding new words. How can teachers support their students’ development of fluency, vocabulary, and decoding strategies? What instructional practices promote fluency and word study? In this session, literacy expert Richard Allington discusses the importance of fluent reading, vocabulary…

video: Assessment-Driven Instruction

…Grade: First Class Size: 20 Students Lesson Dates: December 11 and 12 “Reading is more than having one skill … reading is about having a balance of different skills. We need to work on making connections, making sense, making meaning of what you read. I think that’s the most important part of reading.” Hildi Perez…

section: Before You Watch | New Literacies of the Internet

…examines how Internet reading requires new comprehension strategies and new literacies. Coiro, J. “Reading Comprehension on the Internet: Expanding Our Understanding of Reading Comprehension to Encompass New Literacies.” The Reading Teacher 56, no. 5 (February 2003): 458-464. Integrating Literacy and Technology in the Curriculum: A Position Statement of the International Reading Association (PDF) This position…

section: Extend Your Knowledge | Creating Contexts for Learning

…in classrooms where children excel, they spend a greater amount of time reading and writing, than in classrooms where they don’t. That seems to make sense. But, in different classrooms, there are huge variations in the amount of time children spend reading and writing. The amount of classroom time is fairly stable across classrooms, across…

unit: Bringing It All Together – English

Introduction Brenda Green, executive director of the Center for Black Literature, ends her weekly radio show by saying: “The reader is always writing and the writer is always reading. Keep reading; keep writing.” This closing remark conveys our understanding of the close relationship between reading and writing. This section considers important elements of lesson design…

section: Extend Your Knowledge | Teaching Diverse Learners

…themselves. Adapted from Clark, K. and M. Graves. “Scaffolding Students’ Comprehension of Text.” The Reading Teacher 58, no. 6 (March 2005): 571.   Notebook Consider how you scaffold reading and writing instruction. Then write your answers to the following questions: What strategies do you demonstrate/model to assist students during reading and writing? What kinds of…

unit: Reading and Analyzing Texts

unit: What is Envisionment Building?

A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature Judith A. Langer National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning University at Albany State University of New York 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 Report Series 6.7 1994 language arts, v71 n3, March 1994. Copyright 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Reprinted with permission. Also…

section: Put It Into Practice | Building Comprehension

…1 – Develop a Home Reading Program In this activity, you will develop a home reading program to encourage reading at home and to support students’ reading skills. Activity 2 – Foster Authentic Reading and Writing In this activity, you will identify and develop authentic reading and writing activities that support comprehension and active learning….

unit: Bringing It All Together – Mathematics

…strategies and protocols you have explored so far as you work toward a solution. Apply: Write your thoughts on the following questions: How did you make sense of what this problem was asking? What strategies and protocols helped you do this? What did you learn from using these strategies and protocols? Once you made sense…

video: Watch the Video | Differentiating Instruction

…for reading instruction. How does guided reading differ from traditional ability grouping? How do you balance the three reading routines — shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading — in your literacy program? Do you emphasize one more than the others? Why? Following the lecture, the workshop participants discuss their questions and concerns in providing…

video: Becoming Readers and Writers

Classroom Profile Teacher: Sheila Owen Years Teaching: 10 School: Wellwood School, Beaumont, CA Grade: Kindergarten Class Size: 21 Students Lesson Dates: October 18 and 19, 2001 “I believe that the best thing a teacher can do is to watch her students. And so kid watching is what I do… so that we are immediately following…

unit: Bringing It All Together – History/Social Studies

Integrating Reading and Writing This final unit presents ways to integrate the reading and writing methods covered in the previous units into classroom instruction. It also includes ways of considering student progress toward goals over the course of an academic term. Taken together, the sections in this unit provide guidelines for engaging students in analytical…

section: Examine the Topic | Using Assessment To Guide Instruction

…words and books. Some children may begin oral reading in kindergarten, but most begin in first grade. Teachers use informal reading inventories (IRIs) to assess oral reading accuracy with running records or miscue analyses. There are commercial IRIs that provide graded word lists, graded passages or leveled books, and directions for administering and scoring them….

section: Examine the Topic | Comprehension and Response

Reading for Meaning In this section, you will explore an activity to better understand what factors children use to comprehend texts. Reading comprehension is a complex activity that involves interactions between the reader and the text. It requires readers to integrate their existing background knowledge and experiences with skills in reading the text. These skills…

video: Investigating Word Meaning

“Some of my students are excellent decoders, but reading is more than decoding–it is active meaning making. I teach my students that they all have little reader voices. As we read, we’re asking ourselves questions, making observations, and getting excited about our discoveries. Even when we’ve stopped reading, our reader voices continue to speak to…

unit: What is Envisionment Building?

…Develops Thinking Skills A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature Judith A. Langer National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning University at Albany State University of New York 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 Report Series 6.7 1994 Language Arts, v71 n3, March 1994. Copyright 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English Reprinted…

unit: Envisionment Building | Making Meaning in Literature: A Workshop for Teachers, Grades 6-8

…Develops Thinking Skills A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature Judith A. Langer National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning University at Albany State University of New York 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 Report Series 6.7 1994 Language Arts, v71 n3, March 1994. Copyright 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English Reprinted…

unit: Envisionment Building

…Develops Thinking Skills A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature Judith A. Langer National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning University at Albany State University of New York 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 Report Series 6.7 1994 Language Arts, v71 n3, March 1994. Copyright 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English Reprinted…

section: Resources

section: Teaching Strategies

Choral Reading Literature Circles Coding Questioning Bilingual and Intertextual Reading…

video: Finding Common Ground

“I have chosen reading to be the venue by which these children will find a voice. I believe that if they are able to connect with the characters in books, where authors have written about the feelings of these characters and [if they] make these strong connections, they will get hope.” Bileni Teklu, 5th-Grade Teacher…

section: Extend Your Knowledge | Building Comprehension

…will not be able to understand the passage as a whole. Teachers help students learn important vocabulary words prior to reading difficult or unfamiliar texts. When teaching vocabulary words, teachers make sure that the selected words are necessary for making meaning with the text students will be reading and that they help students connect the…

session: Building Comprehension

…to: identify the components of effective reading comprehension support students’ comprehension before, during, and after reading provide opportunities for reading and responding to text encourage critical and thoughtful response to text “I don’t think there’s any goal we have for students that’s greater than the goal of having them be able to make meaning from,…

video: Connecting Skills to Text

Charmon Evans’s First-Grade Class Teacher: Charmon Evans Years Teaching: 9 School: Richard E. Bard Elementary School, Port Hueneme, CA Grade: First Class Size: 20 Students Lesson Dates: October 23 and 24 “There can be a balance between good literature, an exciting classroom environment, and skills-based learning. We all know that’s important, we’ve got to teach…

unit: Big Ideas in Literacy – Science

…learning and inquiry and on strategies for developing reading skills in science. The focus of Unit 7 shifts to writing in science, which includes text and graphical means of conveying scientific findings and ideas. Unit 8 emphasizes how mutually supportive reading and writing are for developing literacy skills and the iterative interplay between reading and…

unit: Big Ideas in Literacy – History/Social Studies

…background knowledge Incorporating historical sources that are used to back up claims Video and Reflection: Watch Reading and Writing in History to see an example of how reading and writing are brought together in the study of history. You may want to take notes on the questions below. Before you watch: What do students read…

session: Creating Contexts for Learning

How can classroom organization and daily routines help students become better readers and writers? In this session, literacy expert Jeanne Paratore outlines strategies teachers can use to enhance literacy skills. You will learn how classroom organization, everyday routines, and grouping practices affect literacy skills in the middle grades. You will explore research-based strategies that help…

session: Before You Watch | Fluency and Word Study

Session Preparation To prepare for this workshop session, you will review the key terms, identify the strategies that you already use, and then read two articles on effective practices in fluency and word study. Key Terms: Fluency High-success reading Non-interruptive reading instruction Onset-rime patterns Self-monitoring   Notebook What Do You Do? Fluency (the ability to…

section: Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

…enough time, etc.) you encounter. Think about these questions before completing the chart: What do you want to know about your students’ reading and writing? What formal and informal assessments do you currently use to determine your students’ reading levels and instructional needs? How do you use assessment results? Now complete the Assessment Chart to…

video: Envisioning

…by moving through a variety of stances. Stances are options that allow readers to gather information, make personal connections, reflect upon their own lives, and critique and analyze the craft of the author and their experiences with the text. These options occur throughout the reading process, in a random sequence. In this second workshop program…

video: Reading Across the Curriculum

…In the featured lesson, Mr. Reeves modeled reading strategies to solve unfamiliar words, orchestrated a “call and response” kinesthetic exercise to help students recall vocabulary, and demonstrated how to use a graphic organizer to identify main ideas and supporting details. His students practiced these strategies on both fiction and non-fiction pieces. Two to three days…

video: Whole-Group Discussions

…later in the year. In addition to making many of their own reading selections, students are given ample opportunities to choose their own writing topics. In both reading and writing, they are expected to sample a variety of genres and styles, broadening their experiences as both readers and writers. In addition to reading their individual…

section: Before You Watch | Teaching English Language Learners

…are taking this workshop for credit, save them for your Literacy Practices Portfolio: What specific strengths do your students demonstrate in reading and writing? How do you use and support those strengths in your instruction? What specific needs do your students demonstrate in reading and writing? How do you address those needs in your instruction?…

video: Students Making Choices

Becky Pursley’s First-Grade Class Teacher: Becky Pursley Years Teaching: 14 School: Barton Hills Elementary School, Austin, TX Grade: First Class Size: 18 Students Lesson Dates: November 12 and 13 “I hope all first graders learn how to unlock words, use all parts of literature to make connections to their own lives, and make meaning from…

video: Promoting Readers As Leaders

Valerie Kostandos’s First-Grade Class Teacher: Valerie Kostandos Years Teaching: 20 School: Decius Beebe School, Melrose, MA Grade: First Class Size: 20 Students Lesson Dates: November 5 and 6 “What I would like my students to get by the end of this year is to become independent readers and writers — to want to take risks…

lesson: Getting Ready

…(PDF) Handout: Jean Cocteau’s Scenario for Parade (PDF) Reading: Cirque du Soleil (PDF) Reading: Criticism (PDF) Reading: Parade (PDF) Reading: Quidam (PDF) Reading: Vaudeville (PDF) Reading: Listening Map for Quidam (PDF) Reading: Listening Map for Parade (PDF) Reading: Setting Up Your Discovery Stations (PDF) Opening Steps Recall the sequence from Quidam you viewed at the…

unit: Writing: Big Ideas

Introduction Reading and writing are intricately related and are often viewed as “two sides of the same coin” (Graham & Perin, 2007; Tierney & Pearson, 1983). According to Langer and Flihan (2000), “Because writing and reading involve the development of meaning, both are conceptualized as composing activities in the sense that both involve planning, generating,…

unit: Reading in Mathematics

video: Voices in the Conversation

…Ms. Bomer’s teaching, her approach is patient. She is careful to allow students time to experience the literature and tease out the meanings it has for them. The reading is unhurried and the conversation around the reading is thoughtful and respectful with students making direct connections to, and building on, comments classmates made earlier.  …

section: Examine the Topic | Word Study and Fluency

Consider Other Points of View In this section, you will expand your understanding of word study by comparing the ideas from the workshop video with passages from various publications. Read and respond to the ideas presented as they relate to your own teaching practices.  …

video: Watch It, Do It, Know It: Cognitive Apprenticeship

“A cognitive apprenticeship sort of takes off from where candle-makers and cloth-makers left off in the days gone by, and says ‘How do we teach someone by modeling and demonstrating a way of thinking, a way of “working in our minds?” ” Linda Darling-Hammond Key Questions How can students learn to think strategically? How can…

unit: Reading In Science

video: Summarizing Nonfiction

…the year. These strategies included inferencing, finding important information, coding texts, and making text-to-world connections. Ms. Demont’s students knew how to read for important information, but they were just beginning to learn how to use these summarization strategies to make meaning. After the group discussion, Ms. Demont encouraged her students to select their own texts…

video: Program 6: Reading/Writing Connections

Watch the 30-minute video “Reading/Writing Connections.” Apply what you learned in “Reading Like a Writer” as you watch the extended video of classroom examples. Answer the questions that follow each segment, jotting down your answers in your notebook or using them as discussion starters. Christine Sanchez’s Class Christine Sanchez’s third-graders are preparing to write about…

section: Before You Watch | Creating Contexts for Learning

…support students’ reading, writing, and peer discussion? What daily routines are in place to advance students’ use of reading and writing? What decisions do you make when grouping students for literacy instruction?   Assignment Examine the Literature Print out two copies of the Examine the Literature Response Chart (PDF). Then read each article listed below,…

unit: Featured Classrooms

…Paulsen’s book, Woodsong. The lesson models grouping students for independent reading, as well as guided reading. Close Reading for Understanding Teacher: Dana Robertson Grade 5, Estabrook School, Lexington, MA Fifth-grade teacher Dana Robertson models strategic reading, and teaches his students the strategies readers use to comprehend the text. He then continues with small-group instruction while…

lesson: Getting Ready

…To Use This Workshop. Costume design materials, such as fabric pieces, colored paper, ribbons, feathers, and pipe cleaners Handout: Criticism: Purposes and Process (PDF) Handout: Summary of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (PDF) Reading: Costumes Used in Program 3 (PDF) Reading: Alwin Nikolais (PDF) Reading: Cirque du Soleil (PDF) Reading: Quidam (PDF) Reading:…

unit: Activity: Lesson Builder

Introduction Purpose Now that you have explored the envisionment-building process and revisited the joy of reading literature, we invite you to reflect upon your own instructional practices. Take this opportunity to help your students make rich connections to text, opening whole new worlds to their literary experiences. Learning Objectives At the conclusion of the Lesson…

unit: Lesson Builder

Lesson Builder: Introduction Purpose Now that you have explored the envisionment-building process and revisited the joy of reading literature, we invite you to reflect upon your own instructional practices. Take this opportunity to help your students make rich connections to text, opening whole new worlds to their literary experiences. Learning Objectives At the conclusion of…

Lesson Builder | Making Meaning in Literature: A Workshop for Teachers, Grades 6-8

Lesson Builder: Introduction Purpose Now that you have explored the envisionment-building process and revisited the joy of reading literature, we invite you to reflect upon your own instructional practices. Take this opportunity to help your students make rich connections to text, opening whole new worlds to their literary experiences. Learning Objectives At the conclusion of…

section: Teaching Strategies

Sustained Silent Reading Identifying Compelling Lines from the Text Publishing Student Writing Resources…

video: Identifying Theme Through Close Reading

Kelly Johnson helps her students determine the theme of the book they have been reading—Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat—by supporting them with a close reading strategy. Teacher: Kelly Johnson School: Health Sciences High and Middle College, San Diego, CA Grade: 9 Discipline: English Lesson Topic: Close Reading of Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat…

video: Thalia Learns the Details: A Student Case Study

Student Case Study: Thalia Student: Kindergarten, age 5, August Birthday School: Amigos, Cambridge, MA Teachers: Jim St. Clair and Maria Castro Class Size: 36 students in two classes “Thalia’s very interested in the idea of literacy and she’s interested in books. It’s the details she’s a little bit fuzzy on. That’s a big part of…

video: Watch the Video | Comprehension and Response

…comprehension strategies. An accompanying lecture transcript (PDF) is also available. Video Segment – Comprehension Strategies Lecture Find this segment approximately 3 minutes after the beginning of the video. Watch for about 7 minutes. After watching this video segment, review your notes and consider these questions: Which comprehension strategies characterize your most proficient readers? Based on…

unit: Reading Like a Writer

How can you use literature in your writing workshop and teach students to look for writing strategies as they read? In this workshop, you will learn how to use “touchstone” and “mentor” texts to teach students new writing techniques. By watching classroom examples, you will also see how teachers immerse students in literary genres and…

video: Responding to Literature

“I see my role in two ways. One is as a reader, responding just like the kids while having a watchful ear on how their reading and thinking are going and how they are growing through the story and learning. [While] I’m helping kids make connections, at the same time I want to be involved…

session: Assessment and Accountability

How can assessment improve students’ reading and writing? How do teachers assess student performance as they teach? In this session, literacy expert Kathryn Au discusses the importance of integrating assessment practices with classroom instruction on a daily basis. You will learn how to use assessment results to plan instruction, improve students’ reading and writing, and…

session: Teaching English Language Learners

…cultures develop vocabulary to advance both language and literacy skills promote oral language development and reading comprehension with teacher read-alouds and peer discussions “The best teachers of English language learners use what they know about literacy and what they know about their students to build reading and writing skills. They learn about the role of…

video: Discussion Strategies

…strategies certainly engage student attention, in all probability they cannot be replicated throughout the school year. Furthermore, the motivation they provide is external, dependent on outside forces for engagement. One of the tasks of the envisionment-building teacher is to help students develop ways of approaching literary texts that they will be able to call upon…

section: Before You Watch | Writing

Session Preparation To prepare for this workshop session, you will review the key terms, identify the strategies that you already use, review the key terms, and then read two articles on effective writing instruction. Key Terms: Editing High-stakes assessment Interactive journal Kid culture Portfolios Revision Text types   Notebook What Do You Do? Writing is…

video: Learning From Others: Learning in a Social Context

…students’ levels of proficiency and readiness for a given task and target assistance accordingly. Strategies for fostering communication – Teachers will understand the importance of language, communication, and interaction in learning. Teachers will consider several specific teaching strategies to foster and guide communication in the classroom, including the role of questioning, group work, managed discourse,…

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Collaborating and Writing: Components of Close Reading

Kelly Johnson discusses strategies she uses to get her students to read, discuss, and write about the emerging theme as it relates to the characters in the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory. Teacher: Kelly Johnson School: Health Sciences High and Middle College, San Diego, CA Grade: 9 Discipline: English Lesson Topic: Close Reading of Breath, Eyes,…

video: Classroom Dialogues

…however, central to the success of an envisionment-building classroom. In this video, the teachers discuss the complexities of encouraging such discussions. As they share ways in which they help students develop as proficient conversationalists and strategies they have discovered for dealing with difficulties, think about how their strategies might work for you and your students….

unit: Activity: Lesson Builder

…Think about these questions: Which instructional strategies are you currently using in your classroom that you think support envisionment building and foster a literary community? What instructional practices do not support an envisionment-building environment? What instructional strategies would you like to implement in the future to create your own literary community? Keep these questions in…

video: Comprehension and Response

In this session, you will investigate and apply research-based principles of effective comprehension instruction in early literacy. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: comprehension strategies used by proficient readers characteristics of effective comprehension instruction the components of explicit and strategic instruction the nature of reading response Factors Related to…

video: One-on-One Conferences

Wendy Barrales has a one-on-one conference with a 6th grader who needs help applying strategies to define an unknown word. Teacher: Wendy Barrales School: Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, Brooklyn, NY Grade: 6 Discipline: English Language Arts (Humanities) Lesson Topic: Analyzing genres Lesson Month: March Number of Students: 25 Other:…

video: One-on-One Conferences

Wendy Barrales has a one-on-one conference with a 6th grader who needs help applying strategies to define an unknown word. Teacher: Wendy Barrales School: Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, Brooklyn, NY Grade: 6 Discipline: English Language Arts (Humanities) Lesson Topic: Analyzing genres Lesson Month: March Number of Students: 25 Other:…

video: Comprehending Informational Texts

Wendy Barrales engages students in various activities to build their ability to glean information from different genres. Students answer genre-probing questions using claims, evidence, and reasoning and take part in a unison reading group. Teacher: Wendy Barrales School: Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, Brooklyn, NY Grade: 6 Discipline: English Language…

video: The Teacher’s Role in a Literary Community

…foster classroom community. To accommodate a diverse range of interests, ages, and abilities, Mr. Hoonan offers students a choice of 15 titles linked to the theme, “Life’s Not Fair.” Students are invited to read at least two books and form discussion groups based on the reading of shared titles. In addition, the class read-aloud book…

video: Creating a Literate Community

Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: maximize children’s opportunities for reading, writing, and using oral language develop children’s positive attitudes toward reading and writing provide learning opportunities accessible to all students help children become more self-directed learners Factors Related to This Session Accessible reading material Accessible writing…

video: Engaging Students in Active Learning

section: Put It Into Practice | Comprehension and Response

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The three activities are designed to assist you in developing resources for your comprehension instruction. Choose one or more of the activities from the list below. Activity 1. Match Books to Strategies Target comprehension strategies and identify books that…

unit: Learning To Revise

How can you help your students understand the value of revision and use what they know to improve their own writing? In this workshop, you will discover why students in the middle grades can be reluctant to revise, help them better understand the purpose of revision, and teach revision strategies they can use. A lot…

video: Supporting the English Language Learner

Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: factors that influence second-language literacy learning characteristics of effective literacy instruction for English Language Learners challenges and opportunities for teaching reading to English Language Learners how to develop an effective literacy lesson for English Language Learners Factors Related To This Session Proficiency in…

section: Put It Into Practice | Differentiating Instruction

…a whole-class lesson plan using flexible groups, centered on a single text. Activity 2. Differentiate Instruction of Curriculum Identify curriculum goals and the materials to support them, and determine different instructional strategies for teaching the content. Activity 3. Create a Handbook Collect literacy resources for each workshop session in a Handbook for Effective Literacy Practices….

section: Examine the Topic | Differentiating Instruction

Differentiate Instruction in a Class In this section, you will explore an activity to better understand how to group students and differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students. Children in early grades demonstrate a wide range of skills, experiences, and interests. Many teachers use grouping strategies to differentiate their instruction to address their…

video: Many Students: Many Voices and Abilities

“If I had a homogenous classroom with all the same kids, all at the same reading level, I’d be disenchanted. But every day is a new surprise with kids bringing to the table and discussions new material and new thoughts.” -Jonathan Holden, 4th -Grade Teacher, Nathan Hale Elementary School, Roxbury, Massachusetts Diversity in American classrooms…

section: Before You Watch | Teaching Diverse Learners

Session Preparation To prepare for this workshop session, you will review the key terms, identify the strategies that you already use, and then read two articles on diverse learners. Key Terms: Differentiated instruction Diverse learners Gradual release of responsibility model Multilevel instruction Scaffolding   Notebook What Do You Do? Consider the diverse strengths and needs…

video: Rethinking

…even their own lives from the text, but also they can sometimes become cognizant of the information they are learning from it. Readers are not always provoked to rethink their lives as they read. However, when they do find points of congruence between what they are reading and what they have lived, readers respond in…

section: Exploring Literary Translation

What is Literary Translation? Literary translation is working with a text in its original language to prepare a version in a new language. This work promotes broader reading and distribution of the work. In some cases—for instance, Gilgamesh, a work composed in ancient languages of the Middle East—translation is the only way the text is…

section: Examine the Topic | Teaching Writing as a Process

…a good deal of the writing students do in relation to their reading is less planned, less lengthy, less polished, and less formal than that for which the process approach is appropriate. As Gail Tompkins (1996) has pointed out, effective reading teachers give students plenty of opportunities to do both process writing and informal writing….

video: Assessment Strategies

…French IV students in Nanuet, New York, present a performance task. Finally, in Pleasant Hill, California, a teacher uses backward design to plan a lesson and assessment for eighth-grade French students. Use “Assessment Strategies” to learn about or refresh your understanding of different assessment strategies, as the focus of a professional development workshop, or to…

video: Assessing Students’ Learning

video: Analyze the Video | Fluency and Word Study

Video Summary In “Fluency and Word Study,” Professor Richard Allington discusses three instructional practices that promote reading fluency: giving students opportunities to read texts they can easily read, practicing giving them plenty of time to practice reading, and allowing them to read without being interrupted. Professor Allington also discusses effective word study strategies. The video…

session: Teaching Diverse Learners

…that build on student diversity and promote effective learning. You will learn strategies for differentiating instruction to maximize learning for all of your students.   Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: use students’ background knowledge and experiences as a springboard for literacy instruction provide opportunities for student…

video: Program 5: Reading Like a Writer

Watch the 30-minute video “Reading Like a Writer.” If you prefer to watch the video in segments, you can stop at the times suggested below or use the Video Guide (PDF) — a detailed outline of the video — to help you determine places to stop for discussion. Answer the questions that follow each segment,…

video: Starting Classroom Conversations

…personally. Possibly you raised questions about the way things happened or things that puzzled you. These are the kinds of authentic discussions teachers in envisionment-building classrooms encourage among students. Helping students recognize, acknowledge, and articulate their responses to texts becomes the focus of instruction for teachers leading students in authentic talk about their readings. Teaching…

video: Planning and Professional Development

Introduction “Taking classes… and… [doing] professional reading really got me on track… And I’ve had mentors through all my professional life. I continue to have them… because I don’t think we ever stop evolving. Professionally, I don’t think you can.” Flora Tyler 6th Grade Teacher, Picacho Middle School Las Cruces, New Mexico A common thread…

unit: Different Learners, Different Minds

video: Building a Literary Community

…to the novels they are reading in their groups and later in culminating projects and performance assessments. Students in Joe Bernhart’s classroom are empowered to make their own reading choices, monitor their own reading progress, and take ownership over their own learning. Students are expected to challenge one another, ask questions, take risks, and think…

video: Before You Watch | Comprehension and Response

Video Summary The video for this session examines comprehension and response to literature in grades K-2. In her lecture, Dr. Jeanne R. Paratore reviews the essential comprehension strategies of proficient readers, and the explicit and strategic instruction that promotes these strategies. The workshop participants then watch and discuss a set of classroom excerpts that illustrate…

video: Engagement and Dialogue: Judith Ortiz Cofer and Nikki Grimes

…school year. In a culminating project, the students create their own visual symbols to represent the characters and events in the text. They then explore works by Nikki Grimes and examine her craft as a writer. Grimes visits the classroom, answers questions about her work, and attends an after-school reading of student poetry. As teacher…

section: Put It Into Practice | Creating Contexts for Learning

Choose Activities In this section, you will build on what you have learned, and develop strategies you can use in your own classroom. The following activities are designed to help you develop resources for creating a more effective classroom environment. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below. Activity 1 – Create…

video: Creating a Community of Writers

video: Building Community

“One thing I really liked… [was] the fact that all of the groups were working together, and that’s really an important thing when you get in literature discussion groups. [They have to] appreciate and accept other people’s opinions and ideas, and at this age that’s a challenge. It helps us get closer… It builds community…

video: Using Assessment To Guide Instruction

In this session, you will investigate and apply research-based principles of assessment in early literacy. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: The relationship between assessment and sound instructional decisions The range of assessments used to measure early literacy development How to integrate assessment with instruction How to assess student…

video: Diversity in Texts

…to understand human nature, yourself, and how to get along in the world. Reading a variety of genres, styles of writing, and literature portraying many ways of life builds literate thought and minds. These diverse text experiences provide opportunities for lively discussions that support envisionment building in the classroom. The kinds of literary experiences you…

video: Reading and Writing in English

…and cultural studies. Christina Dobbs is a clinical assistant professor at Boston University, where she teaches courses in teaching reading and writing at the middle and secondary school level. Her research focuses on academic language development writing instruction. She is also a literacy coach and reading specialist. Jacy Ippolito is an assistant professor in the…

unit: Big Ideas in Literacy – Mathematics

…Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM). The first unit identifies and discusses the literacy practices of mathematicians, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening. In the second and third units, there is a focus on reading and writing in secondary mathematics classrooms. In the fourth and final unit, there…

video: Moving Through

Introduction Being In and Moving Through a text is the point in the envisionment-building process where readers develop a deeper understanding, all the while connecting human possibilities and experiences to make meaning out of the text. Readers in this stance are utilizing ideas, hunches, past experiences in reading, and life experiences to build a hearty…

video: Responding As Readers

…their professional lives and reflect about their relationships with literature: why they love to read, what their reading habits are, what they enjoy about reading, and how stories are woven into the tapestry of their lives. In this first program, the audience gets acquainted with key panelists who will appear throughout the workshop series. These…

video: 100 Days of Reading

Shari Frost’s First- and Second-Grade Class Teacher: Shari Frost Years Teaching: 20 School: Norwood Park Elementary School, Chicago, IL Grades: First and Second Class Size: 23 Students Lesson Dates: February 14 and 15 “Life in school reflects what happens in the world. When something is going on in the world it creeps into your classroom….

video: Staying on Topic

Martha Duran-Contreras’s Second-Grade Class Teacher: Martha Duran-Contreras Years Teaching: 22 School: Will Rogers School, Santa Monica, CA Grade: Second Class Size: 22 Students Lesson Dates: October 16 and 17 “Creating a community of learners is the most important thing I do all year long. Because in establishing a community for them I make the students…

video: Word Study and Fluency

Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: concepts and research-based principles of effective work-study the difference between phonemic awareness and phonics why fluency is important in beginning reading instruction issues and controversies in word study instruction Factors Related to This Session Emergent literacy Phonics Accuracy and fluency   “We don’t…

section: Student Work

…talk show. (See Teaching Strategies: Talk Show.) An identity story — the final project in which students, drawing on all of the literature and activities in the unit, crafted stories about dualities in their own identities. (See Teaching Strategies: Identity Stories.) As you review the student’s work, consider the following questions: What do you notice…

unit: Teaching the Writing Craft

How can you target specific writing skills and strategies in your teaching? In this workshop, you will explore the role of whole-class instruction in the writing workshop and how lessons on particular writing skills can unfold over multiple days. Planning whole-class instruction begins with your required curriculum, what you know about writing, and what your…

section: Class Context

…of their own culture. Key Teaching Strategies Facilitating Reading of Content-Related Materials: The teacher helps students understand texts, using prereading, skimming/scanning, and reading-for-meaning strategies. Preparing for Communication: The teacher provides opportunities for students to express their ideas or feelings in the context of the language structure and/or content being learned. Providing Corrective Feedback: In a…

section: Class Context

…She either asked them to elaborate more during oral or written assignments, or she gave them alternate assignments more appropriate to their advanced linguistic levels. Key Teaching Strategies Contextualizing Grammar: The teacher embeds grammatical practice in meaningful content. Facilitating Reading Authentic Texts: The teacher helps students understand authentic texts, using prereading, skimming/scanning, and reading-for-meaning strategies….

section: Class Context

…The lesson activities were designed to follow an authentic reading that students had done in the previous class session about how Saudi Arabian students spend their free time. Students worked in groups to answer some questions in their textbook about the reading. They followed that up with a full-class conversation about how they can use…

video: Different Kinds of Smart: Multiple Intelligences

“Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, gives us a different framework for teaching and thinking in the classroom, as well as how we think about what people do in life. We rely on lots different abilities to succeed in life. Different people have those abilities differently developed, and using the strengths that we have as…

Teacher Appreciation: Defying Gravity- Teachers Who Keep Reaching

…in a routine; no, now I spent time reading Apollo’s Angels (a book on ballet’s history) or diving into other forms of dance including swing, jazz, folk and character, and tap – each of which has its own unique stories and roots. That teacher, ultimately, reminded me to keep being excited in my work and…

video: Building on What We Know: Cognitive Processing

…familiar with strategies for helping students to make associations and draw connections among concepts and for enhancing memory and information use. Novices and experts – Teachers will understand how experts and novices differ in how they solve problems and use knowledge. Teachers will consider how to organize instruction to encourage the development of expert strategies….

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Research and Discovery: Shirley Sterling and Laura Tohe

At the Skokomish reservation in Washington State, Sally Brownfield and her eighth-grade students study the literature and issues related to the Indian boarding school program through community involvement and self-examination. Brownfield begins with her students’ questions and supports them through a cycle of investigation, discussion, presentation, and reflection as they seek answers. The students use…

video: Differentiating Instruction

In this session, you will investigate and apply research-based principles of differentiating instruction in early literacy. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: Research-based evidence on grouping for literacy instruction Different grouping formats for meeting individual needs Instructional strategies for groups of different abilities Factors Related To This Session Flexible…

video: The Tale of Genji

The shining Genji, a man of wealth and power, devotes himself to love―at the risk of losing everything. Enter the court of medieval Japan, and follow Genji’s attempts to find perfect love and a beautiful life in the midst of the back-biting, scheming, and deceit of the powerful people around him. All Video on Demand…

section: Put It Into Practice | Supporting the English Language Learner

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The four activities are designed to assist you in developing resources for supporting English Language Learners in your classroom. Choose one or more from the list below to practice in your classroom. Activity 1. Designing a Lesson Watch the…

video: Fostering Close Reading

Amy Miles builds students’ close reading skills and creates an opportunity to dig into complex text to foster deeper understanding of a scientific topic. Teacher: Amy Miles School: Health Sciences High and Middle College Middle School, San Diego, CA Grade: 6 Discipline: Science Lesson Topic: Learning about rocks Lesson Month: March Number of Students: 35…

video: Introducing Our Literary Community

…thoughts about a text, including their impressions, questions, judgments, predictions, and connections to their own lives. This recursive process occurs from the moment readers pick up a text and continues beyond the reading of the literature. Readers continue to think about the text. They discuss the literature, wrestle with it, and continually grow their interpretations…

video: Building Oral Language

Classroom Profile Teacher: Cindy Wilson Years Teaching: 25 School: Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Boston, MA Grade: Kindergarten Class Size: 24 Students Lesson Dates: February 6 and 8 “Many of the people who come into my classroom — casual observers — do not notice that many of my children have lots of learning and behavior issues….

video: Fostering Close Reading

Amy Miles builds students’ close reading skills and creates an opportunity to dig into complex text to foster deeper understanding of a scientific topic. Teacher: Amy Miles School: Health Sciences High and Middle College Middle School, San Diego, CA Grade: 6 Discipline: Science Lesson Topic: Learning about rocks Lesson Month: March Number of Students: 35…

video: My Name Is Red

This video introduces My Name Is Red, Orhan Pamuk’s evocative novel of miniaturists in 16th-century Istanbul. Then, as now, the city is on the edge of two worlds, responding to the demands of change and tradition. All Video on Demand files are protected by copyright law and are free for this streaming purpose only. Downloading,…

video: Exploring Unity and Diversity

section: Teaching Strategies

Political Poems Performance and Publishing Roundtable Discussion Found Poems…

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Analyze the Video | Creating Contexts for Learning

Video Summary In this video, Professor Jeanne Paratore discusses the organization strategies, routines, and reading practices that enhance students’ literacy skills. You will also see classroom examples that illustrate the strategies and research that Professor Paratore describes. As you watch the video, consider the following questions: Why does classroom organization matter? Why are routines important?…

video: Assessment

…identified by curricular standards, presented via explicit instruction, and practiced as students develop mastery. In Workshop 7, teachers focus on issues of both assessment and evaluation as they discuss both theoretical concerns and practical strategies for responding to student efforts. For a complete guide to the workshop session activities, download and print our Support Materials….

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Encouraging Discussion

…discussion in their literature classrooms? What instructional techniques encourage students to discuss literature and how do we plan for these discussions? In this workshop, eight middle school teachers address these concerns and share strategies they use to support and nurture students’ discussion of literature. For a complete guide to the workshop session activities, download and…

section: Commentary

video: Returning to the Classroom

Introduction Implementing the envisionment-building process in the classroom requires teachers to develop “new bones” or ways of planning for and interacting with students to draw out their understanding, ways to connect students to each other, and ways to guide students back to the text, or to question their own readings. By reshaping their approach to…

video: Book Buddies

“The whole purpose of Book Buddies is the interaction among the kids and for them to help each other learn to read better and learn to look more deeply into literature.” Tim O’Keefe, 3rd-Grade Teacher The Center for Inquiry Columbia, South Carolina Exciting things often happen when two teachers merge their classes for literature discussion….

video: Signposts

“In envisionment-building classrooms, students’ ideas are right in the center of the discussion, so the role of the teacher is to help students find new and more complex ways to grapple with both the content and the ways of thinking about the content.” Judith A. Langer, Director National Research Center on English Learning & Achievement…

video: Looking at Literature

“Literature to me has always meant a gateway into a world that has been created by people who have thought deeply about many different issues. It has meant a chance to explore issues…and to try to understand how I can become a better person.” -Bileni Teklu, 5th-Grade Teacher, Fair Oaks School, Marietta, Georgia Language arts…

video: Reading, Writing, and Responding to Poetry

Students in Ben Berman’s creative writing class expanded their study of figurative language by reading and considering two poems about names. They then participated in emulation exercises to try their hand at the subject. Teacher: Ben Berman School: Brookline High School, Brookline, MA Grade: 10–12 Discipline: English Language Arts (Creative Writing) Lesson Topic: Poetry and…

video: Connecting School and Home

In this session, you will investigate and apply research-based principles of home-school partnerships in early literacy. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: How language and culture influence home literacy Challenges and opportunities in building home-school partnerships Differences between home literacy and school literacy Factors Related to This Session Parent…

video: Stepping In

…step into a text allows teachers to strategically design instruction, so that students successfully experience the process of building their own envisionment. As student readers become more savvy, this will be a natural step in their own reading discovery process. For a complete guide to the workshop session activities, download and print our support materials….

video: The Professional Teacher

…for them to identify sources of support and resources for growth. Professional reading, study groups, workshops, and regional and national conferences all form important aspects of the professional lives of the teachers in this workshop series. In this video, they share some of those experiences and the value their professional commitments bring to their lives….

unit: Learning Challenges

…four learning theories.Perspective from which theories evaluated clearly stated. Weak discussion of examples given for all four learning theories. Perspective from which theories evaluated not clearly stated. Grammar, Mechanics of Writing Few, if any, noticed grammatical or mechanical errors Errors do not interfere with reading Errors interfere somewhat with reading Errors interfere greatly with reading…

unit: Different Brains

section: Teaching Strategies: Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

…identified strategies and pedagogical practices teachers can employ to enhance student learning in these heterogeneous settings. They include: Having high expectations of all students Focusing instruction on developing meaning or understanding Building bridges between the various student cultures and the culture of the classroom Using contextual problems to help alleviate language barriers Using comprehensible communication…

video: Objectifying the Text

Introduction When readers step out and objectify their reading experience, they reflect on the text and their experience with it, by analyzing its words and its structure, comparing it to other texts, examining the author’s craft, and objectifying their personal responses to it. From this critical approach, readers have the opportunity to extend and examine…

video: Watch the Video | Creating a Literate Community

Lecture In this section, you will watch Dr. Paratore’s lecture on creating a literate community in early literacy. Print Dr. Paratore’s Literate Community Lecture Posters (PDF). Use the posters to take notes on the lecture. In this video segment, Dr. Paratore discusses how effective classroom organization and routines promote beginning reading and writing. The lecture…

video: Before You Watch | Creating a Literate Community

…room and wall displays of print materials, and classroom routines that promote reading and writing. Following the lecture, workshop participants watch two sets of classroom excerpts illustrating routines and physical arrangements that advance children’s reading, writing, and oral language skills. Workshop participants discuss these classroom excerpts in relation to their own classrooms and teaching practices….

video: Facilitating Discussion

…learning how to make connections and inferences independently, Ms. Schnabl supports and models the process for them. She asks students to prepare for discussion by writing questions on sticky notes while reading. She uses these questions to center the discussion and poses her own to help students connect personal experience with the practical and ethical…

section: Reflect on Your Learning | Fluency and Word Study

…the curriculum? What changes will you need to make in your instruction and the texts you use to enhance your students’ reading fluency and word knowledge? What will you consider when selecting vocabulary to teach before reading? How will you differentiate instruction in your vocabulary program to maximize learning for all students? Final Project If…

program: Garbage: The Science and Problem of What We Throw Away

…Projects in References and Further Reading.) As you analyze the photographs in this collection, keep in mind—and prompt your students to think about—the source, context, scale, vantage point of the photographer, color, or texture, etc. (See the Glossary for more about scale, vantage point, and texture.) Note: Trash, garbage, waste, and rubbish are used interchangeably…

workshop: Teaching Strategy Workbook

Explore two poems using strategies from the workshops. This activity offers you an opportunity to read two poems and reflect on the teaching strategies featured throughout the workshop. Use the poems below as a springboard for creating your own activities. Choose strategies you would like to explore and consider how you might adapt them for…

unit: Conversations Among Writing Peers

How can peer conferencing help students in grades 3-5 become better writers? In this workshop, you will examine the various forms peer response might take in a writing workshop, the importance of an authentic audience for written work, and how peer conferencing can enhance writing skills in grades 3-5. You will also explore teaching strategies…

video: Program 1: Building a Community of Writers

…two of Jeanne’s students. You will find this image at the end of the segment, approximately 14 minutes into the video.) What community-building strategies and practices do you observe during Nicole’s and Latosha’s morning meetings? How do these strategies and practices help the students grow as writers? Think about the two conferences from Jeanne’s classroom….

video: Engagement and Dialogue: Julia Alvarez, James McBride, Lensey Namioka, and more

In New York City, Carol O’Donnell and her seventh-grade students explore themes of multiple worlds and dual identities. They read poetry by Diana Chang and Naomi Shihab Nye; James McBride’s memoir, The Color of Water; and essays and short stories by Gish Jen, Khoi Luu, Lensey Namioka, and Julia Alvarez; and watch Tina Lee perform…

video: The Stances in Action

Introduction The envisionment-building process is recursive in nature, where at any given moment a reader can move from one stance to another, in no particular order. Envisionment describes the process competent readers go through as they make meaning out of what they read. Each stance provides another set of options — a panoply of ideas,…

video: Popol Vuh

This video introduces the Mayan creation story in all its grotesque humor, luminous beauty, and unique language. See the Mayan writing and drawing that originally brought this story to life, and follow its journey around the world. All Video on Demand files are protected by copyright law and are free for this streaming purpose only….

section: Examine the Topic | Creating a Literate Community

…L. M. “Organizing and Managing a Language Arts Block.” In Strickland, D. S., and L. M. Morrow, eds. Beginning Reading and Writing, 83-98. New York, N.Y.: Teachers College Press, 2000. * Consider these questions: In what ways can classroom routines promote reading achievement? What are the responsibilities of the teacher and the students in establishing…

video: The God of Small Things

This video introduces the world of caste, where people are born into a certain level of society and mingle with others on pain of death. You’ll see a culture struggling with the burdens of the past yet reaching for a new future, and hear from passionate readers of the novel. All Video on Demand files…

video: Seminar Discussion

…Clinton Elementary School Chicago, Illinois Students in Dorothy Franklin’s urban Chicago classroom participate in a quarter-long study of Black History, spanning slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and modern events. In order to meet the needs of the diverse student population, including newly proficient ESOL students, special education students, and students reading at or above grade…

video: Introducing the Envisionment-Building Classroom

About This Video Clip “The envisionment-building classroom looks and feels like a community of learners…[where students are] able to look to each other for information, for readings, for takes on the piece that they themselves might not have had.” Judith Langer, Director National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA) State University of New…

section: Class Context

…(for example, expressing preferences) for each lesson. She then adds the necessary vocabulary and grammatical structures to support communication. The Lesson In the videotaped lesson, Ms. Tanner used numerous strategies during a single class period, including TPR warm-ups, songs, charades, paired discussions, a listening and drawing activity, and TPR storytelling. This was a typical class…

section: Guide to Researching Photographs

Getting Started This guide provides helpful tips for finding and evaluating photographs that you can use in the classroom to enhance teaching strategies. The following steps are intended to help guide your search. Step 1: Determine Search Criteria Step 2: Evaluate a Photograph’s Classroom Connection Step 3: Assess Copyright Step 4: Activate Student Engagement Note:…

video: Program 11: Conversations Among Peer Writers

…their conference, the students refer to revision strategies displayed on a chart on the classroom wall. Describe resources that you already have in your classroom or resources you could add that would help students confer. Silvia’s students use strategies specific to bilingual writers, such as Spanglish (a mixture of Spanish and English that has evolved…

video: Program 3: Reasons for Writing

…topics. (Stop after the segment featuring Mark’s class. You will find this image at the end of the segment, approximately 18 minutes into the video.) By sharing her thinking aloud, Christine models what writers do. What are some additional strategies that writers might use to find topics? List strategies that you could share with your…

section: Class Context

…students are talented in music, they can write a song about the home and different rooms in the home. If they are talented in drawing, they can draw a house. To stay in the target language, she provides comprehensible input using a variety of strategies. “I try to help them understand by using gestures, drawing…

section: Class Context

…Mr. Scott, who is certified to teach elementary school, relies more heavily on visuals, hand gestures, repetition, songs, and movement to make meaning clear than he might in an elementary classroom taught in English. These strategies also meet the different learning styles of his young students and retain their attention during a full-day class. The…

video: Analyze the Video | Building Comprehension

Video Summary In this video, Professor Nell Duke defines what good readers do as they process text and what teachers can do to improve students’ reading comprehension. You will also see classroom examples that illustrate the strategies and research Professor Duke describes. As you watch the video, consider the following questions: What do good readers…

section: Teaching Strategies

Annotating Text Small Peer Group Discussions Using Visual Imagery to Respond to Texts Finding Evidence in Texts Lodge Activity Resources…

session: Writing

How do students become effective writers? What challenges do they face in writing across the curriculum? In this session, literacy expert Nadeen Ruiz provides a structure for planning and implementing a writing program in the intermediate grades. You will learn how to connect specific teaching and assessment strategies to students’ personal experiences and writing goals….

section: Class Context

…lessons that connect with the general curriculum at The Columbus Academy and incorporate reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities. She also includes activities that address different learning styles and involve a lot of physical movement to engage her young students. To assess her students’ progress, Ms. Rodriguez takes notes during oral presentations and at the…

section: Class Context

…in complete sentences, or just saying one word? After the activity, she called students back together to present the information they spoke about in their groups to the rest of the class. Mrs. Alaloom says that presenting to the class and using the vocabulary words in complete sentences builds language proficiency and confidence. The reading…

section: Class Context

…fact that I believe that it’s more natural for this environment.” In other words, different registers are appropriate for different tasks. Because many of his students are stronger in reading and writing than speaking and listening, Mr. Bartolotti integrates reading– and writing-based games into class time to build confidence. For his Arabic I class, Mr….

section: Class Context

…the Interpersonal mode and the reading portions of a class outweigh the writing portion by 80 percent to 20 percent. Mr. Fawzy tries to incorporate the Five Cs into every lesson. While he thinks that Communication, Cultures, and Communities (through authentic visuals and videos in particular) are relatively easy to build in, Comparisons may be…

section: Class Context

…Chinese II Basic Chinese Grammar Structures Weather; More Complex Sentences Location; Geographic Description of Our School Direction; Directional and resultative complements Home Group Projects: Storytelling; Integration of All Grammatical Points Chinese III Review; Past Experience; Body and Medicine Time Leisure Activities More Grammatical Structures Food Writing and Reading; Midterm Project; Cooking and Restaurant Reviews Introducing…

section: Class Context

…learning goals. He then considers how to work in activities developed around the Five C goal areas, with particular emphasis on Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational Communication. Mr. Joundeya typically has students complete reading and writing assignments outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, he wants students to practice authentic conversation. They exchange customary greetings with Mr….

section: Commentary

unit: Writing Across the Curriculum

Writing throughout the day gives students opportunities to practice the craft they learn during a writing workshop and exposes them to the authentic writing of multiple disciplines. This workshop — focused on practices that integrate writing into all areas of the curriculum — illustrates that writing can take many forms and serve many purposes. Our…

video: Writer’s Journal

  Classroom Profile Teacher: John Sinnett Years Teaching: 23 School: Collins Elementary School, Houston, TX Grade: Kindergarten Class Size: 16 Students Lesson Dates: November 14 and 1 “I want them to start thinking in kindergarten about how they need to make some kind of plan in their head for their writing. I have them draw…

video: Sharing the Text

“Discussion is really important to the students because they learn from each other…They may be confused about something, and they may not admit it, or they may not even be aware that they were confused or didn’t understand something. But…the discussion really enables them to clarify things that they’ve read.” BJ Namba, 3rd-Grade Teacher Punahou…

unit: Building a Community of Writers

How can you nurture and support the confidence of all students and help them forge unique writing identities? This workshop explores the essential characteristics of a successful writing community and shows examples of teachers who build community in their classrooms through a variety of ways. I think it’s amazing what kids can do at this…

video: Teaching Persuasive Writing

video: Reading a Word

New imaging tools allow us to observe the rich array of connections between many parts of the brain involved in doing anything. Reading a word, for example, is the result not of activating a “reading module” but of a complex cascade of activity throughout the brain. (Courtesy of Anders Dale and Eric Halgren.)…

video: Fostering Book Discussions

…America. There is a range of reading levels among her students, and so Mrs. Ruiz-Blanco makes sure that when a book is challenging to some of her students, the topic is relevant and interesting to them. Although some students struggle to read and speak English, their interest in the reading topic gives them added incentive…

section: Interview with Mark Cane

…and waiting for it to come to the water temperature and then reading it off. And that sounds great. But you’ve taken this bucket, which for a long time was made of canvas and you put it up on the deck and the wind is blowing past it. So the water on the wet canvas…

video: Close Reading of a Primary Source

Ann Pember’s students discuss the meaning and role of the USA Patriot Act after reading an article from the New York Times. Teacher: Ann Pember School: Malden High School, Malden, MA Grade: 9 Discipline: History (U.S. History 1/U.S. Social Studies) Lesson Topic: The constitutionality of the Patriot Act Lesson Month: December Number of Students: 30…

video: One Hundred Years of Solitude

This video introduces the idea of magical realism, of a world where the impossible and the possible are mingled, and people accept the presence of both in their daily lives. How much of the novel is a metaphor for life in Latin America? Decide for yourself as you dive into this novel by the winner…

video: How People Learn: Introduction to Learning Theory

“Teaching is not simply random, and ad-hock and haphazard; there are some ways to actually shape your work that are likely to be more effective, because they respond to what learners are actually doing, thinking, and experiencing.” Linda Darling-Hammond Key Questions How do people learn? How can learning inform teaching practice? Learning Objectives History of…

video: Analyze the Video | Teaching English Language Learners

…see classroom examples that illustrate the research-based strategies Professor Jiménez describes. As you watch the video, consider the following questions: Where do I start? How can I build on what English language learners bring to the classroom? How can the classroom context support English language learners? What are some strategies for teaching English language learners?…

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Social Justice and Action: Alma Flor Ada, Pam Muñoz Ryan, and Paul Yee

…Paul Yee, and compare characters’ hopes, expectations, and actual experiences upon arriving in the United States. The students conduct research, which includes interviews with family members and nonfiction readings. Alma Flor Ada visits the classroom, answers questions about her novel, and facilitates discussion about social justice and taking action for change. As a culminating project,…

video: Historical and Cultural Context: Christopher Paul Curtis

Laina Jones and her sixth-grade students in Dorchester, Massachusetts explore The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Jones uses nonfiction, documentary film, and historical photographs to contextualize the events in the novel and the civil rights movement. The students make deep connections to the literature through drama, poetry, and creative writing…

video: Reacting to Students’ Work

“Success looks different to me with each student. For some students, just being able to talk about a book at all is a plus. And then other students are able to come up with questions that go beyond the book. They are able to talk about meanings, about interpretations…and that’s success.” -Latosha Rowley, 4th- and…

video: Responding to Writing: Peer to Peer

section: Teaching Strategies

Cultural Artifacts Group Research Cultural Immersion Renga…

video: Borrowing From the Arts To Enhance Learning

Fifth-grade students designed visual representations of their own personal histories at Browns Mill Elementary School in Lithonia, Georgia. Teachers use arts-based techniques to engage their students’ minds, bodies, and emotions, adding vitality and context to day-to-day learning experiences: At Maria Mitchell Elementary School in Denver, Colorado, Penny Suazo raises achievement in her class of active…

video: Three Leaders at Arts-Based Schools

Assistant Principal Rory Pullens of Smith Renaissance School of the Arts in Denver, Colorado. Administrators of three successful arts-based schools share their insights and practical management strategies: Principal Martha Rodriguez-Torres leveraged her approach to arts-based learning to transform the low-performing P.S. 156 into The Waverly School of the Arts, a source of pride and accomplishment…

section: Put It Into Practice | New Literacies of the Internet

Choose Activities In this section, you will build on what you have learned and develop strategies you can use in your classroom. The following activities are designed to assist you in integrating new technologies into your existing curriculum. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below. Activity 1 –Research an Author In…

video: Teaching Poetry

section: Authors and Literary Works

unit: The Unity of Emotion, Thinking, and Learning

section: Homework

…wins if the sum of the number of fingers is odd. Suppose that each player selects randomly among the three choices. Determine whether this game is fair by constructing the possible outcomes (there are a total of nine). Problem H4 Player B realizes that the game is unfair and changes strategies: Now Player B will…

section: Teaching Strategies: Building Understanding

…doing a lot more reinforcing of the major key concepts, and we’re going to be looking at different strategies and different ways to solve systems of equations and analyze graphs throughout this unit. But I think for their first day and their first intro to the lesson, I think they did a pretty good job….

unit: Reasons for Writing

In this workshop you will explore practices that motivate students to write and help them develop into independent, motivated writers. These effective practices include allowing students to make their own choices about their writing, helping them keep a writer’s notebook in which to record their thoughts and draw inspiration, and providing opportunities for students to…

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Historical and Cultural Context: Langston Hughes and Christopher Moore

video: Research and Discovery: Edwidge Danticat, An Na, Laurence Yep, and more

In Clayton, Missouri, Kathryn Mitchell Pierce’s sixth-grade students read works that explore issues of historical and contemporary immigration. Pierce uses “text sets” of multicultural picture books, poetry, and nonfiction to introduce the students to a wide range of perspectives and to set the stage for their novel study. The Students choose, and then discuss in…

video: Foundations

“When we read something, we build envisionments that help us make sense of the text. Our ideas grow and change and become more full or complex over time. In the classroom, we want our students to do the same thing.” -Dr. Judith Langer, Director, National Research Center on English Learning & Achievement (CELA), State University…

session: Russian: Russian Cities, Russian Stories

…in mixed-level groups, they read and interpret a story derived from their geography lesson. They conclude by creating and then presenting their own stories to the class. In a separate activity, Russian IV students debate the role of the leader in Russian history after reading an article about Vladimir Putin. Video Summary In this lesson,…

video: Creating a Classroom Culture

Darby Masland explains how a class-wide focus on standards helps students meet learning goals more effectively. Teacher: Darby Masland School: The Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, New York, NY Grade: 9 Discipline: Social Studies (Global Studies) Lesson Topic: “Grassroots lesson” (a focus on skills with which students are struggling) Lesson…

unit: Conclusion: A Community of Educators

video: Going Further in Discussion

Introduction “I think literature’s job is to help kids find their way and see their way in books. It’s hopefully illuminating the challenges that we have as people in this world.” Barry Hoonan 5th and 6th Grades Teacher, The Odyssey School Bainbridge Island, Washington Orchestrating meaningful literature discussions is a delicate dance. Teachers must artfully…

video: Starting Out

“My job is to circulate and re-motivate kids when they stall [and] challenge them to take further steps in the discussion. Hopefully…I can keep them discussing and enjoying a poem; it helps push them to a higher level of understanding.” Jonathan Holden, 4th-Grade Teacher Nathan Hale Elementary School Roxbury, Massachusetts Students often don’t know how…

video: Reading and Writing Scientific Abstracts

Tracy Tran leads students in learning how to write a scientific abstract by reading and annotating a model and then having students try one on their own. Teacher: Tracy Tran School: The Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, New York, NY Grade: 12 Discipline: Science (Environmental Science) Lesson Topic: What is an abstract? Lesson…

section: Put It Into Practice | Using Assessment To Guide Instruction

…classroom. Activity 1. Use Assessment To Plan Instruction Analyze a student’s performance records to plan appropriate instruction. Activity 2. Develop an Assessment Schedule Plan a schedule for assessing your students’ reading and writing throughout the year. Activity 3. Create a Handbook Collect literacy resources for each workshop session in a Handbook for Effective Literacy Practices….

unit: Argument Writing

Introduction The previous unit focused on practices that support the reading and analysis of text for developing interpretations. This unit looks at a process for argument writing, which is important for communicating interpretations and further developing the evidentiary base to support claims. The ELA/Literacy Common Core Standards identify three types of writing: (1) writing as…

video: Flexible Grouping to Promote Learning

Darby Masland uses flexible grouping to foster understanding of texts and vocabulary. Teacher: Darby Masland School: The Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, New York, NY Grade: 9 Discipline: Social Studies (Global Studies) Lesson Topic: “Grassroots lesson” (a focus on skills with which students are struggling) Lesson Month: March Number of…

video: View & Analyze the Video

…the following questions: How do you define diversity in learners? What instructional strategies work for diverse learners? How do teachers connect research and theory to practice? *The classroom excerpts featured in this video are from the Teaching Foreign Languages K-12 video library. To learn more about the featured lessons, go to the Library Videos Chart….

section: Assignments + Projects

section: Part B: Reasoning About Measurement (40 minutes)

…the shape is changed in some way Develop strategies for estimating the perimeters, areas, and volumes of irregular shapes Select and apply appropriate standard units and tools to measure length, area, volume, weight, time, temperature, and the size of angles Select and use benchmarks to estimate measurements Develop, understand, and use formulas to find the…

section: Part B: Reasoning About Measurement (40 minutes)

…of triangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, and circles, and develop strategies to find the area of more complex shapes Develop strategies to determine the surface area and volume of selected prisms, pyramids, and cylinders Solve problems involving scale factors, using ratio and proportion Solve simple problems involving rates and derived measurements for such attributes as velocity and…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What are some of the most significant works of art in your target culture(s)? What strategies help students derive meaning from an informational text? What strategies help students develop their own…

video: Celebrations of Light

Video Summary: Eileen Mesmer uses the theme of holidays to teach students about social studies. Throughout the year her class has read stories about different cultures’ holiday celebrations, prepared foods traditionally eaten during those holidays, learned holiday greetings in other languages, and studied artifacts related to the various holidays. Shifting the emphasis from how holiday…

video: Controversial Public Policy Issues — Workshop Session

…segment, and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session.   Additional Materials The following materials—Lesson Plan, Teacher and Student Perspectives, Essential Readings and Other Lessons—provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom….

unit: Conversations With Student Writers

All teachers understand the value of responding personally to student work. But how do you use that feedback to help students improve their writing? In this workshop, you will examine the practical issues of planning and conducting writing conferences. You will also see classroom examples of formal and informal writing conferences. I still find conferring…

video: The Classroom Mosaic: Culture and Learning

“Learning is essentially cultural, that is, we live in a culture – it comprises our experience. We use that whenever we learn something new. So teachers need to know how to understand the cultural context and experiences their students bring to the classrooms. They also need to help students find themselves in the school curriculum…

section: Before you Watch

video: Reading and Writing in Science

…P. David Pearson is a professor of language and literacy education at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as dean for 10 years. He is currently involved in a research and development project in which reading, writing, and language are used to foster science knowledge and inquiry….

video: Using Technology to Develop Writing Skills

Jane Cunningham and her colleague Mike McSweeney discuss the creation of an English unit on journalism, which promotes skills such as the use of technology, conducting interviews, and working with others. Teacher: Jane Cunningham School: Reading Memorial High School, Reading, MA Grade: 11 Discipline: English Lesson Topic: The power of narrative podcast project Lesson Month:…

video: Using Technology to Develop Writing Skills

Jane Cunningham and her colleague Mike McSweeney discuss the creation of an English unit on journalism, which promotes skills such as the use of technology, conducting interviews, and working with others. Teacher: Jane Cunningham School: Reading Memorial High School, Reading, MA Grade: 11 Discipline: English Lesson Topic: The power of narrative podcast project Lesson Month:…

video: Looking at Cause and Effect

“I want to help my students develop a sense of wonder when they’re reading. That’s what good readers do. They wonder, they form questions, and they pay attention to what’s going on in the text. They identify the cause and effect, and then take it one step further–they respond. “ –Holly Concannon Holly Concannon teaches…

video: Student Diversity

Introduction “… You find strength within the classroom, not based simply on the commonalties… Those are there, but the strength comes through the differences… the different stories you have to tell, the different things [you] can learn from one another and about one another and then celebrate…” Jan Currence 7th Grade Teacher, Stephen Decatur Middle…

video: Asking Questions

…students to get involved with the texts they read by selecting engaging young adult literature that features adolescents struggling with real problems. Ms. Hernandez believes that students become highly engaged in their reading experiences and gain greater literacy when they see themselves and real life conflicts in the literature they read. In this lesson, students…

video: Watch the Video | Using Assessment To Guide Instruction

…for about 12 1/2 minutes.   After watching the lecture, review your notes and consider these questions: What do you want to know about your students’ reading and writing? How do you obtain and document this information throughout the year? How do you use the results of your assessments to plan subsequent instruction? What are…

video: Engaging Students in Authentic Reading and Writing

Jenee Ramos engages students in reading and writing about topics that are relevant to their lives. Teacher: Jenee Ramos School: Brookline High School, Brookline, MA Grade: 10 Discipline: English (Real-World Literature) Lesson Topic: Polishing creative pieces for publishing Lesson Month: May Number of Students: 23…

video: Writing for New Media

Jane Cunningham engages her students with a journalism podcast project in which they create their own podcasts about a subject of their choice. ​Teacher: Jane Cunningham School: Reading Memorial High School, Reading, MA Grade: 11 Discipline: English Lesson Topic: The power of narrative podcast project Lesson Month: June Number of Students: 18…

video: Engaging Students in Authentic Reading and Writing

Jenee Ramos engages students in reading and writing about topics that are relevant to their lives. Teacher: Jenee Ramos School: Brookline High School, Brookline, MA Grade: 10 Discipline: English (Real-World Literature) Lesson Topic: Polishing creative pieces for publishing Lesson Month: May Number of Students: 23…

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Program 13: Learning To Revise

…What is the connection between Silvia’s sketching strategy and the students’ independent revision work? How could the students use drawings based on their own drafts to help them revise? How would you help students make this transition? Think of one or more other specific writing strategies that could be taught at least partially through sketching….

section: Put It Into Practice | Writing

Choose Activities In this section, you will build on what you have learned, and develop strategies you can use in your own classroom. The following activities are designed to help you promote the writing development of all of your students. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below. Activity 1 –Using Exemplary…

video: Analyze the Video | Writing

Video Summary In this video, Professor Nadeen Ruiz discusses components of an effective writing program, strategies teachers can use to help students improve, and effective assessment practices. You will also see classroom examples that illustrate the strategies and research Professor Ruiz describes. As you watch the video, consider the following questions: What contributes to an…

video: Program 4: Fostering Choice and Independence

…just to choose a topic. How does Mark address these differences? What strategies does he use to keep track of each student’s work and progress? Mark Hardy: Lesson Background (PDF) Silvia Edgerton’s Class Silvia Edgerton begins each writing workshop with a “status of the class,” in which she gathers her fifth-graders together to ask them…

video: Online Textbook and Video

This online textbook chapter supports and extends the content of the HIV and AIDS video. The chapter provides an overview of the human immune system, and covers the viral life cycle and current obstacles in controlling HIV. Click on the Go button to begin reading, or skip to a sub-section of the chapter in the…

session: Spanish: Interpreting Picasso’s Guernica

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Meghan Zingle Language Spanish II Grades 10 School Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, Connecticut Lesson Date March 1 Class Size 22 Schedule 40 minutes daily   Video Summary In this lesson, students interpret and discuss Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. First, as a class, students list vocabulary words suggested by the images in…

unit: Writing in Science

unit: Teachers & Lesson Plans

video: Before You Watch | Using Assessment To Guide Instruction

…decisions. In her lecture, Dr. Jeanne R. Paratore reviews the principles of classroom-based assessment and engages the workshop participants in a discussion of their own assessment practices. The participants then watch and discuss a set of classroom excerpts illustrating Dr. Paratore’s lecture. In the final activity, workshop participants assess a first-grader’s reading and writing samples….

video: Watch the Video | Supporting the English Language Learner

Lecture In this section, you will watch Dr. Gort’s lecture on reading instruction for English Language Learners in grades K-2. Print Dr. Gort’s English Language Learners Lecture Posters (PDF). Use the posters to take notes on the lecture. In this video segment, Dr. Gort presents and discusses research-based principles on second-language literacy development. The lecture…

video: Reading and Responding Like a Historian

LeRoy Votto’s students discuss their thoughts on Wendell Phillips’s speech “The Philosophy of the Abolitionist Movement.” Teacher: LeRoy Votto School: The Urban School of San Francisco (Private), San Francisco, CA Grade: 10 Discipline: History (the Civil War) Lesson Topic: The abolitionist movement and its message Lesson Month: January Number of Students: 14…

video: Making Writing Meaningful

video: Freedom of Religion — Workshop Session

…individuals and by facilitators of workshop sessions.   Additional Materials The materials described below—Lesson Plan, Teacher Perspectives, Student Perspectives, Essential Readings and Other Lessons— provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom.  …

section: Patriotism and Foreign Policy — Other Lessons

…evaluating policies. America Responds to Terrorism: Press Freedom vs. Military Censorship From the Constitutional Rights Foundation Much of the war on terrorism involves gathering highly sensitive information about terrorists. In addition, the U.S. and other governments are developing new strategies to contend with terrorism at home and abroad. There has been considerable discussion about what…

section: Student Work

This section features sample work from Workshop video 2, in which Akiko Morimoto’s students explored works by Judith Ortiz Cofer and Nikki Grimes. The samples include: An illustration drawn as a visual representation of the short story, “An Hour with Abuelo,” by Judith Ortiz Cofer. (See Teaching Strategies: Creating Visual Representations and Symbols.) A poem…

section: Teaching Strategies: Manipulatives

…basis? How can we do this and apply this to other problems, without having to go back to the manipulatives?” We use this as our concept attainment … Then, as a class, we come up with the general rules and strategies that we would apply to a problem that will help them without the manipulatives….

section: Part B: Reasoning About Number and Operations (40 minutes)

…systems • Understand the meaning of operations and how they relate to one another•Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates In pre-K through grade 2 classrooms, students are expected to do the following: • Understand various meanings of addition and subtraction of whole numbers and the relationship between the two operations • Develop and use strategies…

section: Student Work

This section includes two samples of student work from Workshop video 3, Sally Brownfield’s unit on Indian residential schools. Samples include: A journal entry from this unit in which the student reflected on My Name is Seepeetza. (See Teaching Strategies: Journaling.) A K/W/L chart in which this student recorded what he knew, what he wanted…

section: Scientists

…well as in the outdoor environment. Although he is investigating the effects of pollutants of outdoor origin (ozone, acidic particles, PCBs), he is particularly interested in pollutants of indoor origin (fungi, dust mites, nitrogen dioxide, tobacco smoke, radon, and others). He is also investigating ways to promote improved air quality through sustainable development strategies. Dr….

video: Slavery and Freedom

Race and Identity in Antebellum America How has slavery shaped the American literary imagination and American identity? This episode turns to the classic slave narratives of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass, and the fiction of Harriet Beecher Stowe. What rhetorical strategies do their works use to construct an authentic and authoritative American self?…

section: Part E: Bar Graphs and Relative Frequencies (30 Minutes)

…after you have completed Session 2. What are Kim Martucci’s strategies for predicting the weather? How are they similar to your strategies for counting raisins? How are they different? You can find the first part of this segment on the session video approximately 23 minutes and 3 seconds after the Annenberg Media logo. The second…

section: Part B: Reasoning About Situations (45 minutes)

…in line in front of him. Tip: Look for a pattern in the table, then extend it. Are you using algebraic thinking? Problem B4 Describe the strategies you used to find the answer to Problem B3 and how you could predict the answer for any number of sheep in the line. Is your method for…

section: Student Work

…Teaching Strategies: Connecting Poetry and History.) A commemorative stamp design drawn by one of the students after taking a field trip to the African Burial Ground. (See Teaching Strategies: Field Trips.) Students created stamps to memorialize those in the African Burial Ground, including the African slaves of early New York. As you review the student’s…

video: Making Connections

unit: Writing in Mathematics

unit: The Brick Street Irregulars

Objective: Child will be able to find the area of an irregular shape. Essential Question(s): What strategies can we use to find the area of an irregular shape? Special Materials: Paper and pencil for recording data Bricks Required: 16×16 plates, 2×2 bricks, 2xN plates, 2×2 clear blue tiles Project Structure Engage/Explore: Show child a SOHO…

section: Part D: Number Games (35 minutes)

…result is 7, what number did she pick?   Problem D6 What strategies did you use on Problems D3(f) and D3(g)? Why are these different from the strategies used in Problems D1(f) and D1(g)?   Problem D7 Describe another number game that has the same kind of outputs as the game of Problem D5.  …

section: Slavery and Freedom – Activities

section: Class Context

…Board Vergil Syllabus to prepare her students for the Advanced Placement Exam. The Lesson In this lesson, the Latin II-III students and Latin IV Advanced Placement students worked together to create original manuscripts based on passages they had read. This was a culminating activity for the Latin II-III students, following a nine-week unit on reading…

section: Class Context

…students. Ms. Shuffelton addressed the different language levels of the students by varying the pace of her speech, as well as by paraphrasing and restating student responses. When the language became too difficult for beginning students, Ms. Shuffelton restated the information in English to keep the conversation and exchange of information flowing. Key Teaching Strategies…

section: Class Context

…and authentic materials to create thematic lessons that match her students’ level of linguistic and cognitive development. At this level, she wants students to communicate in multiple time frames, interpret authentic texts at intermediate or advanced levels, and understand key points and some details when reading or listening to a native speaker. The Lesson By…

video: Program 12: Peer Conferences

…other strategies might you use to set up peer conferences in pairs or groups? Jeanne Boiarsky: Lesson Background (PDF) Lindsay Dibert’s Class The second half of the video features Lindsay Dibert and her fifth-grade students. Lindsay introduces a new revision strategy in which the students listen to each other talk about their stories, take notes,…

section: Class Context

…a model house to demonstrate the sentences. Students then continued to practice creating original sentences about family and home. Finally, students were assessed on listening comprehension before moving on to the next unit. Key Teaching Strategies Manipulating Language Structures: The teacher helps students develop an awareness of how the language is structured by engaging them…

section: Class Context

…students. She also includes in each lesson opportunities for reading, writing, listening, speaking, and cultural understanding. Ms. Alston likes to begin lessons with individual practice, then move to information gap and pairs activities that give students multiple opportunities to practice the language. As students grow more comfortable with new words and structures, they are able…

video: Making Bread Together

Video Summary: Kindergarten teacher Meylin Gonzalez brings economic concepts to life in the classroom by creating a hands-on assembly line in which her students make bread. Ms. Gonzalez begins by reading a book entitled Pasta, Please to help students understand how pasta is made and where commercially prepared food comes from. Then they discuss the…

video: Starting in September…

Introduction “You set the stage and then you get off the stage. You let the kids just talk to each other because… that’s the kind of discussion you want. [You] want them responding in the most natural way for them. ‘What are your questions? What did you notice? What did you see? What surprises you?…

video: Introducing Arts Education

Costumes lead to inquiry about the arts and social studies in a fifth-grade class at Lusher Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana What Is Arts Education? (14 minutes) To get you thinking, here is a montage of insights from teachers and administrators plus examples of successful arts instruction in classrooms across America. In the Observations…

lesson: Getting Ready

…sets of four index cards labeled “teacher,” “principal,” “parent,” and “student” Paper and art supplies Reading: Factors for Arts Education Success (PDF) Reading: Research on Arts Education (PDF)   Opening Steps Facilitator: Engage participants in thinking about the role the arts can play in the classroom by discussing these questions: How can arts education increase…

section: Commentary

section: Reflect on Your Learning | Assessment and Accountability

What Did You Learn? Assignment Consider what you have learned about assessment practices from Professor Au’s comments, the classroom examples, and the activities in this session. Write a summary what you have learned. Use the questions below to guide your thinking. When you have finished, save your written work to submit as an assignment and,…

lesson: Getting Ready

…arts be integrated into every classroom? Materials and Resources Videotape or broadcast of Program 1 — What Is Art? Reading: Cirque du Soleil (PDF) Reading: Quidam (PDF) Opening Steps Facilitator: Distribute copies of the print guide, in its entirety, to all participants. Discuss your expectations for this professional development workshop. You can use the Guiding…

video: The Bhagavad Gita

This epic tale of the warrior-prince Arjuna confronting a life-or-death dilemma during civil war presents a unique and powerful philosophy of duty, discipline, and serving a higher purpose. Beautiful illustrations connect the story with its rich history and culture. Featured speakers include Sheldon Pollock, Professor of Sanskrit Studies and acclaimed composer Philip Glass.

video: English in the Real World: A Sports Journalist

Introduction The Real World videos in the Reading and Writing in the Disciplines course support teachers’ daily efforts to effectively teach students using the Common Core State Standards as benchmarks for success. Through stories of professionals working toward social justice in different disciplines, these videos can serve as a tool for showing students the role…

section: Extend Your Knowledge | Teaching English Language Learners

…represent the text? Is the item high quality overall, independent of its multicultural characteristics? Adapted from Criteria for Evaluating Multicultural Literature by Denise Agosto   Notebook Now, write your answers to these questions: Why is reading multicultural literature important for your English language learners? For all students in your classroom? How do the five characteristics…

video: Reading Like a Historian

Lili Velo uses historical context to teach students how to analyze historical documents. Teacher: Miroslaba “Lili” Velo School: Tennyson High School, Hayward, CA Grade: 11 Discipline: History (U.S. History) Lesson Topic: Native American removal Lesson Month: January/February Number of Students: 25 Other: Sheltered class (for English language learners)…

lesson: Getting Ready

…the arts in their classrooms? Materials and Resources Videotape or broadcast of Program 7 — Three Schools, Three Approaches Handout: Ridgeway Elementary School (PDF) Handout: Drew Model School (PDF) Handout: Kingsbury Elementary School (PDF) Reading: Roles of Arts Specialists and Classroom Teachers (PDF) Reading: Comprehensive Arts Education (PDF) Opening Steps Facilitator: Ask participants to review…

video: History in the Real World: A Documentary Filmmaker

Introduction The Real World videos in the Reading and Writing in the Disciplines course support teachers’ daily efforts to effectively teach students using the Common Core State Standards as benchmarks for success. Through stories of professionals working toward social justice in different disciplines, these videos can serve as a tool for showing students the role…

video: View & Analyze (Video)

Watch the Video As you watch “Routes to Culture,” take notes on Mr. Muirhead’s instructional strategies, particularly how he groups students and how he encourages them to make cultural observations. Write down what you find interesting, surprising, or especially important about the teaching and learning in this lesson….

video: Cultural Studies: Ishmael Reed and Graciela Limón

video: Cultural Studies: N. Scott Momaday and Russell Leong

workshop: Meaningful Interpretation

Invoking the interpretive mode is one of the most creative ways to make a text personal to all kinds of learners. Every student in a classroom can come to appreciate a text on his or her own level. – Virginia Scott Chair of French and Italian Vanderbilt University Learning Goals How can you build your…

video: Candide

This video introduces a question: is everything that happens, good or bad, part of a larger cosmic plan that justifies it? Or is life a game of chance, with no greater good or larger aim? Follow Candide through all of his hellish but hilarious adventures and see what conclusions people who love this book have…

video: Watch the Video | Word Study and Fluency

…of word study in grades K-2: emergent literacy, phonics, and reading accuracy and fluency. All three areas provide the foundation for learning to read and write. An accompanying lecture transcript (PDF) is also available. Video Segment – Dr. Paratore’s Lecture Find this segment approximately 7 minutes and 55 seconds after the beginning of the video….

unit: Implications For Schools

workshop: Responding to the Arts

Learner Team members Angela Snead and Connie Usova attend “Critic School.” How is our perception of a work of art influenced by what we know about the time and place in which it was created? How does music establish a mood or atmosphere? How do you evaluate a work of art? Program 2 features two…

video: Before You Watch | Supporting the English Language Learner

Video Summary In the video for this session, Dr. Mileidis Gort presents research-based principles that support English Language Learners’ literacy and language development. She describes the characteristics of beginning and intermediate second-language learners, then presents instructional practices that best meet their needs. Workshop participants then watch classroom excerpts illustrating teaching practices that support English Language…

video: Watch the Video | Connecting School and Home

…that parents play an important role in their child’s literacy development and that positive home-school connections influence children’s achievement in reading and writing. An accompanying lecture transcript (PDF) is also available. Video Segment – Dr. Paratore’s Lecture Find this segment approximately 3 minutes and 30 seconds after the beginning of the video. Watch for about…

section: Expert Interview Transcript: Jonathan Eisen, Ph.D.

Assistant Investigator, The Institute for Genomic Research An investigator at the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). His research interests include DNA repair, extremophiles, and phyogenomics….

video: Teaching Writing as a Process

In this session, you will investigate and apply research-based principles on writing instruction in early literacy. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand: Characteristics of effective writing instruction Components of the writing process Formats for writing in K-2 classrooms Writing as an integral part of all curriculum areas Factor Related…

section: Session Author and Literary Works: Octavia E. Butler

…like the stories, she said, ‘Here’s the book. Now you read.’ She didn’t know what she was setting us both up for.” Butler credited her mother with instilling in her a love of reading, but she credited a bad sci-fi movie for her love of writing. She explained: “I was writing my own little stories,…

video: Science in the Real World: A Biotech Startup

Introduction The Real World videos in the Reading and Writing in the Disciplines course support teachers’ daily efforts to effectively teach students using the Common Core State Standards as benchmarks for success. Through stories of professionals working toward social justice in different disciplines, these videos can serve as a tool for showing students the role…

video: Pulling It All Together: Creating Classrooms and Schools That Support Learning

“As our standards go up, as we aim to educate all kids effectively, we need to put together all of the pieces of learning theory that we’ve acquired over this last century into settings where kids are supported – where they’re scaffolded, where they’re challenged, where they’re motivated, where they have the opportunity to learn…

video: Overview

section: Authors and Literary Works

video: Feelings Count: Emotions and Learning

…Teachers will understand the need to make judgments about when emotions are interfering with or supporting learning. Emotional intelligence – Teachers will consider and understand the five aspects of “emotional intelligence.” They will begin to develop strategies to help themselves and their students become aware of and manage their emotions. Creating emotionally safe learning environments…

video: Solving Equations

…the role of independent and dependent variables in linear functions. Now that we have explored characteristics of equations for lines, we will develop strategies for solving linear equations in this session. Note 1   Learning Objectives In this session we will explore different methods for solving equations. We will: Learn more about the meaning of…

section: Teaching Strategies: Patterns

Educator Marilyn Burns describes algebra as “the generalization of arithmetic.” The same definition is given in The Mathematics Dictionary (4th edition) by James & James. The University of Cambridge Maths Thesaurus defines algebra as “The noticing of patterns and describing them in words and pictures … It is the branch of elementary mathematics that generalizes…

section: Teaching Strategies: Affective Domain

Affective refers to those actions that result from and are influenced by emotions. Consequently, the affective domain relates to emotions, attitudes, appreciations, and values. It is highly personal to learning, demonstrated by behaviors indicating attitudes of interest, attention, concern, and responsibility. According to the National Guidelines for Educating EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Instructors, the following…

section: Teaching Strategies

News Groups / Public Letters Cultural Exchange Group Persona / Tea Party Personal Essay…

workshop: The Role of Assessment in Curriculum Design

Workshop Leader Susanne Burgess engages the Learner Teams in a discussion of assessment strategies. In Program 6, Learner Teams develop performance tasks and scoring guidelines to evaluate students’ performance on those tasks. You also will create assessment tools. The assessment practices discussed here can be used in designing curriculum for virtually any subject area….

section: Part B: False Position and Backtracking (30 minutes)

…the answer you want. “Its 1/7” means 1/7 of the original quantity.   Problem B2 Consider the following equation: 4[3(2n – 4) / 6] = 8. Think of as many strategies as you can for solving this equation. Note 5   Tip: False position will work here. You might also try writing the steps of…

lesson: Cherokee Memorials

…Europeans in America. Perhaps most powerfully, the memorial skillfully employs American republican ideals of independence, natural rights, and self-government to point out the hypocrisy of nineteenth-century American policy and to support the Cherokees’ claims. The citizens’ memorials use many of the same rhetorical strategies, but are generally characterized by less formal language than the document…

section: Understanding and Analyzing Iconic Non-Fiction Texts of the Civil Rights Movement

…probably best to highlight key terms for students ahead of time, or to encourage them to talk about small sections of the letter with a partner. This will happen naturally as you work with students to analyze the argument he presents, but reading it ahead of time will help their comprehension of the letter and…

video: Science Literacy: Reading and Writing Diagrams

Students use models to explain how the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth determine Moon phases, eclipses, and tides. They also explore the importance of diagrams in communicating information. Teacher: Mike Viney School: Blevins Middle School, Fort Collins, CO Grade: 8 Discipline: Science Lesson Topic: Moon phases and misleading diagrams Lesson Month: May…

video: Mathematics in the Real World: An Epidemiologist

Introduction The Real World videos in the Reading and Writing in the Disciplines course support teachers’ daily efforts to effectively teach students using the Common Core State Standards as benchmarks for success. Through stories of professionals working toward social justice in different disciplines, these videos can serve as a tool for showing students the role…

video: Beginning the Year

“I like the idea of blank space in the classroom…not necessarily filling it up for yourself, because I want students to get the idea that whatever they do in this room is important.” -Rich Thompson, 4th Grade Teacher, Canyon Elementary School, Hungry Horse, Montana Establishing routines and expectations, creating a learning community, setting a comfortable…

section: Authors and Literary Works

section: Put It Into Practice | Creating a Literate Community

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The three activities are designed to assist you in developing resources for your word study instruction. Choose one or more from the list below to practice in your classroom. Activity #1 Add Literacy Routines Develop additional literacy routines to…

video: Things Fall Apart

This video introduces the world of the Igbo, whose civilization is threatened by the colonial advances of the British into their lands in Nigeria. You’ll see this native world in all its logic, beauty, and problems, and then watch it begin to crack under internal and external pressure. All Video on Demand files are protected…

session: Arabic: Making Plans

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Belal Joundeya Language Arabic V/VI Grades 9-12 School Lincoln High School, Portland, Oregon Lesson Date March 8 Class Size 20 Schedule 92 minutes, 2–3 times per week اضغط هنا للترجمة باللغة العربية Video Summary In this lesson, high school students in Belal Joundeya’s Arabic V/VI class engage in authentic conversations…

video: Expanding the Role of the Arts Specialist

…New Orleans, Louisiana, coordinates her lesson plans with classroom teachers, using dance to integrate reading and vocabulary (see Featured Approaches). Mary Perkerson, a visual art specialist, conducts workshops in visual art techniques for new teachers at Harmony Leland Elementary School in Mableton, Georgia. For an honors art class, she introduces a group of kindergarten through…

video: Before You Watch | Differentiating Instruction

Video Summary In the video for this session, Dr. Jeanne R. Paratore presents research-based principles that support the use of a flexible grouping model for literacy instruction. She reviews basic formats for flexible grouping, and applies the research to effective teaching practices and routines that advance all students’ reading development. The workshop participants watch classroom…

video: Population and Resource Distribution

Video Summary: How are resources divided among the world’s population? Who are the “haves” and the “have nots”? What is life like for each group? What actions can citizens of the world take to rectify inequities? To help her students understand the complex issues surrounding the distribution of resources throughout the world, Becky Forristal uses…

section: Teaching Strategies

section: Teaching Strategies: Developing a Community of Learners

In a collaborative classroom, students are willing to share their opinions. They are enthusiastic about discussing mathematics in the interest of learning. They feel at ease agreeing and disagreeing with one another. All teachers aspire to have a classroom in which students collectively take responsibility for their own learning, but it’s far from common. With…

video: Reader Response: Pat Mora and James Welch

video: Reader Response: Keith Gilyard and Mourning Dove

section: Teaching Strategies: Listening to Students

According to veteran teacher Steve Reinhart, students can sometimes be the best instructors. In an April 2000 article in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle Schooltitled “Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say,” he wrote the following: When I was in front of the class demonstrating and explaining, I was learning a great deal, but many…

lesson: Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)

…the anti-slavery fight. Eventually, Douglass broke with Garrison because they disagreed about how best to achieve abolitionist goals. While Garrison disavowed the United States Constitution as a pro-slavery document and advocated only passive resistance, Douglass was becoming increasingly committed to working within electoral politics and to adopting active–and if necessary violent–strategies to ensure emancipation. Douglass…

video: State Government and the Role of the Citizen

Video Summary: How does government function at the state level? How are state laws made? In this lesson, Diane Kerr’s students examine the branches of state government, the powers of each branch, and how a bill becomes a law. Ms. Kerr begins by identifying the three branches of government and describing the role of each…

section: Teaching Strategies

Asking: Finding Inquiry Topics and Questions Investigating: Collecting and Working with Information Creating: Making Presentations Reflecting and Transforming: Writing, Thinking, and Acting on the Inquiry Process Resources…

video: Social Justice and Action: Joseph Bruchac and Francisco Jiménez

This program begins with profiles of the featured authors, then moves on to Chicago, Illinois, where Lisa Espinosa’s seventh-grade students explore themes of representation through literature, documentary film, and photography. The students look critically at past and current media depictions of African Americans, Latino/as, and Native Americans, and examine ways in which artists and writers…

section: Freedom of Religion — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

lesson: Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) (1876-1938)

…insensitivity of white strategies for “civilizing” Indians. After the publication of the autobiographical essays, Zitkala-Sa composed an Indian opera called “Sun Dance” and compiled collections of traditional Sioux legends and stories that she translated into English. Her outspoken views eventually alienated authorities at the Carlisle School, so she left to work at Standing Rock Reservation….

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How do you see the role of the teacher in providing corrective feedback? What might grammar instruction look like in a communicative classroom? What are some strategies you might use to…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How do teachers work with the shorter attention span of younger learners? What strategies do elementary school teachers use to communicate with their students solely in the target language? Should they…

video: Bringing Artists to Your Community

…nearby Sand Creek. Young Audiences of Colorado sponsors workshops for artists to learn to work with schools, and arranges their residencies. These same workshops are open to teachers, who learn to work effectively with resident artists. De Pree, who has worked with the school for several years, shares some of her strategies for successful residencies….

video: View & Analyze the Video

…teaching vocabulary, how do you sequence and vary activities to promote student learning? What are some different ways that technology can be used to provide students with a wide range of authentic cultural materials? How many different ways do you reinforce meaning? How do you help students adopt numerous strategies to get their meaning across?…

section: Teaching Strategies: Lesson Study

When the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was conducted in 1996, more than 60 percent of American math and science teachers who participated in the study reported that they never had the opportunity to observe or be observed by another colleague. In contrast, Japanese teachers observe colleagues in classrooms all the time. Derived…

video: Teaching the Power of Revision

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What are some ways to expand and enrich a lesson around a limited set of vocabulary terms, such as the names of different fruits? What are some learning strategies that you…

section: Assignments + Projects

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Robert Austin The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

video: A Shared Path

What kind of atmosphere do students need to grow as writers? This session concentrates on the “hows” and “whys” that answer that question. The featured teachers talk about the physical set-up of a writing community, the importance of reading in a writing classroom, and their own roles as co-writers in the community, showing how these…

video: The Thousand and One Nights

This video introduces the world of high Islamic culture, lowbrow comedy, and encounters with the spirit world, all through the stories of the brave Shahrazad, who saves her own life, her husband’s sanity, the kingdom, and all of her readers from the evils of life with her stories. All Video on Demand files are protected…

session: German: Sports Stats

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Amy Garcia Language German Grades 5 School Brockett Elementary School, Tucker, Georgia Lesson Date March 26 Class Size 16 Schedule 30 minutes, four days per week Video Summary In this lesson, students talk about their sports likes and dislikes. They begin by reading their personal journal entries to review the…

video: Reading and Writing in History

The following education experts appear in this video: Heather Lattimer is an associate professor at the University of San Diego in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences. She specializes in secondary literacy, content area literacy, social studies and history education, project-based learning, and curriculum design and evaluation. Chauncey Monte-Sano is an associate professor at…

video: Using Art and Other Disciplines To Enrich Classroom Conversations

“I think it’s important to offer many ways for children to express themselves and their understanding of the book. Some kids are not very verbal or they’re shy and [alternate modes of expression] reveal a whole other dimension.” -BJ Namba, 3rd-Grade Teacher, Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii Language—written or oral—is a customary mode when asking students…

section: Commentary

lesson: James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)

…of manners set in England. According to legend, Cooper wrote the book only because his wife challenged him to make good on his boast that he could write a better novel than the one she was reading. Despite his initial offhand attitude toward writing, Cooper took the American Revolution as the subject for his second…

video: Reading and Writing in Mathematics

The following education experts appear in this video: Jacob Foster is the director of science and technology/engineering at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He oversees the state’s science and technology/engineering standards and curriculum framework, professional development opportunities, and support for districts. He is also a member of the writing team for the…

lesson: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

…most of her American contemporaries, both male and female. Yet Dickinson led a largely sequestered existence, reading widely among works of classic and contemporary literature, devoting much of her time to writing poetry. She produced close to eighteen hundred poems, which are characterized by terse lines, “slant” rhymes, and keen observation. Because of the compressed…

session: French: Chicken Pox

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Jai Scott Language French Grades Kindergarten School Ecole Kenwood Alternative Elementary School, Columbus, Ohio Lesson Date November 11 Class Size 27 Schedule About 6 hours daily (immersion) Video Summary In this lesson, students demonstrate their knowledge of body parts. They begin by talking about the chicken pox and reading Marc…

section: Put It Into Practice | Connecting School and Home

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The three activities are designed to assist you in developing resources for promoting home-school literacy connections. Choose one or more from the list below to practice in your classroom. Activity 1. Plan a Parent-Teacher Conference Outline the information exchange…

section: Authors and Literary Works

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by David Pines The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

unit: A Writer’s Notebook

“Writing is very difficult. What I like best is having written.” – Judith Ortiz Cofer No one knows the anguish and joy of writing better than a writer. That’s why numbers of educational organizations believe those who teach writing should be writers themselves. That doesn’t mean that you have to be a great elegist or…

section: Session Author and Literary Works: Ishmael Reed

Ishmael Reed Author Bio Within the growing body of African American literature, Ishmael Reed is one of the most celebrated and well-known authors now living. He has served on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley since 1968, and has taught and lectured at many other academic institutions, including Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Washington University…

video: Power Writing for Science

Amy Miles uses a “power writing” exercise to build writing skills and reinforce background knowledge. Teacher: Amy Miles School: Health Sciences High and Middle College Middle School, San Diego, CA Grade: 6 Discipline: Science Lesson Topic: Learning about rocks Lesson Month: March Number of Students: 35 Other: Health Sciences High and Middle College is a…

video: Dramatic Tableaux

About This Video Clip “Helping them to look at characters as people and try to personalize and make connections is something that I have found really is helpful and I know is an important thing to do.” Dr. Jan Currence Stephen Decatur Middle School Berlin, Maryland Integrated language arts provides an interdisciplinary learning experience for…

lesson: Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852-1930)

…self-denial on New England culture, Freeman often portrayed characters who create obstacles to their own happiness by their strict adherence to Calvinist morality. In other stories, however, she explored the rebellions and triumphs of seemingly meek women, depicting their strategies for gaining and maintaining control over their domestic situations with humor and sensitivity. She provided…

section: Teaching Strategies: Questioning Techniques

Educational philosopher John Dewey said: “What’s in a question, you ask? Everything. It is a way of evoking stimulating response or stultifying inquiry. It is, in essence, the very core of teaching.” Effective questions are an integral part of the successful mathematics classroom. Some research suggests that as much as 50 percent of classroom time…

video: Exploring Geography Through African History

Video Summary: How do you teach students about a world region as large and as culturally diverse as the continent of Africa? Seventh-grade teacher Lisa Farrow begins by focusing on the roles that geography and economics have played in shaping Africa’s history. On the first day of this two-day lesson, Ms. Farrow gives each pair…

section: Rights and Responsibilities of Students — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

section: Reflect on Your Learning | Teaching English Language Learners

…in choosing books and other classroom materials that reflect their language and culture? What instructional strategies or practices might you begin to implement immediately? What questions do you still have about meeting the needs of English language learners? Final Project If you are taking this workshop for credit, complete the next section of the Literacy…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How do teachers work with the shorter attention spans of young learners? What teaching strategies are essential when teaching early grades? When working with students whose first language is a language…

video: Civic Engagement — Workshop Session

…materials identify key concepts, provide discussion ideas for each video segment, and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session. Additional Materials The following materials provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom….

section: Teaching Strategies: Rule of Four

“High school students’ algebra experience should enable them to create and use tabular, symbolic, graphical, and verbal representations…” So begins the opening paragraph below the heading, “Understand patterns, relations, and functions” on page 297 of Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. These four modes of representation collectively form the “Rule of Four” in mathematics education….

video: View & Analyze the Video

…Respond to the following questions: How might you connect with content of other disciplines? What content areas might enhance the learning of your students? What kinds of activities engage young children in the language classroom? What are some strategies you can use to introduce new sets of vocabulary to students with minimal target language skills?…

section: Additional Photograph Resources

…collections for educational use. This list also provides examples of additional lesson plan resources currently available online. Educators can explore these sites to find quality materials and ideas for enhancing teaching strategies with photographs. Because URLs can change over time, some links may not work in the future. Searching for the name of the collection…

section: Class Context

…benefit when a topic is introduced in French class because once students know the content, less regular class time has to be devoted to it. Key Teaching Strategies Content-Based Instruction: The teacher promotes language acquisition and/or cultural knowledge through subject matter from a range of disciplines. Providing Comprehensible Input: The teacher introduces language that is…

video: Public Policy and the Federal Budget — Workshop Session

…video segment, and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session. Additional Materials The following materials—Lesson Plan, Teacher and Student Perspectives, Essential Readings and Other Lessons—provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom….

section: Online Textbook

section: Class Context

…Key Teaching Strategies Challenging Native Speakers: The teacher adapts instruction for native speakers so that they pursue tasks that recognize and build upon their competencies in the target language while their peers do more basic work. Preparing for Communication: The teacher provides opportunities for students to express their ideas or feelings in the context of…

section: Reflect on Your Learning | Creating Contexts for Learning

…you are taking this workshop for credit, include it in your Literacy Practices Portfolio. What did you learn about the influence of classroom environment on student learning and achievement? Which ideas in this session are most relevant to your teaching? What ideas or strategies do you plan to use? What support and/or resources will you…

section: Expert Interview Transcript: James Carrington, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Gene Research and Biotechnology Director of the Oregon State University’s Center for Gene Research and Biotechnology. Carrington’s lab conducts research on how viruses and host plants interact, using the model organism Arabidopsis. He uses genetic, genomic, and proteomic strategies to understand RNA silencing pathways, virus recognition events, and cellular targets for various…

workshop: Delivering the Message

…a culminating activity on the presentational mode of communication. At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: take audience into consideration when designing written and oral presentational tasks; help students develop a repertoire of strategies for completing presentational tasks; and spiral writing tasks as students develop proficiency in the language.  …

section: Part B: Undoing Algorithms (20 minutes)

…If the output is 28, what is the input? If the output is 32, what is the input? What input produces an output of 48? What input produces an output of 36?   Problem B2 What strategies did you use to answer parts (d)-(g) of Problem B1?   Problem B3 Describe, in language similar to…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What are some strategies you use to differentiate learning and accommodate the needs of different types of heritage learners and nonheritage learners? What is the main role of a teacher in…

program: Disaster and Government Response: The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the New Deal

…In 1932, Americans elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president, and he pledged a different approach than Hoover. FDR intended to have the federal government intervene in unprecedented ways with a series of stimulus strategies heralded as “the New Deal.” For the rest of the decade, the Roosevelt Administration developed programs under the First New Deal…

video: The Individual in Society

Video Summary: Questioning is a strategy that all teachers employ. In his philosophy elective, Brian Poon uses questioning to stimulate students’ critical thinking about the complex — and sometimes competing — theories in philosophy. In this lesson, Mr. Poon asks his students the following question: What role can an individual play in creating a just…

video: Explorations in Archeology and History

Video Summary: How can ancient history and archeology be brought to life in the classroom? To launch her lesson on world civilizations, Gwen Larsen begins by looking at each student’s personal history. By taking on the roles of archeologists and presenting their own heirlooms, students learn how to decipher artifacts and make connections to the…

video: Addressing the Diverse Needs of Students

In this Program Theatre A visiting theatre artist draws on the different learning styles of ninth-graders to help them understand and embrace the playwriting process. Visual Art A visual art teacher brings together honors art students and students with disabilities, so they can learn from each other.   Music As a music teacher works with…

video: Developing Students as Artists

In this Program Dance A dance teacher gives seniors leadership responsibilities and coaches their choreography. Theatre A theatre teacher mentors students who are progressing through a stagecraft and design curriculum. Music A vocal music teacher works with two classes: students learning to read music, and an advanced jazz ensemble. Visual Art Visual art teachers introduce…

video: Historical Change

Video Summary: In this lesson, David Kitts uses children’s literature and the local region’s agricultural heritage to introduce his first-grade class to the concept of historical change. Mr. Kitts begins with a timeline from a previous unit on the family. The timeline defines periods of time based on events that students can relate to, such…

video: Public Opinion and the Vietnam War

Video Summary: “In order to win a war, you must win the hearts and minds of the people.” With this quote, Liz Morrison introduces her students to the Vietnam War, the controversy over U.S. involvement in the war, and the trajectory of public opinion over the course of the war. Using data cards and a…

video: Competing Ideologies

Video Summary: From declaring war to waging peace, history is shaped by the ideological beliefs of the people who lived it. Different people hold different ideas about human nature and how a society should be organized. In his ninth-grade world history class, Wendell Brooks explains how competing ideologies drive the world events that make up…

video: A Super-Memorist Advises on Study Strategies

video: Patriotism and Foreign Policy Workshop Session

…video segment, and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session. Additional Materials The following materials—Lesson Plan, Teacher and Student Perspectives, Essential Readings and Other Lessons—provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom….

video: Leaders, Community, and Citizens

Video Summary: How do you teach young students abstract concepts like the different levels and functions of government? First-grade teacher Cynthia Vaughn focuses on the connection between citizens, community issues, and civic leaders. Working as a class, students name the different elected positions in local, state, and national government (for example, mayor, governor, president), and…

video: Explorers in North America

Video Summary: Who were the first Europeans to step foot in the New World? What were they hoping to find? And what impact did their arrival have on the people already living there? Rob Cuddi uses essential questions like these to teach his fifth-grade students about the early explorers in North America. Mr. Cuddi begins…

video: Program 9: Conversations With Student Writers

…she provides her students with options to help them problem solve independently while she confers with an individual student. (Stop after Nicole’s interview about making time for conferences. You will find this image at the end of the segment, approximately 14 minutes into the video.) What are some other strategies you might use to engage…

video: Lessons for Life: Learning and Transfer

“We don’t learn in school just to stay in school for the rest of our lives. We have to be able to transfer what we learn in one setting and use it somewhere else. In order to transfer our knowledge we have to be able to learn things in a way that is flexible, that…

video: Program 7: Teaching the Writing Craft

…does? What other ways could you and your students share and analyze writing samples? What evidence do you see that Latosha’s students have absorbed her lesson about “feeling” and “seeing” poems? How do you think the lesson will help them read and write poetry in the future? What strategies do you use to encourage all…

video: Teaching Multigenre Writing

program: Earth, Climate, and Change: Observing Human Impact

…depicted as an uncertainty. However, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (see References and Further Reading), climate change is not controversial: 97 percent of climate scientists are certain that human-caused climate change is occurring. Climate research is continuing, with scientists and engineers working to predict the consequences of climate change and…

section: Expert Interview Transcript: Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.

Director, Whitehead Center for Genomic Research and Professor of Biology, MIT. Lander has been one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project. As the director of the Whitehead Center for Genomics, Lander has helped to build a series of maps that show the basic layout of the human and mouse genomes. He has…

video: Implicit Learning

A study by Dr. Matthew H. Schneps shows that while dyslexics have difficulty with reading, which involves central vision, they have an advantage with peripheral vision.

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Natalie Roe The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

section: Authors and Literary Works

video: Presenting Facts as Evidence

Elisabeth Shanley’s students debate the successes of the Aztec and Inca civilizations using evidence from their research. Teacher: Elisabeth Shanley School: Parker Middle School, Reading, MA Grade: 8 Discipline: Social Studies Lesson Topic: Characteristics of the Aztec and Inca civilizations Lesson Month: June Number of Students: 22…

section: Lesson Plans

This section includes summaries of the lessons featured in the video programs. The lessons explore the literature through a cultural studies approach. Lesson Plan 1: Cultural Studies: Ishmael Reed Betty Tillman Samb uses a cultural studies approach in her literature class by comparing trickster figures in Ishmael Reed’s “Railroad Bill, A Conjure Man” and “High…

section: Freedom of Religion — Student Perspectives

Kristen Borges’s students The students whose interview comments are excerpted here were enrolled in a ninth-grade civics class at Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when this program was videotaped. Here they discuss their experiences role-playing as lawyers and Supreme Court Justices in a mock trial of a Supreme Court case dealing with the First…

session: Arabic: People Who Help Us

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Khamael Alaloom Language Arabic Grades: 1 School William Ford Elementary School, Dearborn, Michigan Lesson Date April 7 Class Size 21 Schedule 45 minutes, once a week اضغط هنا للترجمة باللغة العربية   Video Summary In this lesson, Khamael Alaloom introduces her first-grade class to people who help in the community…

section: Gothic Undercurrents – Activities

section: Lesson Plans

…I Was Puerto Rican. The students engage in a dramatic reading of several sections of the chapter “The American Invasion of Macún” and discuss Santiago’s usage of dialogue and descriptive language. Sparked by their personal interests, the students develop and research topics based on the chapter. Using Santiago’s work as a model, the students create…

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Lene Hau The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

section: Controversial Public Policy Issues — Student Perspectives

The students whose interview comments are excerpted here were seniors enrolled in a one-semester law course at Champlin Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota. Here they discuss their experience participating in a structured academic controversy on the topic of racial profiling.

video: Journey to the West

This video introduces you to the Stone Monkey King, a whirlwind of willful energy, egomaniacal pride, and zany humor who is forced by Buddha himself to pair up with a humble, peaceful Buddhist monk and get him safely to India. The wide range of art that Monkey’s story has inspired is on display in this…

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by William P. Reinhardt The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge…

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Shamit Kachru The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Robert Kirshner The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Shamit Kachru The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

video: Cognitive Processes

…reading x-rays, is that they develop a particular organization in their knowledge. In other words, their knowledge is highly structured so that when they look at problems, they recognize particular patterns that are meaningful to them. When young children look at a page, they see words that have meaning to them. When older children or…

video: Revising with Teacher and Peer Feedback

Ben Berman discusses unveiling the craft of writing by teaching students how to give and receive feedback on creative pursuits. Teacher: Ben Berman School: Brookline High School, Brookline, MA Grade: 10–12 Discipline: English Language Arts (Creative Writing) Lesson Topic: Poetry and the relationship between objects/ideas/things and the ideas behind them Lesson Month: May Number of…

workshop: Historical References in the Arts

Learner Team member Jan Adkisson, also known as the principal of Drew Model School in Arlington, Virginia, explores how the hat she created affects the way she moves. How does art history inform and influence contemporary works of art? How do individual art forms affect or inform each other in a multi-arts work? In this…

section: Commentary

lesson: Homework

Suggested Reading Van de Walle, John A. (2001). Geometric Thinking and Geometric Concepts. In Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally, 4th ed.Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Reproduced with permission from the publisher. Copyright © 2001 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Download PDF File: Learning Math: Geometry — Geometric Thinking and Geometric Concepts…

interactive: Close Reading Activity

section: Online Textbook

Online Text By Blayne Heckel The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

section: Online Textbook

Online Text by Peter Fisher The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

lesson: Online Textbook

Online Text by David Kaplan The videos and online textbook units can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. Watching the video first, and then reading the unit from the online textbook is recommended. Each unit was written by a prominent physicist who describes the cutting edge advances…

section: Session Author and Literary Works: Abiodun Oyewole

…part of the popular culture. The idea of mixing a poetry reading with a revolutionary passion, with an ancient African tradition of truth-telling, and with a griot-style of conga playing; all those things came out at just the right time.” The Poets’ new spoken word form became enormously popular in Harlem in New York City….

section: Journey to the West – Getting Started

…We’re reading a classic translation of Hsi Yu Ki called Monkey. The English translator, Arthur Waley, chose this title because of the importance of the Stone Monkey King to the chapters he chose to translate (Waley translated only thirty of the original one hundred chapters of Wu’s book). When you’re looking through this Web site,…

section: Put It Into Practice | Teaching English Language Learners

Choose Activities In this section, you will build on what you have learned and develop strategies that you can use in your own classroom. The following activities are designed to help assess your multicultural books and to use students’ interests to plan instruction. Choose one or more of the activities from the list below. Activity…

section: Interview with Martha Farnsworth Riche

…than the urban population. Now if you’re thinking land use planning, if you’re thinking of what people call smart growth strategies, you know that you have different environmental use in the suburbs than you do in the cities. So essentially you might say that what we do is to set benchmarks or announce milestones that…

section: Expert Interview Transcripts: Stanley Fields, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Gene Research and Biotechnology Director of the Oregon State University’s Center for Gene Research and Biotechnology. Carrington’s lab conducts research on how viruses and host plants interact, using the model organism Arabidopsis. He uses genetic, genomic, and proteomic strategies to understand RNA silencing pathways, virus recognition events, and cellular targets for various…

video: Analyze the Video | Assessment and Accountability

Video Summary In this video, Professor Kathryn Au discusses standards, benchmarks, rubrics, portfolios, and high-stakes tests. You will also see classroom examples that illustrate the strategies and research Professor Au describes. As you watch the video, consider the following questions: How do standards and benchmarks inform assessment? What role can students play in their assessment?…

section: Part A: How Many Cubes? (60 minutes)

…(PDF file), fold them up, and tape them into boxes to help with your predictions. What strategies did you use to determine the number of cubes that filled each box?   Problem A2 Given a net, generalize an approach for finding the number of cubes that will fill the box created by the net. How…

video: Program 8: Teaching a Specific Writing Strategy

…they talk with their partners about their writing work. How is this an effective way to teach a new strategy? Mark uses charts as visual cues to help students remember important information about the strategies he is teaching. What role do these charts play in nurturing independence in Mark’s students? Mark Hardy: Lesson Background (PDF)…

section: Interview with Deborah Balk

…ages and the number and the size of the households that they live in. I think this is fairly common across integrated science where you have earth and social science inputs potentially going in both directions. I might be interested in understanding rainfall as it affects family strategies for migration. If farmers in rural Africa…

section: Class Context

…to the students. After students finished talking with their partners, Miss Lahoud asked them to present their artwork and say sentences to the class. Key Teaching Strategies Appealing to Multiple Intelligences: The teacher incorporates different nonverbal approaches, such as bodily/kinesthetic and musical/rhythmic ones, into lessons. Content-Based Instruction: The teacher promotes language acquisition and/or cultural knowledge…

section: Compare: How Can Urban Planning Communicate Ideology?

…projects were ideologically driven. Whose ideals were they expressing? Do you think the strategies employed would have been effective in bringing about the intended goal(s) of each project? How would you explain the relationship between city planning projects such as these and what we think of as traditional visual arts such as painting, sculpture, and…

section: Teaching Strategies: Worthwhile Mathematical Tasks

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has defined worthwhile mathematical tasks as those that: Are based on sound and significant mathematics Use knowledge of students’ understandings, interests, and experiences Develop students’ mathematical understandings and skills Stimulate students to make connections and develop a coherent framework for mathematical ideas Promote communication about mathematics Promote…

section: Teaching Strategies: Alternative Assessment

The educational community today is focusing more and more on assessment. High school exit examinations are being used to determine whether a student has attained the minimum level of education required to graduate. While correct in theory – students should meet certain minimum standards – large-scale standardized tests only provide a glimpse of a student’s…

lesson: Interactive Activity: 5-Question Survey

5-Question Survey: Chemical Change The series of questions presented in this activity will help you find out your ideas or your students’ ideas about matter. As highlighted in this video series, when we articulate our misconceptions, we are taking the first step to rectifying them. Surveying is one of many educational strategies that teachers can…

section: Class Context

…appropriate, Ms. Granville incorporates technology into her lessons. The animation feature allows her to introduce new action verbs entirely in French. Ms. Granville also gives her students the option to use PowerPoint in their project presentations, and makes her animated presentation (with added narration) available to students who were absent. Key Teaching Strategies Creating Cultural…

section: Put It Into Practice | Assessment and Accountability

Choose Activities In this section, you will build on what you have learned and develop strategies you can use in your own classroom. The following activities are designed to help you develop assessments and documentation. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below. Activity 1 –Develop a Rubric In this activity, you…

section: Interview with Pam Matson

…the importance of variability and risk aversion because of variability, and we also understood the importance of the credit unions and the decisions, we changed our research strategies. Then Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio began a new set of research to look for real-time measures of nitrogen availability in the fields so that farmers would know what it’s…

The Education (Re)Open Turns to Global Community for Solutions to Educational Challenges

…phase begins, where judges from (Re)Open partner organizations and the Los Angeles educational community will evaluate and discuss each potential solution. Winning submissions will be added to The Solutions Exchange, a public repository of ideas, advice and strategies designed to help school communities thrive amidst unprecedented social changes and will be available to a global…

section: Class Context

…about the life and work of one of the selected authors Third Advisory Country focus: Central America Oral: Create and present an original work related to culture Fourth Advisory Country focus: Caribbean, Equatorial Guinea Oral: In groups, prepare a video that dramatizes a story read during the year Each advisory period includes readings from textbooks,…

video: Program 2: Teacher as Writer

…model for her students? What specific writing skills or strategies does Christine model? Christine Sanchez: Lesson Background (PDF) Latosha Rowley’s Class Latosha Rowley shares a poem she has written about her baby to include in the body of poetry the students are studying as writing models. (If you are watching the video in segments, you…

video: Nonlinear Functions

In This Session Part A: Exploring Exponential Functions Part B: Exponential Growth Part C: Figurate Numbers Part D: Quadratic Functions Homework In the previous two sessions, we looked at linear relationships and developed strategies for solving linear equations. Linear functions are important in mathematics and are usually studied first because linear equations are the easiest…

section: Course Overview

…you face in your particular circumstances. The course focuses on how learners learn and invites you to consider how teachers teach. As a result, you will become more skilled at inventing teaching strategies to improve the learning of your students. Along the way, the course offers you an important opportunity to revisit the experience of…

section: Teaching Strategies

Asking: Finding Inquiry Topics and Questions Investigating: Collecting and Working with Information Creating: Making Presentations Reflecting and Transforming: Writing, Thinking, and Acting on the Inquiry Process Resources…

unit: Writing in English

Introduction One important way we study written texts in the English language is to reproduce and revise them for personal, social, and vocational purposes. In English studies, teachers can often draw upon students’ personal writing interests (texts, blogging, email, college essays, graffiti, spoken-word poetry, etc.) as a motivating bridge into formal academic forms of writing….

section: Student Work

This section features drafts of “Where I’m From” poems written by Kathryn Mitchell Pierce’s students in Workshop video 4. The students were asked to write from the point of view of the main character in their novel. (See Teaching Strategies: “Where I’m From?” Poems.) As you review the student’s work, consider the following questions: What…

section: Class Context

…term to improve their grades. Key Teaching Strategies Acquiring Vocabulary Through Authentic Materials: The teacher uses documents from the target language to teach new vocabulary and to provide students with vocabulary practice. Content-Based Instruction: The teacher promotes language acquisition and/or cultural knowledge through subject matter from a range of disciplines. Providing Comprehensible Input: The teacher…

section: Part B: Reasoning About Number and Operations (40 minutes) – Exploring Standards

…find their approximate locations on a number line Develop an understanding of large numbers, and recognize and appropriately use exponential, scientific, and calculator notation Develop meaning for integers, and use them to represent and compare quantities Develop and use strategies to estimate the results of rational-number computations and judge the reasonableness of the results “In…

video: Language Development

Interview Excerpt: Daniel Slobin on Patterns in Language Development Dr. Slobin discusses how grammatical errors offer insights into how children use patterns in language development. One of our main concerns as psycholinguists is figuring out the strategies that children use to discover the grammar of their languages. If you ask ordinary parents how their child…

video: Understanding Stereotypes

Video Summary: How would you teach your students about stereotyping? You might begin by asking, What is a stereotype? What is the impact of stereotypes on our lives? What actions can we take to stop the perpetuation of stereotypes? These are a few of the questions that fourth- and fifth-grade students in Libby Sinclair’s class…

lesson: Interactive Activity: 5-Question Survey

5-Question Survey: Rising and Sinking The series of questions presented in this activity will help you find out your ideas or your students’ ideas about matter. As highlighted in this video series, when we articulate our misconceptions, we are taking the first step to rectifying them. Surveying is one of many educational strategies that teachers…

video: Caring for the Community

Video Summary: For students in Debbie Lerner’s multiage classroom, the remodeling of their school is an opportunity to learn how individuals can contribute to a community project. In this lesson, students learn where funding for such a project comes from, discuss the procedures involved in planning and executing a school remodeling project, identify the resources…

section: Part B: Reasoning About Number and Operations (40 minutes)

…of unit wholes, as parts of a collection, as locations on number lines, and as divisions of whole numbers • Develop and use strategies to estimate the results of whole-number computations and to judge the reasonableness of such results “Throughout their study of numbers, students in grades 3-5 should identify classes of numbers and examine…

section: Part C: Algebraic Structures (50 minutes)

In This Part: Units Digit A New Algebraic Structure Properties More Properties Optional: Groups and Fields Mathematicians have always been interested in solving equations. Over the past 150 years they have studied techniques for solving equations, properties of operations that allow one to develop strategies for solving equations, and, eventually, entire systems in which one…

section: Patriotism and Foreign Policy — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

video: Making a Difference Through Giving

Video Summary: How do you teach students to become effective citizens? How can young children make positive contributions to their community? Darlene Jones-Inge challenges her fourth- and fifth-grade students to think of realistic solutions to some of the problems facing their school, community, country, and the world. Ms. Jones-Inge begins with a class discussion about…

section: Class Context

…the project and makes it more real,” says Mr. Azama. Students learned in their Japanese I class how to use this program and how to type using Japanese characters. At the end of this project, students invited other classes to the premiere of their videos. Key Teaching Strategies Process Approach to Writing: The teacher attends…

section: Interview with John Holdren

Interviewer: Would you begin by explaining the IPAT relation. How does it work? And what strategies does that therefore imply? JOHN: About thirty-five years ago, Paul Ehrlich, the Stanford population biologist that I’ve worked with for a long time, and I published a very simple relation for thinking about the impact of human activities on…

section: Part C: Problems That Illustrate Measurement Reasoning (55 minutes)

…Then connect two centimeter cubes together to form a 1-by-1-by-2 package. How many 1-by-1-by-2 packages fit into the box? What strategies did you use to predict how many centimeter cubes and how many 1-by-1-by-2 packages fit into the box? Check your answers by filling the box with cubes. Finally, generalize an approach to determining the…

lesson: Interactive Activity: 5-Question Survey

5-Question Survey: Heat and Temperature The series of questions presented in this activity will help you find out your ideas or your students’ ideas about matter. As highlighted in this video series, when we articulate our misconceptions, we are taking the first step to rectifying them. Surveying is one of many educational strategies that teachers…

workshop: Valuing Diversity in Learners

…activities on working with learners who are at different levels and who have different learning abilities and approaches. At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: identify the various aspects of diversity that affect foreign language learning; and explore strategies for improving the learning of all students in your classroom.  …

section: Teaching Strategies: Appropriate Use of Technology

“Technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and enhances students’ learning.” The above quote comes from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM) discussion of the Technology Principle in the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM). NCTM also states: Electronic technologies – calculators and computers…

video: Making Writing Explicit in Social Studies

In teaching disciplinary writing strategies, Steve Lazar has his social studies students use a personal experience to practice using cause and effect language and then applies the language to content. Teacher: Steve Lazar School: Harvest Collegiate High School, New York, NY Grade: 10 Discipline: History/Social Studies Lesson Topic: Writing about complicated things (“It’s Complicated”) Lesson…

section: Teaching Strategies: Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning: The process of cooperative learning involves students working together in small groups on a structured activity. The members of the groups learn to work as a team to accomplish a specific goal, to solve a problem, to complete a project, or to develop a product. Teachers hold students accountable individually, but also assess…

lesson: Interactive Activity: 5-Question Survey

5-Question Survey: Density and Pressure The series of questions presented in this activity will help you find out your ideas or your students’ ideas about matter. As highlighted in this video series, when we articulate our misconceptions, we are taking the first step to rectifying them. Surveying is one of many educational strategies that teachers…

section: Civic Engagement — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

lesson: Interactive Activity: 5-Question Survey

5-Question Survey: Reviewing the Previous Sessions The series of questions presented in this activity will help you find out your ideas or your students’ ideas about matter. As highlighted in this video series, when we articulate our misconceptions, we are taking the first step to rectifying them. Surveying is one of many educational strategies that…

video: Migration From Latin America

Video Summary: Since the 1960s, unprecedented numbers of Latin Americans have left their homes to move to other countries. Some risked their lives to escape dangerous conditions; others sought better opportunities. For the vast majority, their destination was the United States. But why did they choose to come to America? And how does America decide…

video: Applying Psychology in Life

…call cognitive or mental reasons. Young children don’t know all the strategies to refresh their memories that older children and adults know. Then there are also social reasons. Young children are more eager sometimes to please the interviewer, and may tell the interviewer what they think he or she wants to hear as opposed to…

lesson: Interactive Activity: 4-Question Survey

4-Question Survey: Matter The series of questions presented in this activity will help you find out your ideas or your students’ ideas about matter. As highlighted in this video series, when we articulate our misconceptions, we are taking the first step to rectifying them. Surveying is one of many educational strategies that teachers can use…

workshop: Person to Person

…of communication. At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: analyze the patterns of communication that exist in your classroom; plan for classroom conversations that help students improve their communication skills while they learn content; develop a repertoire of effective communicative strategies; and design student group work for meaningful student interactions….

lesson: Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

…camp meetings could be delusions rather than true conversions, he used some of the itinerant ministers’ rhetorical strategies in his own sermons. Despite his enormous successes in the 1730s and 1740s, Edwards was unable to sustain his popularity with his congregation. In his desire to purify the church, he attempted to abolish the practice of…

section: Controversial Public Policy Issues — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

section: Class Context

…students were somewhat familiar with Spanish history from previous Spanish and world history classes, not everyone knew about the historical context of the painting prior to this lesson. All students were, however, comfortable with the vocabulary and communication skills needed for the partner discussions, creative writing, and contextual reading in this lesson, as they had…

section: Class Context

…information about the topic they are studying. “I think it was nice for them to have that input from someone other than me,” she says. Key Teaching Strategies Appealing to Multiple Intelligences: The teacher incorporates different nonverbal approaches, such as bodily/kinesthetic and musical/rhythmic ones, into lessons. Providing Interactions With Native Speakers: The teacher designs opportunities…

section: Art: Untitled, page number 21, from the Arrow’s Elk Society Ledger

…a sense that such traditions were endangered by the social and political tumult of the period. Further developments in ledger art occurred in the years between 1875 and 1878 among a group of Plains chiefs incarcerated at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. There, they adopted Euro-American pictorial strategies and their repertoire of subjects shifted…

section: Teaching Strategies: Concepts First, Skills Later

Teacher Peggy Lynn’s mathematics classroom probably looks different from many classrooms you have seen. That’s because Peggy teaches math in context, using special activities to bring out math concepts. Listen to audio clip of teacher Peggy Lynn   Audio from Peggy Lynn I’ve been teaching for 17 years, so when I first started teaching, I…

unit: Bricks By Design

Objective: Child will be able to explore engineering by designing and building a desk caddy out of bricks. Essential Question(s): How do you determine what features are necessary for a functional design? Special Materials: Supplementary materials for extending the project, if desired Bricks Required: Plates, 1xn bricks, tiles Project Structure Engage/Explore: Ask what strategies child…

unit: It All Adds Up

Objective: Child will be able to add three numbers using objects and regrouping. Essential Question(s): What strategies can you use to add multiple numbers together? Special Materials: A deck of cards without the kings, queens, and jacks; pencil and paper Bricks Required: Each group of 3 students will need 9 2×2 bricks of three colors…

video: Rights and Responsibilities of Students — Workshop Session

…segment, and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session. Additional Materials The following materials—Lesson Plan, Teacher and Student Perspectives, Essential readings and Other Lessons—provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom.  …

video: View & Analyze the Video

Video Summary In “Person to Person,” Professor Joan Kelly Hall of Pennsylvania State University addresses the importance of the talk that occurs in the classroom. Professor Hall also joins a round-table discussion on strategies for encouraging effective classroom conversations, moderated by University of Pittsburgh professor Richard Donato, and including teachers John Pedini of Brookline, Massachusetts,…

unit: New and Improved

…strategies child uses to keep organized. Have they noticed how the adults in their lives keep their desks (or similar places) organized? Encourage child to think about using a caddy for that purpose. Explain/Explore: Ask child what kinds of objects go in a desk caddy and make a list. As the list is made, ask…

section: Student Work

This student work section includes three letters written by Laura Alvarez’s students in Workshop video 7. As a culminating project, the students wrote and revised persuasive letters to raise public awareness about the issues they examined. (See Teaching Strategies: Writing Letters for Social Action.) As you review the student’s work, consider the following questions: What…

section: Constitutional Convention — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

section: Controversial Public Policy Issues — Other Lessons

Creating Strategies and Conditions for Civil Discourse About Controversial Issues by John Allen Rossi John Allen Rossi, an assistant professor of education at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, examines several major approaches to teaching about controversial issues, explores their benefits and weaknesses, and looks at how they might be combined with a variety of constructivist…

section: Student Work

This section features student work from Lisa Espinosa’s unit on representation featured in Workshop video 8. Samples include: One student’s photograph, entitled, “Puestito,” and its accompanying essay. These are the final products of a class photography project. (See Teaching Strategies: Photography Project.) As you review the student’s work, consider the following questions: What do you…

section: Class Context

…speakers. In this lesson, Ms. Dyer challenged the native and heritage students to be more precise in the times they list for their daily routines. In other lessons, she has given native and heritage students opportunities to challenge themselves through additional reading and writing assignments. Key Teaching Strategies Formative Assessment: The teacher uses specific activities…

video: Introduction to the Library

…of teachers using different assessment strategies in foreign language education. The video also introduces the companion resource to the video library, an eight-session methodology workshop. The workshop features teachers and researchers talking about the current research in foreign language education and what it means to have a standards-based classroom. Watch this video to familiarize yourself…

section: Expert Interview Transcript: Capt. Daniel Carucci, M.D., PhD

Director, NMRC Malaria Program Dr. Carucci is the Director of the Malaria Program at the Naval Medical Research Center where he oversees Navy research efforts on malaria, focusing on vaccine development and novel approaches to protecting individuals from the disease. He is also the Department of Defense coordinator for the Malaria Genome Project, where he…

video: View & Analyze the Video

Video Summary In “Delivering the Message,” Professor Paul Kei Matsuda of the University of New Hampshire addresses how a consideration of the audience impacts presentational activities. Professor Matsuda also joins a round-table discussion on effective strategies for designing and assessing presentational tasks, moderated by University of Pittsburgh professor Richard Donato, and including teachers Jane Shuffelton…

section: Class Context

…opportunity to learn about each of the products and practices. The jigsaw also ensured every student would have a chance to speak during the lesson. Key Teaching Strategies Creating Cultural Experiences: The teacher designs activities in which students can see, hear, or touch a cultural artifact, create their own cultural artifact, and/or observe or engage…

section: Social Realism – Activities

section: Class Context

…the end of the unit, students listened to Philip Glass’s Beauty and the Beast opera, and also watched the Disney film. Key Teaching Strategies Comparing Themes and Works Across Media: The teacher creates lessons in which students compare themes or specific works as they are rendered in film, literature, music, art, or other media. Critical…

section: Part C: Absolute and Relative Reasoning (30 minutes)

…Ramp A or Ramp B: Problem C5 What kind of information is necessary to describe the “crowdedness” of an elevator? Problems C2-C5 adapted from Lamon, Susan J. Teaching Fractions and Ratios for Understanding: Essential Content Knowledge and Instructional Strategies for Teachers (pp. 17-19). © 1999 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Used with permission. All rights reserved….

section: Public Policy and the Federal Budget — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

section: Class Context

…lessons, Mr. Muirhead taught the first two parts of the narrative through Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS). In addition to the cultural references that he embedded in these stories, Mr. Muirhead introduced students to the African influence through readings, discussions, and short lectures that used many cognates and a lot of visual support. Following this…

section: Class Context

…several activities, each course has its own curriculum. In French IV, students participate in activities and games that encourage listening, speaking, reading, and writing. They also look at art, listen to music, and begin to read literature. In French V, students study French literature in depth. The Lesson This lesson included two activities that were…

unit: Define Your Perimeters

Objective: Child will be able to find the perimeter of rectangles. Essential Question(s): What strategies can we use to find the area of an irregular shape? How do we find the perimeter of a rectangle? Special Materials: Paper and pencil for recording data Bricks Required: 16×16 plates, 1xN bricks for building the house Project Structure:…

section: Art: Our Lady of Cocharcas Under the Baldachin

…In their struggle to win over souls, Spanish Christians employed a range of strategies from destroying sacred books and art to erecting churches over the sites of temples. At the same time, native populations found ways to integrate elements of Christianity with aspects of their traditional belief systems. Along with this fusion of different spiritual…

video: Electoral Politics — Workshop Session

…and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session. Additional Materials The materials described below—Lesson Plan, Teacher Perspectives, Student Perspectives, Essential Readings and Other Lessons— provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom….

section: Electoral Politics — Lesson Plan

…description of how the lesson was organized; Assessment includes both the lesson assessment tools and the rubrics associated with them; Lesson Materials contains any printed information or worksheets distributed to students as part of the lesson; and Resources are additional items and/or articles that may further help you adopt these strategies in your own classroom….

video: Teaching Social Studies

video: Revising for Clarity

…course of the year. Some assignments just allow students to practice specific phases of the process. For example, sometimes students focus on a particular theme and just work up to a graphic organizer or a first draft. Ms. With constantly models and practices revision strategies with her students at all stages of draft development. Ms….

video: Applying Themes and Disciplines

section: Class Context

…used a rubric to assess students on their performance during the debate and their contributions to the final class letter. Key Teaching Strategies Acquiring Knowledge of Current Events: The teacher helps students research print and Web sources to gain a knowledge base for classroom discussion on recent events. Content-Based Instruction: The teacher promotes language acquisition…

section: Focus In Activity

…steps to look closely at the photograph to reveal additional information that will build on your own teaching strategies and your students’ understanding of the topic you are teaching. Step 1: Observe Look carefully at the photograph’s subject matter and details. Note, for example, the people in it, how people interact with each other or…

section: Interview with Chris Field

…so serious that we need to take advantage of all those strategies. But none of them are going to be successful unless we make a real national global focus in cutting the emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Aggressive efforts to limit the emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere…

section: Teaching Strategies: Instructional Decision Making

This slogan appeared on a basketball T-shirt several years ago: “Just elevate and decide in the air.” The phrase could easily apply to teaching, too. A basketball player may have to alter his shot because of the reactions of other players. Likewise, a teacher may have to modify a lesson based on the reaction of…

video: Constitutional Convention Workshop Session

…video segment, and recommend follow-up activities for after the workshop session. Additional Materials The following materials—Lesson Plan, Teacher Perspectives, Student Perspectives, Essential Readings and Other Lessons—provide background and context for the lesson seen in the workshop video. They also supply the tools you need to adapt this lesson and its teaching strategies for your classroom….

section: Class Context

…identify holidays in the target culture. She also expected them to be able to describe the holidays and associate each with a particular product. Students next moved on to a weather unit, which connected to their science curriculum. Key Teaching Strategies Information Gap Activities: The teacher uses questions or prompts to get students to respond…

Resources to Frame Discussions of COVID-19

…host when they mutate, and what research and strategies help save lives.  Human Population Dynamics The Habitable Planet: A Systems Approach to Environmental Science is designed for high school science teachers and undergraduate students. Produced in 2007, its Human Population Dynamics unit examines how increasing population density, climate change and patterns of human consumption affect…

section: Part A: Interpreting Fractions, Units, and Unitizing (45 minutes)

…us to use our standard rules for operations with fractions? Interpreting Fractions, Units, and Unitizing adapted from Lamon, Susan J. Teaching Fractions and Ratios for Understanding: Essential Content Knowledge and Instructional Strategies for Teachers (pp. 27, 41, 54-57). © 1999 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. In This Part: Units and Unitizing Math problems should either implicitly…

section: Class Context

…also assessed on cultural understanding, based on their explanation of what made their building uniquely French. The complete city was then assembled and used for two weeks for continued vocabulary review, including an activity in which students gave and followed directions around the city. The unit concluded with additional reading, writing, and listening activities about…

unit: Decoding Area

Objective: Child will be able to find the area of an irregular shape using various methods (counting, breaking design into colors). Essential Question(s): What strategies can we use to find the area of an irregular shape? Special Materials: Paper and pencil for recording data Bricks Required: 16×16 plates, various bricks for “drawing” an image Project…

lesson: Getting Ready

Workshop Leader Susanne Burgess engages the Learner Teams in a discussion of assessment strategies. (10 minutes) The following information will help you focus and organize your professional development session. Learning Objectives Write a performance task to use as an assessment tool. Align the performance task with a unit objective. Design a set of scoring guidelines,…

section: Public Policy and the Federal Budget — Teacher Perspectives

Teacher Perspectives: Leslie Martin Leslie Martin teaches a two-semester course on economic, legal, and political systems to ninth-grade students at West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina. The course is called a freshman seminar in recognition of the fact that more than half of these students are considered gifted. These interview excerpts relate to…

lesson: Eudora Welty (1909-2001)

[5169] Ben Shahn, Two Women Walking along Street, Natchez, Mississippi (1935), courtesy of the Library of Congress [LC-USF33-006093-M4 DLC]. Eudora Alice Welty was born in Jackson, Mississippi, where she lived nearly all of her life. A first-generation Mississippian, Welty grew up in comfortable circumstances and developed an early love of reading. After graduating from the…

section: The Tale of Genji – Read the Text

…though she tried to speak sensibly, she reeled and almost fell from the coach, and those with her turned to one another and said ‘At last she knows.’ A herald came from the palace and read a proclamation which promoted the dead lady to the Third Rank. The reading of this long proclamation by the…

section: Homework: Statistics as a Problem-Solving Process

Problem H1 Read the Grades Pre-K-2 standard on data analysis and probability that was developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and is reported in the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000). a. After reading this standard, what additional connections do you see between the content you studied in this course…

video: Making Connections

…working on the World War II unit. One lesson I do about World War II involves reading letters from a young woman on the homefront to her sweetheart. Most of the time when our students learn about World War II, they’re thinking the people were old, but we’re talking about very young people – the…

video: Annotating Across Disciplines

Catherine Rohrbaugh teaches students how to take notes and analyze text across different content areas to foster independent learning. Teacher: Catherine Rohrbaugh School: Dillard Drive Middle School, Raleigh, NC Grade: 7 Discipline: Science Lesson Topic: Creating a wet-mount slide Lesson Month: November Number of Students: 28…

section: Homework

Problem H1 Read the Grades 3-5 standard on data analysis and probability that was developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and is reported in the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000). a. After reading, what additional connections do you see between the content you studied in this course and the…

lesson: Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989)

…Louisiana State University in 1934 and there co-founded the Southern Review, which published provocative essays by the “New Critics,” passionate advocates of “close reading,” as well as fiction by emerging southern writers such as Eudora Welty. Warren’s influence on the New Criticism was considerable; Understanding Poetry–which Warren co-authored with Cleanth Brooks while both were at…

lesson: Margaret Fuller (1810-1850)

…rigorous education she received from her father: under his tutelage she sometimes put in eighteen-hour days reading literary and philosophical texts in four languages. As her account of her early life in the “Autobiographical Romance” makes clear, Fuller developed into a prodigy but suffered emotionally in the absence of a normal childhood. By her early…

video: Online Textbook and Video

This online textbook chapter supports and extends the content of the Cell Biology and Cancer video. The chapter covers cancer causes and treatments, and tumor biology and angiogenesis. Click on the Go button to begin reading, or skip to a sub-section of the chapter in the list below….

section: Put It Into Practice | Teaching Diverse Learners

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The following activities are designed to assist you in developing resources for diverse learners in your classroom. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below. Activity 1 –Modeling Main-Idea Questioning In this activity, teachers will model…

section: Homework

Problem H1 Read the Grades 6-8 standard on data analysis and probability that was developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and is reported in the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000). a. After reading this standard, what additional connections do you see between the content you studied in this course…

section: #10009

#10009 The focus of this photograph is a group of young children sitting tightly together on the floor in a dimly lit room reading from heavily worn books. The walls of the room are made of a woven material and sticks. There is a woven mat on the floor. In the background there are clothes…

section: Interview with Jeremy B. C. Jackson

…read a lot of physics and he read these popular books written by people like Einstein. I started reading those and I loved them. I wanted to be a physicist. And then when Sputnik went up, I wanted to be a physicist in relation to those kinds of things. Then I went to college and…

video: Learning from Professional Writers

What can young writers learn from those who make their living through writing? Educators, researchers, and noted authors consider this question, offering innovative ways to bring the voice of the professional into the classroom. Teachers show how professional works by favorite writers can be the seeds for engaging classroom activities, while authors talk about their…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How does focusing on the interpretive communication Standard change traditional reading or listening comprehension activities? What is the role of literature in the courses that you teach? In the curriculum in…

unit: Interview with Featured Scientist Rick Gaitskell

…in order to provide direct evidence for the existence of the halos. Interviewer: What is the motivation for your research? RICK: This is an appalling admission because it means for the last 20 years I’ve been working in the same field. I had done all the reading and became aware of this question of missing…

video: Making Observations Like a Scientist

Catherine Rohrbaugh teaches students how to take notes and analyze text across different content areas to foster independent learning. Teacher: Catherine Rohrbaugh School: Dillard Drive Middle School, Raleigh, NC Grade: 7 Discipline: Science Lesson Topic: Creating a wet-mount slide Lesson Month: November Number of Students: 28…

lesson: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

…found it difficult to hold onto any one job for very long. Poe’s horror tales and detective stories (a genre he created) were written to capture the fancy of the popular reading public, but he earned his national reputation through a large number of critical essays and sketches. With the publication of “The Raven” (1845),…

video: Online Textbook and Video

This online textbook chapter supports and extends the content of the Genetics of Development video. The chapter examines how the molecules work to coordinate — or misdirect — the formation of an entire organism. Click on the Go button to begin reading, or skip to a sub-section of the chapter in the list below….

lesson: Part C: Definitions and Proof (45 minutes)

…they strive to be concise — to communicate a lot of information in a few words. This can make reading and understanding mathematical definitions difficult. This is further complicated by the fact that more than one definition may work for a given object. You may find yourself coming across an unfamiliar definition for a familiar…

section: Interview with Peter Kenmore

…observations, and finding out an answer to that question gives you ownership of that answer in a way that no reading and no teacher will ever be able to do. If you hear something, you forget it. If you see it, maybe you’ll remember it a little bit longer. But if you discover something, you…

section: Part A: Classroom Video (30 minutes)

…first session: problem-solving skills, representation skills, and reasoning skills. c. How do students demonstrate their knowledge of the intended content? What does the teacher do to elicit student thinking? Video Segment In this video segment, Gina Webber asks her students to think about patterns. She began the lesson by reading from the book How Many…

section: Part A: Comparative Studies (15 minutes)

Many statistics problems require you to make comparisons. You may be interested in comparing salaries for different professions, for example, or you might want to compare test scores of children in different reading programs. Comparative studies like this fall into two categories — experimental studies and observational studies. See Note 2 below. The purpose of…

lesson: Gloria Anzaldúa (b. 1942)

…entry into a different way of being” through reading. Defying everyone’s expectations, she went to college and earned a B.A. from Pan American University, an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and did graduate work at the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has taught high-school English, been involved in education programs…

Partnerships and Programs

…high-quality science education resources at no cost. Through this partnership, The Annenberg Learner Podcast and Learner series are now available on LabXchange and include Habitable Planet, Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions, A Private Universe, Reading & Writing in the Disciplines, and Essential Lens: Analyzing Photographs Across the Curriculum. CAA Ready Set & National Partnership for Student…

video: Online Textbook and Video

This online textbook chapter supports and extends the content of the Sex and Gender video. The chapter covers genetic imprinting, inter-sex conditions, the effect of hormones on sex determination, and ethics. Click on the Go button to begin reading, or skip to a sub-section of the chapter in the list below….

lesson: Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)

…from Granada, Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas and immediately claimed possession of the land for Spain by reading a proclamation that was certainly incomprehensible to the natives already living there. Columbus recorded his impressions of the voyage, the islands, and the natives in a logbook and in letters that he sent to…

section: Rhythms In Poetry – Activities

section: Put It Into Practice | Fluency and Word Study

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The following activities are designed to assist you in developing activities to teach word analysis and vocabulary. Choose one or both of the activities from the list below. Activity 1 – Teaching Word Parts In this activity, you will…

video: Online Textbook and Video

This online textbook chapter supports and extends the content of the Biodiversity video. The chapter examines our moral responsibilities to catalog and maintain the world’s ecosystems. Click on the Go button to begin reading, or skip to a sub-section in the list below….

workshop: What Is Art?

Start Your Journey Here Take this survey to assess your current knowledge and ideas about art. Are there universal elements that distinguish what we call “art” from other objects or experiences? How can we recognize art when we see it? In the first four lessons of Program 1, you will explore the nature of art…

lesson: Featured Classroom: Rosinda Almeida, Cambridge, MA

…“I like using laboratory science instruction because it explores a science concept over a number of weeks, and is a more effective method for bringing about an understanding than using one-time experiments or simply talking, reading, and writing about science concepts. “ My thoughts about what’s important about teaching science is that it gives students…

section: Part A: Scatter Plots (45 minutes)

…span and height. Reading from left to right on the horizontal scale, you can observe that narrow arm spans tend to be associated with people who are shorter, and wider arm spans tend to be associated with people who are taller — that is, there appears to be an overall positive association between arm span…

video: Teaching Music

All of the students at Harmony Leland Elementary School in Mableton, Georgia, study the violin. Here they work with music teacher Barrett Jackson. Two music specialists from arts-based schools demonstrate different approaches to serving diverse student populations: Harmony Leland Elementary School in Mableton, Georgia, has purchased violins for all of its 485 pre-kindergarten to fifth-grade…

lesson: John Winthrop (1588-1649)

…chronicles both the external challenges the Puritans faced and the internal divisions, such as the religious controversies sparked by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, that threatened to fracture the group’s unity. Throughout, the Journal interprets events in Massachusetts as acts of providential significance, reading everyday occurrences as evidence of either God’s favor or God’s displeasure….

video: Teaching Theatre

A fifth-grade student’s mask reveals an inner vision of herself, at Barney Ford Elementary School in Denver, Colorado. Two specialist teachers work on basic theatre skills with children of various ages and use theatre education as a gateway to other kinds of learning: At Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, theatre teacher Amanda…

video: Overview (5:34)

This overview of Reading and Writing in the Disciplines features teachers and experts discussing the key ideas about literacy development at the core of the more than 80 videos and extensive online materials that make up this professional development course….

section: Put It Into Practice | Word Study and Fluency

Choose Activities In this section, you will apply what you have learned to your own teaching. The three activities are designed to assist you in developing resources for your word study instruction. Choose one or more from the list below to practice in your classroom. Activity 1. Match Rimes With Books Identify common rimes in…

section: Interview with Howard Hu

…metals must be relevant. But no health studies had been done. In the mid 1990s, a woman named Rebecca Jim, who’s the head of a community agency called Local Environmental Action Demanded (I love that acronym, LEAD), contacted me after reading about some of our research and asked me whether I could be interested in…

section: Interview with Featured Scientist Juan Maldacena

Interviewer: How did you get interested in physics? JUAN: I was interested in understanding how things work, how the TV works, how the radio works, how technological things work. Then that led me to trying to understand the laws of electricity, and then I was interested in reading about the basic laws of physics. Then…

section: Part C: Frequency Tables: Making a Table (40 minutes)

…of Brand X raisin counts:                   In this problem, the cumulative frequency specifies how many boxes have raisin counts of a particular count or smaller. Reading this table in terms of cumulative frequency tells us, for example, that there are 11 values that are 28 or smaller…

lesson: Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)

…known for his pioneering work on bumblebees. In 1940, when Plath was eight years old, her father died, which forced her mother, Aurelia, to enter the workforce. Despite her efforts, however, money was tight in the Plath household. Even in light of these hardships, Plath was a precocious child who enjoyed writing, reading, and the…

section: Native Voices – Activities

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What instructional advantages does the literary genre of folktales offer? What are the benefits of teaching about a variety of cultures in which the target language is spoken? What makes technology…

lesson: Part A: Hidden Polygons (20 minutes)

In This Part Identifying Polygons Finding Polygons Identifying Polygons Polygons are two-dimensional geometric figures with these characteristics: They are made of straight line segments. Each segment touches exactly two other segments, one at each of its endpoints. They are closed — they divide the plane into two distinct regions, one “inside” and the other “outside”…

video: Responding to Writing: Teacher to Student

section: Assignments + Projects

video: Inquiry: Tomás Rivera and Esmeralda Santiago

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How do you develop verbal communication skills in high school students who are in Level III or beyond? How do you balance teaching language structures and content in a standards-based classroom?…

video: How We Organize Knowledge: The Structure of the Disciplines

“When we want to learn something new, we have to figure out what are the main guideposts in the terrain of a body of knowledge. And that’s what we call the structure of the disciplines – the big ideas, the big modes of inquiry that are used in history, mathematics, science and so on. And…

video: Inquiry: Rudolfo Anaya and James Baldwin

video: Nurturing Independent Thinkers

In This Program Visual Art A visual art teacher helps students develop their observation and analysis skills, so that they learn to be their own best critics. Dance A dance teacher critiques original choreography by a student to help her deepen the impact of her work. Music A vocal music teacher uses formal and informal…

video: Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Video Summary: Is flag burning an acceptable expression of free speech? Should evidence obtained without a search warrant be admissible in court? What constitutes a “clear and present danger” in wartime? Wendy Ewbank and her students use two simulation exercises to examine the nature of individual rights and the role of the Supreme Court in…

video: Using Primary Sources

Video Summary: Examining primary sources and artifacts from the past gives students the chance not only to study history but to become historians and anthropologists themselves. Fifth-grade teacher Kathleen Waffle attended a summer teaching institute at Colonial Williamsburg to learn more about primary sources from the colonial period and how to use them with her…

section: Assignments + Projects

workshop: Building on New Ideas

An original multi-arts performance gave second-graders the chance to explore metamorphosis at Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York. In this program, you will see how the Learner Teams implemented new ideas and expanded arts instruction into the general curriculum at their schools. At Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York, Learner Team…

section: Online Textbook

lesson: Plant Life Cycles: A Closer Look

Look for the following topics in the video, indicated by the onscreen icon, and click below to learn more. Alternation of Generations Transition From Water to Land Flowers and Pollination Fruit and Dispersal Seeds vs. Eggs Teaching Tips: Asexual Reproduction Scientist at Work Curriculum Resources…

video: Rhythms in Poetry

Amidst the chaos following World War I, Ezra Pound urged poets to “Make it New!” This call was heeded by a large range of poets, from T.S. Eliot to Jean Toomer. This episode explores the modernist lyrics of two of these poets: William Carlos Williams and Langston Hughes. What is modernism? How did these poets…

lesson: W. E. B. Du Bois (c. 1868-1963)

[5719] Cleveland Advocate, Article: Oppose “Birth of a Nation” (1915), courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society. With the publication of The Souls of Black Folk in 1903, W. E. B. Du Bois emerged as the intellectual leader of a new generation of African American activists who broke with the leadership and views of Booker T….

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: When teaching large sets of vocabulary, how do you sequence and vary activities? How do you demonstrate the cultural meaning of words when translation is not sufficient? How do you ensure…

section: Part A: Equality and Balance (30 minutes)

In This Part Equality Modeling with Balance Scales Equality We have been using the equal sign throughout previous sessions. In this part we are going to look at the meaning of equality, which will give us some insight on using equality and its properties to solve equations. Note 2   Problem A1 Examine the following…

section: Expert Interview Transcripts: Gary H. Toenniessen, PhD.

Gary H. Toenniessen, PhD. Director, Agriculture Programs Gary Toenniessen was one of the original architects of The Rockefeller Foundation Rice Biotechnology Research Program initiated in 1984. He is currently the director of Food Security at the foundation. Since 1985, he has had responsibility for the development and implementation of the Foundation’s International Program on Rice…

video: Analyze the Video | New Literacies of the Internet

Video Summary In “New Literacies of the Internet,” Professor Donald Leu discusses the new literacy skills that our students need for questioning, searching, critically evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information found on the Internet. You will also see classroom examples that illustrate his research. As you watch, consider the following questions:   What skills do students…

section: Expert Interview Transcripts: Bill Costerton, Ph.D.

Director, Biofilm Center Costerton is the director of the Center for Interfacial Microbial Process Engineering at Montana State University in Bozeman. His work delving into the differences between floating and attached cells has revealed both the presence of extracellular matrix material surrounding attached cells and the ubiquity of slime-producing attached bacteria in natural systems….

video: Introduction: The Art and Science of Teaching

section: Civic Engagement — Essential Readings

Standards of Quality for School-Based and Community-Based Service Learning prepared by the Alliance for Service Learning in Education Reform The Alliance for Service Learning in Education Reform is affiliated with the Close-Up Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia. In this article, the Alliance sets out a variety of key principles schools should consider prior to starting a…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How might teachers demonstrate sensitivity when teaching vocabulary about family or other topics related to students’ personal lives? In elementary or middle school classes, new students may enter the program with…

section: Assignments + Projects

section: Controversial Public Policy Issues — Teacher Perspectives

JoEllen Ambrose, who has been teaching social studies for 23 years, teaches law to seniors at Champlin Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota. In these interview excerpts, she talks about her approach to discussing controversial issues in the classroom. The particular issue her class debated was racial profiling. The discussion was governed by a formal…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What accommodations do traveling teachers (that is, teachers who do not have their own classrooms) have to make? What kinds of activities engage second-graders in a language class? How might you…

video: Learning As We Grow: Development and Learning

“As children develop, the ways in which they learn change. If teachers are tuned to those sequences of development, then they can be more thoughtful about how they design their lessons, how they pace instruction, how they move kids along from one concept to the next. Doing these things will build students’ ability to think…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What kinds of activities are appropriate for teaching a foreign language to pre-readers? What principles guide instruction in immersion/partial immersion programs? What teaching techniques are essential in the early grades? What…

video: California Missions

Video Summary: “How can I teach my students California’s state history, integrate technology, and support a bilingual class?” This question prompted fourth-grade teacher Osvaldo Rubio to develop the lesson “California Missions.” The California Framework for state history requires students to learn about the geography of California; the social, political, cultural, and economic life of its…

video: Online Textbook and Video

This online textbook chapter supports and extends the content of the Microbial Diversity video. The chapter covers microbial energy sources, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the role of microbes in nutrient cycling. Click on the Go button to begin reading, or skip to a sub-section of the chapter in the list below….

video: Leadership Team

The Leadership Team at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, includes classroom teachers, an arts specialist teacher, the principal, and the assistant principal. At Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, principal Kathleen Hurstell Riedlinger works closely with a team of classroom teachers and arts specialists on curriculum and policy decisions. She…

section: Assignments + Projects

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What are the challenges and benefits of differentiating instruction for heritage speakers and native speakers? What are the challenges and benefits of having them work with traditional learners? What kinds of…

workshop: Planning for Assessment

[Students] want to believe that every performance they complete, regardless of what that task or product might be, that they’re working to get better over time. Assessments are their opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skill, and understanding. – Allison Zmuda, education consultant, Understanding by Design Learning Goals How do you plan and carry out an assessment…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What are the benefits of having students work with authentic, linguistically challenging materials? How do you design group work to ensure successful communication? What is the teacher’s role during group work?…

lesson: Life Span Development

You will learn about some of the biological, cognitive, and psychosocial developments that take place from birth across the life span. As you explore, keep in mind the following questions that are on the forefront of the developmental psychology: How do innate and environmental factors interact? What relationships exist between development in one period of…

section: Utopian Promise – Activities

lesson: Approaches in Practice

To begin, you will learn about these approaches and their unique perspectives on human nature and psychological disturbance. Then, you will put each into practice for a common psychological disorder.

video: China Through Mapping

Video Summary: In this lesson, Mimi Norton integrates world geography with the study of Chinese culture and history by engaging her young students in a variety of activities to locate natural and human-made landmarks on maps of China. To build background for this lesson, she has had the students create salt-dough maps of China and…

video: Issues in Social Studies: Unity and Diversity

What does it mean to teach about unity and diversity in social studies? Not all educators answer this question in the same way. Some argue that issues of unity and diversity are subjective, contingent on the demographics of each class or community, and best expressed through individual characteristics and common goals. Other educators believe that…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: What do you need to keep in mind when teaching a class that includes more than two adjacent levels? What literary genres are most accessible to high school students? When is…

video: The Amistad Case

Video Summary: In this lesson, Gary Fisher’s students re-enact the Amistad trial, addressing the issues of slavery, property rights, rebellion, morality, justice, and the law. Amistad is one of several cases students in Mr. Fisher’s class have studied to understand a larger issue: how the Supreme Court has influenced the lives of African Americans past…

video: The Middle East Conflict

Video Summary: How do you introduce to sixth-graders a topic as complex and controversial as the Middle East? Justin Zimmerman starts by asking guided questions to assess his students’ background knowledge of the region, then has them practice their negotiating and conflict resolution skills. (Note: This lesson was taught prior to September 11, 2001.) First,…

video: Economic Dilemmas and Solutions

Video Summary: How can an exam review bring economic concepts to life? Steve Page’s 12th-grade economics class reviews for an exam by discussing real-life social dilemmas and their effect on the economy, and by developing viable economic solutions to those dilemmas. The class is divided into small groups, and Mr. Page assigns each group a…

video: Gender-Based Distinctions

Video Summary: When does the government have the right to treat men and women differently? Students in Tim Rockey’s twelfth-grade A.P. Government and Politics class have been studying the civil rights movement. In this lesson, students analyze and evaluate legal interpretations of gender discrimination based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, its amendments in…

video: View & Analyze Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: How do you integrate geography and history into your lessons? What kinds of technology might students learn to use in a foreign language class? How do you design activities that help…

section: Expert Interview Transcript: Fred Gage, Ph.D.

Professor of Genetics Fred Gage, Ph.D., is a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in San Diego. His research is focused on the generation of new neurons during adulthood, an idea that runs counter to neuroscience dogma. Gage hopes that the work will one day lead to therapeutic uses for people…

section: Part A: Observing a Case Study (25 minutes)

To begin the exploration of what topics in number and operations look like in a classroom at your grade level, watch a video segment of a teacher who took the Number and Operations course and then adapted the mathematics to her own teaching situation. When viewing the video, keep the following questions in mind: See…

video: View & Analyze the Video

As you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discuss them as a group. Before You Watch Respond to the following questions: Which aspects of the Communication standards would apply to both classical and modern language instruction? What kinds of authentic materials are available to teachers of classical languages? What activities might extend…