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 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 18: 2022 Teacher of the Year with Michelle Stradford

…it would be hard to teach a different grade level every year. I do deeply feel for those teachers that get moved when they don’t want to be or involuntarily. Nati Rodriguez [20:57] Got it. You’re teaching fifth grade, and do you have them all day or is there any co-teaching involved? Do you teach…

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

…maybe getting back to what I really wanted to do – which is teaching. And/or teaching has always been in their family, so their parents were teachers, grandparents, partner, etc.. Those are the top two reasons that people come into our program. And they all just want to make an impact in the lives of…

Episode 17: 2022 Teacher of the Year with William Morejón

…years teaching were going down the drain. It was perfect timing, I feel like even a blessing because, going into that, I was like, “What are teachers doing?” “How are teachers functioning online?” “What are best practices?” We throw around these words, like “best practices”. There were no best practices for online teaching, right? When…

Episode 14: LabXchange with Marty Samuels

…LabXchange, Marty served as the Associate Director for Science at Harvard University’s Derek Box Center for Teaching and Learning, where he supported STEM courses across Harvard to incorporate active learning, inclusive teaching strategies, and other evidence-based pedagogies. Prior to joining the Box Center, Marty served as Assistant Director for Undergraduate Studies for Harvard’s Molecular and…

Episode 36: Inside LabXchange’s Kenyan Teacher Ambassador Cohort

…teaching. So, I was trained as a math and physics teacher. Later, I taught in high school and rose through the ranks to my current position. Nati Rodriguez [26:29] Got it. Thank you. And what grade levels or age levels did you start your career with? Tom Okaya [26:35] I started my career teaching 9th…

Episode 5: Rafael Cruz, LA County Teacher of the Year 2021-22

…where I succeeded because it was easier to go from live-teaching to virtual teaching and then back to live-teaching because it was projects. When kids are doing projects, you have a lot of flexibility. Nati Rodriguez [14:41] Thank you for sharing about the connection to real world learning. I love this idea of the exhibition…

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 34: 2024 National Teacher of the Year with Missy Testerman

…what kind of languages do you see in your classroom? And how do you go about teaching students from different locations and different language abilities?  Missy Testerman [3:22]   That’s a great question. So, this past year, I had students from four different language backgrounds, Spanish, Chinese, Gujarati, and Arabic. And in terms of teaching a…

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 12: Statistics In Schools with Victoria Glasier & Jessica Palmer  

…teaching statistics, as we all know, data is everywhere. The ability to understand and use data is an essential skill for understanding the world around us. I’m very excited to learn more about this topic and trends around teaching statistics, as we all know, data’s everywhere, and the ability to understand and use data is…

Episode 1: Two Bit Circus with Dr. Leah Hanes

…have a little atelier in the back of every classroom, and they have been using Trash for Teaching from the beginning. They have in their front hallway a huge, China cabinet with all glass, and it’s filled with materials from Trash for Teaching. It just made me feel so happy to walk through that school…

Episode 13: Discovery Education with Matthew Woods, DEN Star

…like I know the back of my hand, making sure that it becomes so automatic to me that when I’m talking to somebody, or in this case, I’m teaching students right and modeling it, I’m not reading a script. I don’t need to say, okay, where do I go on the website to do that?…

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 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 6: Haydee Rodriguez – CA State Board of Education Member  

…love that. That sounds like a great project. Haydee Rodriguez [24:18] Yes. Yeah. I’ll keep you posted on it. Nati Rodriguez [24:22] Thinking back on your first years of teaching, what advice would you give yourself? Haydee Rodriguez [24:30] Well, my first years of teaching, I wanted to do so much. Again, because I came…

Episode 39: Helping Kids Navigate Global Conflicts from Pediatric Psychologist Dr. Parker Huston

…time to help them.   Nati Rodriguez [19:55] Thank you. So, one more question that we’d like to ask our guests is what are you currently reading, watching, or listening to?    Dr. Parker Huston [20:04] I’m reading a book right now about coaching because I coach soccer for U11 Boys here in Columbus, Ohio. My kids…

Episode 32: Sparking Social Impact By Using Math to Inspire Young Minds

…make a little bit of money and continue the work that I’m doing. And so, I shifted from teaching high school kids to teaching middle and elementary school kids, to thinking about how you work with the earliest ages of kids and parents to support math learning. And so that’s been the journey. Nati Rodriguez…

Episode 27: LA84 Foundation Part II with Jason Morgan

…a significant impact for students. Nati Rodriguez [13:11] Just taking it back to the movement that you integrated in your math classroom. When we think about teaching and learning math, we don’t usually think about play or movement, sometimes not even joy, unfortunately. How did you get to this point in your teaching career where…

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 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 38: Inside Wallis Annenberg PetSpace: Innovation in Animal Welfare

…ask everyone: What are you watching, reading, or listening to these days? Gabrielle Amster [12:25] That’s a great question. There’s a good Jake Gyllenhaal series on Apple. It has nothing to do with my industry or profession, but it’s a good series, so I recommend it. As for what I’m reading, I don’t know the…

Episode 3: High-Impact Tutoring with Susanna Loeb

…opportunity for learning for teacher candidates, because they can first learn to teach reading to an individual student. That’s a really powerful experience for them just in teaching. As a tutor, they might interact with parents and teachers. It’s a much more concrete, educational experience than the observations that have been more typical of teacher…

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

…how to make this happen.’ And they said, ‘Well, you have to be part of it, you have to help us.’ So, long story short, I left my teaching job to start Legacy LA. Nati Rodriguez [4:32] That’s amazing. And what were some of the program offerings that Legacy LA had for the community once…

Episode 10: Griffin Education with Tim Griffin

…with LAUSD as a multi-subject teacher, eventually specializing in STEM and inclusion teaching, which is where you work with the kids who have mild special needs. They don’t need a special day program, but they may need some accommodations for different learning styles. That’s where I got into bringing more and more of the arts…

Episode 35: The Happiest Baby Snoo Smart Sleeper with Dr. Harvey Karp

…where we talk about the Snoo. Dr. Harvey Karp [11:45] That led us to the Snoo. I was teaching sleep for many, many years and lecturing, and I started to get frustrated because I didn’t see any reduction in postpartum depression or any reduction in the number of babies who were dying; because their parents…

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

…afternoon and sub for me at the end of the day. Once they had their degree, we’d put them right into a teaching position. I have alumni that are subs, teachers, secretaries, assistant principals, custodians, you go on and on. You know how it goes. Once you become a staff member and you graduated with…

Episode 37: Lakisha Young on Transforming Education with The Oakland Reach

…the Liberator model, which is helping students regain ground in essential math and reading skills. Tune in to hear her amazing story! (The interview has been edited for length and clarity) Transcript Nati Rodriguez [1:44] Lakisha, welcome. Lakisha Young [1:45] Thank you for having me. Nati Rodriguez [1:47] Thank you for being here with us…

Episode 26: LA84 Foundation with Renata Simril

…introduced a ballet folklorico program to her students. The dance class begins at 08:00 a.m., almost an hour before school starts, and it’s about teaching the cultural competency and the history behind folklorico dance. The students actually dance, and move, and to see these young kids talk about how they learned about their culture, how…

Key Terms | Teaching Reading: K-2 Workshop

unit: Reading: Big Ideas

…depend on the purpose for reading, the discipline being studied, and the environment (e.g., in-school or out-of-school reading). All of these elements become more intricate and unique to a discipline as students advance through the grades. This unit explores the significant components of reading comprehension that relate to effective reading comprehension and learning across disciplines….

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….

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…

section: Examine the Topic | Connecting School and Home

…to read. With older children, take turns reading. Your children may find reading aloud to be difficult. Support your children’s efforts by taking turns when reading. Choose books carefully. Many books are enjoyable, but to help your children the most it is important to choose books that are not too easy and not too difficult….

unit: Big Ideas in Literacy – English

…currently being discussed at many levels of English teaching and the education profession, such as policy, research, teacher education, and teaching. The second and third units focus on reading practices and instructional strategies in English and a similar review of writing in English. The last unit brings these ideas together and discusses broader instructional design….

unit: Reading in English

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…

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…

section: Examine the Topic | Teaching Writing as a Process

…B. Graves, Teaching Reading in the Twenty-First Century, 413-414. Boston, Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. Passage and guidelines above are from Graves, M. F., C. Juel, and B. B. Graves, Teaching Reading in the Twenty-First Century. Published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. Copyright © 2001 by Pearson Education. Adapted by permission of the publisher….

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…

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: 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….

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…

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…

video: Assessment-Driven Instruction

Hildi Perez’s First-Grade Class Teacher: Hildi Perez Years Teaching: 7 School: Young Achievers School for Science and Mathematics, Boston, MA 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…

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…

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…

video: Teaching Persuasive Writing

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…

section: Resources

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…

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…

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…

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…

section: Controversial Public Policy Issues — Other Lessons

…of contextual conditions in which these approaches and formats might best promote civic competence. Major Approaches to Teaching About Controversial Issues Four major approaches to teaching about controversial issues frequently appear in the literature–problem solving, public issues, decision making, and moral reasoning. Each approach contains a set of clearly articulated goals and a framework for…

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…

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…

unit: Big Ideas in Literacy – History/Social Studies

Introduction Welcome to the history/social studies content-specific units on disciplinary literacy. These next four units explore disciplinary literacy in history as an approach to teaching history and social studies. Unit 5 will introduce useful concepts and tools that promote disciplinary literacy. Units 6 and 7 will focus on specific reading and writing practices, respectively. Unit…

unit: Disciplinary Literacy: Big Ideas

…texts, and the purposes for reading and writing. However, an overarching goal in each discipline is to teach students how to read, write, think, and talk like an expert in the field. This unit will explore the important ideas related to purposeful teaching and learning in the disciplines offered in middle and high school. The…

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…

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…

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…

unit: Reading and Analyzing Texts

session: Fluency and Word Study

…knowledge, and word analysis skills in effective, interactive, and engaged reading. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: provide opportunities to practice fluent reading model and demonstrate fluent reading for your students plan instruction that allows all students to engage in high-success reading select and teach vocabulary to…

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: 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….

video: Thinking About Thinking: Metacognition

“We can teach children to think about their thinking in ways that help them understand what they know and what they don’t know and what they’d like to learn, and to help them reflect on their learning and to evaluate their work against a continuum that they’re on. All of those kinds of thinking actually…

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: Before You Watch | Building Comprehension

…S. J. Samuels, eds., What Research Has To Say About Reading Instruction, 205-242. Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 2002. What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Comprehension (PDF) In this article, Laura Pardo explains how teachers can support comprehension by scaffolding the reader, the text, the context, and the transaction that occurs while reading. Pardo,…

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…

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: Bringing It All Together – Mathematics

Introduction You have now had a number of opportunities to consider what it looks like to incorporate the disciplinary literacy practices of reading, writing, speaking, and listening into mathematics classrooms. As a way to revisit what it means to engage in these disciplinary literacy practices, solve the Harvesting the Field Problem [PDF], drawing on the…

section: Teaching Strategies

Choral Reading Literature Circles Coding Questioning Bilingual and Intertextual Reading…

video: The Classroom Mosaic: Culture and Learning

…some of the causes of inequality in education, as well as the sources of diversity in classrooms. They will understand the importance of multicultural education and the different forms multicultural education can take in schools. Culturally responsive teaching – Teachers will reflect on and consider the relationship between culture and learning. Teachers will understand that…

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: 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: Envisioning

Introduction What actually happens when readers encounter a text for the first time? How do they make sense of it and what processes do their brains go through as they get further immersed in the literature? Why are some readers successful and others are not? More importantly, how does our teaching impact the success of…

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,…

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: 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: 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…

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…

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…

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: Learning From Others: Learning in a Social Context

“Vygotsky understood that all learning is social – that we don’t actually end up doing most of our learning all by ourselves in our own heads; that we work with others, we assist one another to learn. Teachers can help students learn by consciously teaching within their zone of proximal development – right in that…

video: Lessons for Life: Learning and Transfer

…– Teachers will understand what conditions are needed for knowledge and skills learned in one context to be retrieved and applied to a new situation. Teaching for transfer – Teachers will develop ideas about how to facilitate transfer in their own classrooms and how to build bridges for their students between concepts, activities, and lessons….

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

…when teachers provide those structures for students – so that they have a map of the territory – they can learn more effectively and hang lots of other pieces of information onto that understanding. So that the structure of knowledge itself becomes a learning and a teaching tool.” Linda Darling-Hammond Key Questions How does the…

video: The Teacher’s Role in a Literary Community

About This Video Clip “Literature comes alive when kids have a chance to interpret and to interact. It allows kids to not only see themselves as active readers, but as people who can make meaning.” Barry Hoonan The Odyssey School Bainbridge Island, Washington Barry Hoonan believes teaching is much like poetry. It is crafted, it…

section: Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

…to acquire and assess in our rapidly changing world. Johnston, P. “Literacy Assessment and the Future.” The Reading Teacher 58, no. 7 (2005): 684-686. Assessment Conversations (PDF) This article explores how teachers can engage in conversations with students that inform teaching and learning. Johnston, P. “Assessment Conversations.” The Reading Teacher 57, no. 1 (2003): 90-92….

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…

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: 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…

video: Teaching Multigenre Writing

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: 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.  …

video: How People Learn: Introduction to Learning Theory

…teaching for learning – Teachers will begin to uncover and articulate their assumptions, understandings, and questions about how students learn and the nature of teaching. Teachers will become familiar with the main themes of the video course. Theory and practice – Teachers will begin to consider learning theory and its role in their teaching practice….

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…

video: Teaching Poetry

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:…

video: Principles of Artful Teaching

In this Program Music A band teacher works with beginning and advanced music students. Visual Art In a visual art foundation class, the teacher takes on different roles in response to varying student needs. Theatre A theatre teacher chooses how active to be as his students explore playwriting, and encourages communication across artistic disciplines. Dance…

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…

unit: Reading In Science

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….

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…

session: Creating Contexts for Learning

…students learn, and see examples from actual classrooms. Learning Goals At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: plan and organize your classroom to promote reading and writing develop literacy routines that encourage students to use reading and writing in meaningful ways identify and use texts that are accessible and motivating…

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…

unit: Different Learners, Different Minds

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: 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: Class Context

  That’s the ideal, that kids are teaching each other. When that happens, it’s awesome.… I’ll put this student who’s good at this subject with this student who’s not so good at this subject. The good student will help teach the lower, lesser-skilled student. They’ll both benefit because the skilled student is teaching and learning…

unit: Conversations With Student Writers

…with students a very hard part of teaching writing, though it’s very rewarding. I’ve learned that even if a conference doesn’t go well, and they don’t all go all that well, just engaging children in talking about their process — what they’re writing — is huge teaching. — Katie Wood Ray, consultant and or co-author…

section: Teaching Strategies

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

section: Teaching Strategies

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…

section: Homework

…Teaching the Mean Meaningfully. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 2 (3), 112-115. Reproduced with permission from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Copyright © 1996 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved. Download PDF File: Teaching the Mean Meaningfully Zawojewski, Judith and Shaughnessy, Michael (March, 2000). Mean and Median: Are…

unit: Building a Community of Writers

…age if we give them the chance. As teachers, we have to cherish the joy children get from writing because what matters most in our teaching is that we not only help students become better writers, we also help them to want to write, to love what they’ve created in words. — Jack Wilde, retired…

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

…development and learning – Teachers will understand that organizing schools for powerful learning means integrating what we know about children’s development and learning with what we know about organizing curriculum and teaching. Providing structural features that support powerful learning – Teachers will understand the structural features of schools that support teaching and learning for understanding….

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…

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…

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: 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…

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…

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: 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…

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…

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…

unit: Reading in Mathematics

video: Learning As We Grow: Development and Learning

…a students’ learning. Teachers will learn how they can enhance learning by observing their students and supporting their development across these pathways. Developmental progression – Teachers will understand that development progresses sequentially, that teaching is more effective when it is appropriate to students’ developmental stages and within their “zones of proximal development,” and that development…

video: Overview

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…

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: 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…

List of Recent Series Discontinuations

…on December 31, 2018. (Browse our list of resources for other series that may be of interest to you.) Calculating Change Rural Communities School Testing- Behind the Numbers Teaching Geography Mathematics Assessment Teaching Math K-2 Teaching Math 3-5 Teaching Math 6-8 Teaching Math 9-12 Teaching Math K-4 Library Teaching Math 5-8 Library Teaching Math 9-12 Library…

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: 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,…

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…

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…

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: Teaching Social Studies

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: Introduction: The Art and Science of Teaching

unit: Implications For Schools

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: Teaching the Power of Revision

video: Teaching for Understanding

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: 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: 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,…

unit: Learning To Revise

…of times it’s hard to know what to do during revision because you don’t have a vision to start with. — Katie Wood Ray, consultant and author or co-author of five books on teaching writing, including The Writing Workshop: Working through the Hard Parts (And They’re All Hard Parts) Learning Goals In this workshop you…

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…

unit: Reasons for Writing

…write for authentic audiences. I’ve seen children transformed when they had a clear sense of audience and purpose and when they were preparing their writing for an occasion where they can imagine the writing is read. — Katie Wood Ray, consultant and author or co-author of five books on teaching writing, including The Writing Workshop:…

section: Put It Into Practice | Differentiating Instruction

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 differentiating instruction. Choose one or more of the activities from the list below. Activity 1. Develop a Flexible Grouping Lesson Plan Develop a whole-class lesson plan using…

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: 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: 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…

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: 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: Teaching Music

…students. The school provides violin lessons for every child as part of the curriculum. In the absence of applicable standards for a project of this size and scope, string specialist Barrett Jackson developed her own teaching goals for each class, including those for the kindergartners and fifth-graders featured in this program At Smith Renaissance School…

section: Examine the Topic | Creating a Literate Community

Extend Your Knowledge In this section, you will expand your understanding of a literate classroom community 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. Primary reading teachers have two challenges: designing a classroom environment that…

session: Teaching Diverse Learners

…“When we talk about diversity, we’re usually talking about cultural and linguistic diversity. But children are also diverse learners in terms of their abilities, interests, background knowledge, and the way they approach learning. All of these contribute to who a child is and how that child will learn.” Dorothy Strickland Professor of Reading Rutgers University…

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: 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…

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: 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: 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…

unit: Conclusion: A Community of Educators

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…

section: Before You Watch | Writing

…Teacher 56, no. 6 (2003): 518-525. Children’s Books as Models to Teach Writing Skills (PDF) This article describes how teachers can use children’s books to model the writing skills they are teaching. McElveen, S. A., and C. C. Dierking. “Children’s Books as Models to Teach Writing Skills.” The Reading Teacher 54, no. 4 (2000-2001): 362-364….

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…

section: Rights and Responsibilities of Students — Teacher Perspectives

Matt Johnson, who has been in the social studies department at Benjamin Banneker Senior High School in Washington, D.C., for 10 years, is seen in the workshop video teaching a senior honors-level constitutional law class. (He also is featured in Workshop 4, teaching a lesson in AP comparative government.) In these interview excerpts, he discusses…

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…

section: Session 2: Homework

…same mean, the same median, and the same mode, but are not identical data sets. How could you distinguish these sets from each other? Suggested Readings: Friel, Susan, Bright, George, and Curcio, Frances (November-December, 1997). Understanding Students’ Understanding of Graphs. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 3 (3), 224-227. Reproduced with permission from Mathematics Teaching…

section: Guide to Researching Photographs

…Throughout this guide, vignettes of an 11th grade history teacher teaching the Teapot Dome scandal of the 1920s are provided to illustrate the process of researching and using photographs to support the lesson. Step 1: Determine Search Criteria Enhancing Teaching Strategies with Photographs: A Case Study Ms. Green is teaching her high school students about…

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: 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…

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: 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: Reading and Writing in Science

The following education experts appear in this video: Meena Balgopal is an associate professor at Colorado State University in the School of Education. Her teaching areas include science and interdisciplinary teaching methods. Her research focuses on how to increase K–16 students’ scientific literacy. She also presents professional development workshops on science pedagogy, science content, and…

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: 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,…

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: 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…

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…

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: Creating a Community of Writers

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: 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…

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…

unit: Different Brains

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: The Professional Teacher

“The conferences I go to, the workshops I attend, and the professional books I read are the greatest part of my learning and after twenty-seven years give me the boost to keep on teaching.” -Rich Thompson, 4th-Grade Teacher Canyon Elementary School, Hungry Horse, Montana Every profession has practitioners and professionals. While practitioners may be skillful…

section: Put It Into Practice | Comprehension and Response

…books that best support teaching the strategy. Activity 2. Develop a Lesson Plan Use the principles explored in this session to develop a lesson plan for teaching comprehension strategy. Watch examples developed by the workshop participants. Activity 3. Create a Handbook Collect literary resources for each workshop session in a Handbook for Effective Literacy Practices….

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: 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

…the letter miim. Overall, the lesson reflects a teaching strategy of guided to independent practice. After reviewing the class objectives for the day, Mrs. Alaloom showed students pictures of people and their professions and drew on students’ prior knowledge by asking them who the people were and what they did. She then paired students for…

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

video: Responding to Writing: Peer to Peer

video: Reading Across the Curriculum

…of the content and vocabulary associated with each theme. Readings will often include varied genres–from science and historical fiction to nonfiction pieces. Mr. Reeves relies on both structure and spontaneity in his teaching, and attributes his willingness to take risks in his teaching to the classroom community and close relationships with and among his students….

video: Summarizing Nonfiction

…students chose to read from a set of trade books (on the same topic) that ranged in reading level from third to sixth grade. Ms. Demont made certain that all texts would provide the same essential information despite variations in reading level. She carefully monitored student selections to be certain each was at an appropriate…

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…

section: Put It Into Practice | Creating Contexts for Learning

…Text Sets In this activity, you will develop a lesson using a range of books based on the curriculum, skills, interests, and cultural backgrounds represented in your classroom. Activity 2 – Develop Grouping Plans In this activity, you will develop classroom charts, grouping students together together in reading based on their strengths, needs, interests, and…

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…

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…

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…

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: 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: 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…

section: Homework

…approximately one-third of the data in each group. Include instructions for determining the positions of T1 and T2 (the locations of the dividing points of the first and second thirds of the data). Suggested Readings: Friel, Susan and O’Connor, William (March, 1999). Sticks to the Roof of Your Mouth? Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School,…

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: Teaching Strategies

unit: Teachers & Lesson Plans

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…

video: Teaching Dance

Second-graders at P.S. 156 in Brooklyn, New York, learn a West African dance called “Sunu.” Two teachers with contrasting training and teaching approaches bring rich dance experiences to students at their arts-based schools: At Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, lifelong dancer and dance educator Kathy DeJean works with an auditioned troupe of…

section: Course Overview

…graduation requirements. It is not a course that offers easy answers or proposes teaching methods that can be universally applied. Rather, it provides new lenses through which to view the teaching and learning challenges you face and invites you to discover your own answers to your own questions. If you want a brief preview of…

section: Teaching Strategies

section: Teaching Strategies

Cultural Artifacts Group Research Cultural Immersion Renga…

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: 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: 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….

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…

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: 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: Arabic: Teaching Arabic Overview

اضغط هنا للترجمة باللغة العربية Arabic is facing some of the same challenges as many other languages that are new to being taught in U.S. schools. Do we have educators in place? Is there community interest? Are there going to be resources and materials in place? – Paul Sandrock, ACTFL…

video: Introducing Arts Education

…How Do You Know They’re Learning? (4 minutes) Learning takes many forms, and some areas of proficiency are highly subjective. In this short program, educators from several schools tell how they know if their students are “getting” what the teachers are teaching. This program is useful as a discussion starter with teachers, administrators, and parents….

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: Teaching Strategies

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: 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: 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: 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…

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…

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….

section: Before You Watch | Teaching Diverse Learners

…grouping or learning tasks)? How do you use support personnel to enhance learning and help individual students?   Assignment Examine the Literature Print out two copies of the Examine the Literature Response Chart (PDF). Then read each article listed below, recording your ideas on the charts during and after reading. When you have finished, save…

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: 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…

section: Homework: Statistics as a Problem-Solving Process

…and implications for your classroom teaching? b. What are some insights you acquired about the development of children’s understanding of data analysis, statistics, and probability from kindergarten through grade 2? c. What are three important ideas you want to remember from the standards when teaching data analysis? Problem H2 Assume that you need to report…

section: Homework

…implications for your classroom teaching? b. What are some insights you acquired about the development of children’s understanding of data analysis, statistics, and probability from grades 3-5? c. What are three important ideas you want to remember from the standards when teaching data analysis? Problem H2 Assume that you need to report back to your…

section: Homework

…and implications for your classroom teaching? b. What are some insights you acquired about the development of students’ understanding of data analysis, statistics, and probability from grades 6 through 8? c. What are three important ideas you want to remember from the standards when teaching data analysis? Problem H2 Assume that you need to report…

video: Before You Watch | Differentiating Instruction

…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 excerpts illustrating instruction in different grouping formats. They then relate the classroom practices to their own teaching….

video: Three Leaders at Arts-Based Schools

…Colorado, assistant principal Rory Pullens uses his own experience in the arts to bring a personal touch to the day-to-day management of the school. When the school converted to an arts-based program, approximately 50 percent of the teaching staff transferred to other schools. Those who remained, Pullens says, became the core of today’s committed staff….

section: Commentary

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

section: Class Context

…uses best practices for Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) teaching and learning. Lesson Design Miss Lahoud teaches Art and Arabic once a week to classes of Novice speakers. “All my cultural art lessons begin with me teaching a specific art or craft technique, and I explain its importance to Arab culture,” she says….

section: Teaching Strategies: Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

…is spoken 2 to 4 of the above would be English language learners 50 percent of this last subgroup would be immigrant students. Source: U.S. Department of Education, NAEP 1996 Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and the States. The demands of teaching in diverse classroom environments are both challenging and rewarding. Fortunately, researchers have…

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: 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…

section: Authors and Literary Works

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…

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…

section: Teaching Strategies: Cooperative Learning

…interesting, yet challenging. Teachers sometimes learn, and students sometimes teach. Teachers encourage and value the expression of differing opinions. Teachers and students demonstrate mutual respect. Read what Miriam Leiva has to say about cooperative learning as one aspect of good teaching: She [teacher Jenny Novak] used several different modes of teaching that I thought were…

video: Program 8: Teaching a Specific Writing Strategy

Watch the 30-minute video “Teaching a Specific Writing Strategy.” Apply what you have learned in “Teaching the Writing Craft” 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. Silvia Edgerton’s Class In this segment, Silvia…

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….

unit: A Writer’s Notebook

…you have to be a great elegist or a world-renowned novelist. But understanding the processes of trying to express yourself is invaluable when you are teaching writing. In this set of workshops, you will have a chance to write along with the teachers featured in this workshop—under the direction of celebrated author Judith Ortiz Cofer….

section: Teaching Strategies

Political Poems Performance and Publishing Roundtable Discussion Found Poems…

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: 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…

section: Commentary

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…

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

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 assessing your students’ literacy development. Choose one or more from the list below to practice in your classroom. Activity 1. Use Assessment To Plan Instruction Analyze a…

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: 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 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: 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…

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: What is Arts Integration?

…explore different approaches to arts integration, and consider which is the best fit for you and your colleagues. The program presents three instructional models for integrating the arts: independent instruction, team-teaching, and collaborations with community resources. You’ll also explore three types of curricular connections used in integrating the arts: informal, complementary, and interdependent.    …

video: Reflecting on Our Practice

This program explores methods for assessing instructional practice. You’ll see teachers reflecting alone and interacting with colleagues to evaluate and refine their planning and teaching. To conclude, the discussion group models a protocol that allows teachers to draw on the expertise of colleagues to refine their practice. Learning Goals The goals of this workshop are…

video: How Do We Collaborate?

Learning Goals The goals of this workshop are for you to: Understand how collaborative partnerships can aid curriculum planning and instruction Plan ways to incorporate teaching partnerships into your practice This workshop program focuses on a key element of arts integration: collaborative partnerships between teachers. In the program you’ll see teachers collaborating with fellow teachers,…

section: Homework

…(February, 1998). Push Penny — What Is Your Expected Score? Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 3 (5), 370-377. Reproduced with permission from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Copyright © 1998 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved. Download PDF File: Push Penny — What Is Your Expected Score? Continued…

section: Part B: Statistics as a Problem-Solving Process (45 minutes)

…Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Used with permission of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Russell, Susan Jo and Mokros, Jan (February, 1996). What Do Children Understand About Average? Edited by Donald L. Chambers. Teaching Children Mathematics, 360-364. Reproduced with permission from Teaching Children Mathematics. Copyright � 1996 by the National Council of Teachers…

section: Part B: Developing Statistical Reasoning (45 minutes)

…Used with permission of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Russell, Susan Jo and Mokros, Jan (February, 1996). What Do Children Understand About Average? Edited by Donald L. Chambers. Teaching Children Mathematics, 360-364. Reproduced with permission from Teaching Children Mathematics. Copyright © 1996 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved….

lesson: Featured Classroom: Barbara Waters with Robin Geggett; Mashpee, Massachusetts

…Barbara Waters is quick to say that she has always liked water. “Ever since I discovered there were little things crawling around in the pond in the back yard, I was fascinated.” But she’s also quick to add that she married into the name. Barbara started teaching science in 1959 and, because she lived near…

section: Homework

…Are there some questions that still cannot be answered with a histogram? Suggested Readings: Kader, Gary and Perry, Mike (September-October, 1994). Learning Statistics with Technology. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 1 (2), 130-136. Reproduced with permission from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Copyright © 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics….

section: Part D: Ordering Hats: (35 minutes)

…Problem C1 that previously could not be answered with a histogram? Can you give more accurate answers for some of the questions in Problem C1? Are there some questions that still cannot be answered with a histogram? Suggested Readings: Kader, Gary and Perry, Mike (September-October, 1994). Learning Statistics with Technology. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle…

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….

section: Teaching Strategies

section: Teaching Strategies

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

video: Reacting to Students’ Work

…video you will listen as the workshop teachers describe ways in which they have developed procedures that involve students and parents in their assessment processes. Appreciating the power of authentic assessment and valuing their own on-going professional development, several of these teachers reverse conventional patterns and ask students for feedback on their teaching as well….

video: What’s the Big Idea?

Learning Goals The goals of this workshop are for you to: Understand and identify ‘big ideas’ Explore ways to design arts-integrated instruction that helps students to discover ‘big ideas’ This workshop session is about planning and teaching toward big ideas – important understandings that have lasting value. In the program you’ll see how arts-integrated instruction…

section: Commentary

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…

video: Watch the Video | Teaching Writing as a Process

Lecture In this section, you will watch Dr. Paratore’s lecture on teaching writing as a process. Print Dr. Paratore’s Writing Process Lecture Posters (PDF). Use the posters to take notes on the lecture. In this video segment, Dr. Paratore reviews the principles of effective writing instruction. The lecture focuses on writing as a process and…

lesson: Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989)

…at Vanderbilt he became one of the “Fugitive poets” and later contributed a somewhat reluctant defense of “separate but equal” racial segregation to I’ll Take My Stand, the political manifesto of the Southern Agrarians, who were also associated with Vanderbilt. (Like many southerners, Warren later changed his mind about segregation.) He began teaching English at…

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: 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: 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: 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…

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: 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: 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:…

unit: Activity: Lesson Builder

Introduction Learning Objectives At the conclusion of the Lesson Builder, you will: Implement the envisionment-building process in an existing classroom lesson. Take stock of your own instructional practices, considering which ones support a literary community and which ones need to be renewed. Begin to create a literary community within your own classroom. Process Taking Stock:…

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: 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: 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: 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…

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: 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: Freedom of Religion — Teacher Perspectives

…a Master’s degree in social sciences, has been teaching at Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the last six years. In these interview excerpts, which were taped when her class was involved in a simulation of a Supreme Court trial on a First Amendment case, she talks about her constructivist approach to teaching civics….

video: Usage and Mechanics

This session focuses directly on key questions of grammar and mechanics: When should student writers and reviewers of student work pay attention to usage and mechanics? Does teaching grammar in context really work? Why should these things matter? Grammar experts add to the conversation, analyzing its role in communication and providing ways to bridge the…

section: Public Policy and the Federal Budget — Essential Readings

The following readings can be found below: From Behaviorist to Constructivist Teaching Creating Effective Citizens  …

video: View & Analyze The Video

Video Summary In “Meaningful Interpretation,” Professor Virginia Scott of Vanderbilt University addresses the value of teaching interpretive communication skills. Professor Scott also joins a round-table discussion on effective approaches to teaching interpretation skills, moderated by University of Pittsburgh professor Richard Donato, and including teachers Lauri Dabbieri of Fairfax, Virginia, and Michel Pasquier of New Hyde…

section: Teaching Strategies

section: Class Context

A lot of the teaching at this age level starts and ends with songs. That is a way for children to access the language, and one way we teach them to read. Most of the songs we sing in class have text to go with them. By the end of last year, the children had…

section: Interview with Peter Kenmore

…I had good science teaching all the way through. Sometime in the late ‘60’s, so that means towards the end of High School and beginning ‘70’s, which means college, I got interested in ecology. That was around the time of the first Earth Days in the early ‘70’s. So instead of the ninety-five percent of…

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…

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

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….

section: Commentary

video: Encouraging Discussion

Introduction “They [students] need to hear what other kids think and that builds on the layers of what they each are thinking and it makes them ask questions.” Linda Rief 8th Grade Teacher, Oyster River Middle School Durham, New Hampshire We learn best by contemplating and synthesizing new information. By turning over new concepts in…

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

lesson: Animal Life Cycles: Featured Classroom – Mary Bitterlich, Lakewood, CO

Mary Bitterlich, Lakewood, CO “Science is just about my students’ favorite subject now, and honestly, years ago when I was teaching, I wouldn’t say that was true–you know, there wasn’t as much excitement by the kids when you started a new unit. But with the actual exploring built into the curriculum, all the things they…

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…

section: Part A: Classroom Video (30 minutes)

To begin the exploration of what algebraic thinking looks like in a classroom at your grade level, watch a video segment of a teacher who has taken the “Patterns, Functions, and Algebra” course and has adapted the mathematics to her own teaching situation. When viewing the video, keep the following three questions in mind: Note…

section: Class Context

…the ESFL curriculum to see which general curriculum areas she can reinforce. For example, she often incorporates math into stories that she tells or connects to drama through fairy tales drawn from the target culture. Ms. Haberlen considers music to be an integral part of teaching a foreign language. She believes that songs can motivate…

workshop: Subjects Matter

…discussions and classroom examples, and do a culminating activity in which you design a content-rich lesson. At the end of this session, you will better understand how to: integrate content into language learning; use a constructivist approach to teaching and learning a foreign language; and choose appropriate content for various ages and proficiency levels.  …

video: Preserving a Place for the Arts

…this county. Instead of competitions, I do more creative things, where the students are coming up with movement. For example, in the elective “Dance-A-Story” we take a children’s book and develop the characters through movement. I’ve had the option to begin teaching language arts in sixth grade, and so I’m doing that in the mornings….

video: Choosing Instructional Approaches

In this Program Dance Two dance teachers engage students in critical analysis of a painting, as a way to encourage expression with words as well as movement. Music A vocal music teacher takes on different roles to help students find creative solutions to artistic challenges. Theatre An acting teacher becomes a facilitator as his students…

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…

section: Teaching Strategies: Worthwhile Mathematical Tasks

…the development of all students’ dispositions to do mathematics. (Source: NCTM, Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics, 1991, p. 25) The Workshop 2 videos present examples of how teachers can use worthwhile tasks effectively in the algebra classroom, even with students who don’t consider themselves interested in mathematics. In Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM),…

video: Exploring Unity and Diversity

section: Electoral Politics — Teacher Perspectives

Jose E. Velazquez, who has been teaching in the Newark, New Jersey, Public Schools since 1987, teaches Law in Action to seniors at University High School. In these interview excerpts, he talks about his use of constructivist methodologies and his class’s involvement in the Newark Student Voices Project, a nationally-funded initiative in selected cities that…

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: 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.

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: 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…

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

…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: 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…

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…

section: Commentary

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: 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…

video: Classroom Dialogues

…all those out into the mix and come out with a totally different reading at the end. So that’s what I’m hoping for.” -Katherine Bomer, 5th-Grade Teacher, Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Austin, Texas Many teachers are afraid to promote classroom discussion in which students assume control of its shape. And with good reason. What happens…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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)…

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….

lesson: Featured Classroom: Carol Berlin; Framingham, Massachusetts

…inspired me. They taught me that you don’t have to have the answers, that you want the children to ask questions. Very powerful ideas… and when I started teaching, I felt very empowered to teach science.” For the past seven years, Carol has been teaching third grade at the Charlotte Dunning School, in Framingham, Massachusetts….

section: Homework

…question, how might you modify the study to answer the question more thoroughly? Suggested Readings: Noether, Gottfried (1994). Mental Random Numbers: Perceived and Real Randomness. In Teaching Statistics at Its Best (pp. 40-41). University of Sheffield, England: Teaching Statistics Trust. This article first appeared in Teaching Statistics <http://science.ntu.ac.uk/rsscse/ts/> and is used with permission. Download PDF…

section: Reflect on Your Learning | Teaching English Language Learners

What Did You Learn? Assignment Think about what you have learned about teaching English language learners from Professor Jiménez’s comments and the classroom examples. Write a summary of 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, if…

video: Teaching Visual Art

In art class, second-graders at Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York, make stylized masks with exaggerated features. Two visual art specialist teachers use contrasting interpretations of the human face to explore inquiry-based instruction and various techniques in visual art: At Helen Street School in Hamden, Connecticut, visual art teacher Pamela Mancini uses portraits…

lesson: Featured Classroom: Monique Brinson; Jamaica Plain, MA

…for urban children in Boston. Its mission statement reflects the school’s belief “that every student can learn algebra and understand the concepts of biology, can plot the course of a beam of light, and come to grips with the vastness of the stars.” The scope of the science program at YASM includes teaching three to…

video: Nurturing Independent Thinkers

…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 assessments that provide information for him and for the students. Theatre Theatre teachers give an in-depth critique to a student, and then ask him for feedback on their teaching….

lesson: Featured Classroom: Linda Block, Castro Valley, CA

…Unified School District, about 30 miles east of San Francisco. It is an ethnically diverse school whose Academic Performance Index (API) rank has been 10 out of a possible 10 for the past three years. Linda Block has been teaching for seventeen years, the past seven in Castro Valley and the first ten in the…

Learner Podcast

…organizations that serve them. Guest speakers will share what’s working and the steps we can take to reimagine and redesign teaching and learning for our most vulnerable populations. The Learner Podcast will join the catalog of multi-media professional learning content to support educators teaching in more effective ways. About Annenberg Learner Annenberg Learner is the…

video: Program 13: Learning To Revise

…will find this image at the end of the segment, approximately 17 minutes into the video.) In what ways do Sheryl’s students exhibit a sense of experimentation with revision work? What evidence do you see that they might be willing to take risks? How does Sheryl’s teaching encourage experimentation with revision? Specifically, what do you…

video: Using Resources

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: View & Analyze the Video

Video Summary In “Rooted in Culture,” Professor Alvino Fantini from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, discusses the importance of teaching culture and being sensitive to native cultures, perspectives, and behaviors when interacting with speakers of the target language. Professor Fantini also joins a round-table discussion on ways of integrating culture into a…

workshop: Rooted in Culture

…will better understand how to: use the Standards framework of products, practices, and perspectives to analyze culture in the context of the foreign language; help students begin to think about cultural perspectives in both the target culture and their own culture; and integrate the teaching of cultural concepts into the context of foreign language instruction…

video: View & Analyze the Video

…Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS) be used to present and have students practice new vocabulary? What are the instructional advantages of using stories or narratives to teach new language? What kind of content base do you provide when teaching vocabulary themes? For example, when teaching food-related vocabulary, Mr. Pedini focuses on the issue of nutrition….

video: Feelings Count: Emotions and Learning

“How students feel affects whether and how they can learn. If they’re anxious or fearful they’re not going to be able to take in information. Teachers not only can learn to create a safe environment they can learn to develop emotional intelligence. The students actually gain the skills of managing their emotions, solving conflicts, and…

video: Applying Themes and Disciplines

section: Constitutional Convention — Essential Readings

The following essential readings are available below: Authentic Intellectual Work in Social Studies: Putting Performance before Pedagogy Assessment in a Social Contructivist Classroom  …

video: View & Analyze the Video

…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? When teaching content about communities, what kinds of authentic materials might you use? What final project might you design?…

video: Watch the Video | Comprehension and Response

…your reading and your experience, what other strategies do beginning readers use to make meaning? Return to your Comprehension Instruction Chart and add any new questions or challenges you may have. In the second video segment, Dr. Paratore discusses explicit and strategic instruction to promote comprehension. Use the video image below to locate where to…

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…

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…

section: Before you Watch

section: Authors and Literary Works

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

…this activity, you will develop a lesson that guides your students to use the Internet to find out information about an author whose work they are reading in class. Activity 2 –Develop Background Knowledge In this activity, you will determine the background knowledge that is required to enhance students’ understanding of a novel you teach…

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,…

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….

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 | 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….

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: 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: Assessment

Introduction “One of the things that I really find valuable… with assessment is having the kids… reflect on their goals. What goals did you meet? What goals did you not meet? Why did you not meet these goals? What could you do next time… to meet those goals? What goals are you going to set…?”…

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…

workshop: Delivering the Message

One of the most useful aspects of having a real audience in presentational communication is that the audience will provide gaps that students can investigate, understand, explore, and then write about or talk about. — Paul Kei Matsuda Assistant Professor of English University of New Hampshire Learning Goals How do you organize an effective written…

lesson: Plant Life Cycles: Featured Classroom – Sally Florkiewicz, Lakewood, CO

Sally Florkiewicz, Lakewood, CO “The best part about teaching life science is that I think the kids really relate to it. It gives them a hands-on experience. They can actually sit and observe something and relate to it. Some of the other sciences are a little bit more abstract and they’re not able to have…

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: 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…

video: Issues in Social Studies: Groups, Projects, and Presentations

How can we increase the effectiveness of groups, projects, and presentations in social studies teaching and learning? When can these activities replace more conventional means of assessment? Providing time for students to interact and apply their knowledge contributes to deeper understanding and greater retention, but how can teachers ensure that all students are mastering the…

section: Put It Into Practice | Teaching Writing as a Process

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 writing instruction. Choose one or more of the activities from the list below. Activity 1. Assess Your Writing Program Review your current writing instruction, then implement…

section: Class Context

…teach very similar content, although they use different teaching methods and activities. The Lesson In the videotaped lesson, Ms. Gao used Total Physical Response (TPR) to introduce new sports vocabulary. She believes that students learn the words very quickly when they can observe and then imitate the actions that represent these words. “I’m sometimes like…

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…

interactive: Identifying Reading Strategies

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: 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…

video: Discussion Strategies

“The genuine foundation is a love and passion for story and the knowing that story brings about a place for kids to find their way in, a way of expressing themselves… So I read good books and share them, and I listen to kids tell me about them. That’s the natural element for a good…

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: 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: 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…

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…

section: Authors and Literary Works

section: Teaching Strategies

video: Cultural Studies: Ishmael Reed and Graciela Limón

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…

section: Teaching Strategies

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

video: Reader Response: Keith Gilyard and Mourning Dove

video: Reader Response: Pat Mora and James Welch

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?…

video: Issues in Social Studies: Unity and Diversity

…and ability. Social studies provides a natural forum for teaching students to recognize and respect differences within the classroom and beyond. In the video, “Unity and Diversity,” teachers help students understand differences by: assigning group work that requires consensus about different values, examining artifacts to explore other cultures, integrating other languages in studying a culture…

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…

section: Patriotism and Foreign Policy — Teacher Perspectives

Alice Chandler teaches U.S. government to seniors at Duke Ellington High School of The Arts in Washington, D.C. She was interviewed in relationship to her lesson on patriotism and foreign policy in which the students worked in committees to design a Museum of Patriotism and Foreign Policy.

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…

workshop: Three Schools, Three Approaches

…workshop leader Susanne Burgess. At Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York, team members worked all year planning and teaching a sequence of instruction leading to a multi-arts performance piece. The team from Drew Model School in Arlington, Virginia, invited other interested teachers to work with them on a variety of lessons and units…

section: Class Context

…proficiency-based curriculum. When designing his lessons, Mr. Pedini customizes the curriculum to meet his students’ needs, and uses the book and ancillary materials to reinforce student learning. The Lesson The videotaped lesson was a culminating activity that got students actively involved with food and numbers vocabulary. One of the teaching methods that Mr. Pedini used…

video: Finding Your Voice

…Cultures class. Cathryn Peterson, Language Arts Teacher In World Cultures we spend about ten weeks studying conflict, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. We focus on the idea of culture throughout the entire year, and we try to focus on teaching kids about that in terms of history, art, literature, and their own personal experiences with the…

section: Part A: The Concept of Area (25 minutes)

To begin exploring what the teaching of measurement might look like in the classroom, participants in the Measurement course first reexamined the big ideas around one topic: area. They considered how children make sense of these ideas and discussed ways to present these concepts to young students.     Video Segment In this video segment,…

lesson: Alberto Ríos (b. 1952)

…Latino heritage while celebrating its diversity and sense of community. His speakers and characters reveal the tensions of living in a racially charged area of the Southwest. Magical realism — a mixture of fantasy and realism — characterizes much of Ríos’s work. Ríos thinks of teaching and writing as complementary activities. In one interview he…

video: Analyze the Video | Teaching Diverse Learners

Video Summary In “Teaching Diverse Learners,” Dorothy Strickland addresses the range of diversity in classrooms, including differences in language, culture, ability, interests, background knowledge, and approach to learning. Professor Strickland also discusses the importance of teachers understanding the backgrounds of their students in order to plan effective instruction. As you watch the video, consider the…

workshop: Person to Person

Classroom interaction is simple. It is the talk that occurs in classrooms between teachers and students and among students. It’s also a very complex thing in that it is the primary medium by which learning occurs in classrooms, and that’s any kind of classroom, be it a history classroom or a math classroom or a…

lesson: Featured Classroom: LauraJo Kelly, Brooklyn, NY

…American with the remaining 11% divided roughly between Hispanic, Caucasian, and Asian children. About 74% of the school’s students are eligible for a free lunch. Ms. Kelly remembers that when she first began teaching, the science curriculum her school was using was vague at best. “It would be magnets one week, and the next week…

lesson: Robert Frost (1874-1963)

…years of marriage were difficult financially for the Frosts, who had five children by 1905. Things began to look up when he accepted a position at Pinkerton Academy in 1906, where he spent five years teaching English, directing plays, and writing poetry. In 1911, Frost sold his farm; he took his family to Scotland and…

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: 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…

section: Class Context

…Foreign Languages Curriculum Committee, draws on the Standards and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks (see Resources). Teachers design individual lessons in accordance with this curriculum, making accommodations for their personal teaching style, their students’ needs, and the resources that are available to them. Ms. Terry often uses backward planning when designing lessons within the scope and…

video: The Amistad Case

…Mr. Fisher’s teaching partner speaks to the class in Spanish. Some students understand, but others experience firsthand the language barrier Africans on the Amistad encountered with each other and with their captors. Teams for the plaintiffs, defendants, and judges prepare for the mock trial, conduct the trial, and reach a verdict about the fate of…

lesson: Featured Classroom: Gail Modugno, Springfield, MA

…groups: in the morning, half have math and science while the other half study language arts and social studies, and in the afternoon, they switch. “When I came into teaching, I was surprised that I fell towards the math and science,” said Gail. “I never expected to, but over the years, that’s just the direction…

section: Teaching Strategies

lesson: Featured Classroom: Dr. Kathleen Vandiver, Lexington, MA

Dr. Kathleen Vandiver, Lexington, MA “I think being a sixth-grade teacher is one of the most challenging things I’ve done even as a Ph.D. because usually what an advanced degree gets you just covers a very narrow field. And so, one of the pleasures and challenges, actually, of teaching sixth grade is that you have…

video: Issues in Social Studies: Creating Effective Citizens

…views about how to meet that goal. Some educators use positive examples from history to provide a solid foundation for the principles of democratic citizenship. Others support this approach but add a rigorous examination of the issues that arise within a democracy. Both perspectives point to innovative ways of teaching students what effective citizenship entails…

video: Engaging Students in Active Learning

lesson: Toni Morrison (b. 1931)

…where she was born as Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931. She attended Howard and Cornell Universities before beginning careers in teaching and editing. While teaching, Morrison counted among her students civil rights activist Stokeley Carmichael and prominent literary and cultural critic Houston A. Baker Jr.; while editing for Random House, she worked with Muhammad Ali…

video: Issues in Social Studies: Dealing With Controversial Issues

…Curriculum Standards for Social Studies defines what students should know and be able to do in social studies at each educational level. Teaching controversial issues relates specifically to the following NCSS themes: Culture Time, Continuity, and Change People, Places, and Environments Individuals, Groups, and Institutions Power, Authority, and Governance Global Connections Civic Ideals and Practices…

video: Program 7: Teaching the Writing Craft

Watch the 30-minute video “Teaching the Writing Craft.” 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: 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….

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 approach teaching different dialects or registers of Arabic in your classroom? What are some different methods of giving feedback to your students? On what basis do you choose…

video: Building on What We Know: Cognitive Processing

“We process information, efficiently or inefficiently depending on what the context is, whether we can hook it to what we’ve learned before, whether there’s some advanced organizers that let us know where the information is heading, and we also tend to process differently, some of us more orally, some more visually, some more kinesthetically. If…

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…

section: Class Context

One of the things I just love about teaching languages is that we can deal with math, science, geography, social studies, and that also captures the student who might say, “Why am I in this class after all?” If they can relate it to what they’re thinking about majoring in in college or some of…

section: Class Context

When you’re teaching high school students, you have to keep the intellectual level up so that it maintains their interest while you keep the language level where they can function. – Denise Tanner     YEAR AT A GLANCE Getting Started (e.g., numbers, colors, greetings) Family Free Time School Weather Food Clothing House and Furniture…

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…

section: Assignments + Projects

video: Introduction to the Library

The “Introduction to the Library” video summarizes the goals and content of Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices. It includes excerpts from the video library and methodology workshops as well as reflections from teachers, students, and experts in the field. The video library excerpts capture the range of foreign language teaching practices…

U.S. Immigration: Legal v. Illegal (Part 2)

…the rules, people do it. When getting into the U.S. legally is very difficult and expensive, people either don’t or can’t do it. When you’re teaching the topic of immigration, consider discussing these points with students: Beginning with Irish immigrants in the 1840s, there has always been a “bogeyman” immigrant group that native-born Americans were…

How can schools prepare for discussions of controversial issues? (Part II)

…In the introductory video for Teaching ‘The Children of Willesden Lane,’ Martina Grant’s students discuss their “universe of obligation;” reasons why people choose to act and not to act during times of crisis; and how history is connected to their own lives and experiences. Once we understand why individuals or communities fail to act during…

section: Teaching Strategies: Rule of Four

…of representations. Read what Tom Reardon, the video teacher in Workshop 5 Part I, says about teaching to various learning styles: Transcript from Tom Reardon These students who we consider poor math students can do these things if you give them enough different ways to look at it. One way doesn’t work; another way might…

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: 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…

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…

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…

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…

video: Reading and Writing in Mathematics

…students’ mathematical reasoning. Magdalene Lampert is the coordinator of documentation, design, and development for teaching and learning at BPE (formerly the Boston Plan for Excellence), where she advises on the design and development of the Boston Teacher Residency’s clinical teacher education program. She has taught elementary and high school mathematics, teacher education, and mathematics education….

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: 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…

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…

section: Authors and Literary Works

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: 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…

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…

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…

section: Commentary

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…

video: Reading and Writing in History

…learning, and curriculum design and evaluation. Chauncey Monte-Sano is an associate professor at the School of Education at the University of Michigan, where she teaches teacher education. Her research focuses on the teaching and learning of historical writing, including how adolescents learn to write historical arguments. She also develops history curriculum that supports students’ writing….

Putt Putt Boat

…you will find the order of lessons to guide you through teaching Thermodynamics. As well as the culminating activity for the Putt Putt Boat. LESSON PLANS Lesson plans to teach Thermodynamics Here you will find detailed lessons to guide you through teaching Thermodynamics and Heat Engines and preparing students to build a functioning heat engine…

Annenberg Learner

…Tutoring Corps at Scale April 17, 2024 Annenberg Learner partners with South LA Best Buy Teen Tech Center and Russell Westbrook Middle School to expand access to technology November 16, 2023 Explore Learner.org Resources Classroom Browse list of K-12 multimedia classroom resources for teaching about a wide range of subjects. View all STEM/STEAM Brick Playbook:…

Momentum and Impulse: Egg Drop

…will find the order of lessons to guide you through teaching momentum and impulse. As well as the culminating activity for the Egg Drop. LESSON PLANS Lesson plans to teach Momentum and Impulse Here you will find detailed lessons to guide you through teaching Momentum and Impulse and preparing students to perform the Egg Drop….

session: Arabic: Comparing the Weather

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Wael Fawzy Language Arabic Grades 6 School LaSalle II Magnet Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois Lesson Date April 6 Class Size 8 Schedule 45 minutes, 4 times a week اضغط هنا للترجمة باللغة العربية   Video Summary In this lesson, Mr. Fawzy’s sixth-grade class continues to learn about the weather in…

section: Assignments + Projects

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: Note…

The Annenberg Learner Podcast

We track the lived experience of teachers, students, and parents alongside the organizations that serve them. Guest speakers share what’s working and the steps we can take to reimagine and redesign teaching and learning for our most vulnerable populations. Contact us at [email protected] Check us out on: All Episodes Learner PodcastEducationEnglish Language ArtsMathematics Episode 39:…

section: Homework

…Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved. Download PDF File: Counting Penguins Continued Woolley, Thomas (Autumn, 1998). A Note on Illustrating the Central Limit Theorem. Teaching Statistics, 20 (3), 89-90. This article first appeared in Teaching Statistics <http://science.ntu.ac.uk/rsscse/ts/> and is used with permission. Download PDF File: A Note on Illustrating the Central Limit Theorem…

video: Developing an Arts-Based Unit

Students in the first and second grades create their own drama as a year-end project at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. A team of first- and second-grade teachers at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, plans a year-end project that lets students show what they have learned in science, math,…

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…

lesson: Featured Classroom: Ariel Owen and Jeff Parrish; Walnut Creek, CA

…School Location: Walnut Creek, CA Grades: 6-8 Enrollment: 1,146 Students per Teacher: 20+ Ethnicity: 75% White 1.5% African American 4.7% Hispanic 16.3 Asian Ariel Owen and Jeff Parrish teach 6th-grade science at the Foothill Middle School in Walnut Creek, California. Ariel started teaching after a career in office management at large real estate and retail…

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…

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.  …

lesson: Featured Classroom: Timothy Mackey; Lancaster, PA

…but acknowledges an intriguing challenge to teaching this way. “When teaching a lesson that is inquiry-based, you’re never sure where the kids are going to go with it. But that’s the whole point. You have to lay it out there, give students the materials, and let them deal with it, question it, look at things,…

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…

Press Release: Annenberg Foundation and Two Bit Circus Foundation Ignite Lifelong Love for Arts and Sciences with Free STEAM-Based Online Projects

…NASA’s BEST Students: Build a Satellite to Orbit the Moon Use the engineering design process to build a satellite that can orbit the moon “Education needs a revolution,” said Dr. Leah Hanes, CEO of Two Bit Circus Foundation. “Our current situation is pushing us to find new ways of teaching to engage children and help…

Resources to Frame Discussions of COVID-19

…to compare the hemoglobin genes of children suffering from malaria, in order to determine whether the apparent connection between Sickle-cell disease and malaria resistance is statistically significant. Additional Resources for Teaching About Infectious Diseases and COVID-19: CDC’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology Module “A Trauma-Informed Approach to Teaching Through Coronavirus” COVID-19 Educator Help Desk FEMA’s Rumor Control…

It’s Here! You’re Viewing the New Annenberg Learner Website! 

…in America Ethics in America II Invitation to World Literature Making Civics Real Neuroscience & the Classroom Physics for the 21st Century  Reading & Writing in the Disciplines  A Private Universe Minds of Our Own American Passages: A Literary Survey The Art of Teaching the Arts The Arts in Every Classroom Library The Arts in…

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….

video: Making Connections

section: Freedom of Religion — Other Lessons

…Court cases that are relevant to the lessons. Controversial Issues in Practice By Maria Gallo Law-related education is a perfect vehicle for teaching controversial issues. Among my students, I have found that the subject of religion and the state can provoke some very heated classroom discussion, of the kind that spills into the hall and…

Have You Flipped Your Classroom Yet?

…applying concepts learned in class to their homework. In simplest terms, the flipped classroom inverts the traditional teaching paradigm, introducing new concepts, typically via video lectures, that students can watch outside of the classroom at their own pace. Applying the information learned during lectures – what used to be considered homework – then takes place…

About Learner

About Annenberg Learner As part of its mission to advance excellent teaching in American schools, Annenberg Learner funds and distributes educational video programs – with coordinated online and print materials – for the professional development of K-12 teachers. Many programs are also intended for students in the classroom and viewers at home, with videos that…

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.  …

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…

section: Thinking Big, Starting Small

This course has two main layers: It provides new insights into learning based on research. It stimulates your thinking about how to connect your teaching and lessons to these insights. Some of the ideas in the course may challenge your current beliefs about learning and teaching. Some of the ideas may reinforce your beliefs, especially…

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

…Education (EDGE) at the USC Rossier School of Education, the Andrew Nikou Foundation and IDEO, The Education (Re)Open is a public-facing solicitation for answers to the question, “How might we strengthen school communities, as sites reopen, by highlighting solutions that reconnect people and enhance collective wellbeing, teaching, and learning?” The Education (Re)Open will accept solutions…

video: Classroom Case Studies, 6-8

…into your personal conception of number and operations. It may have been difficult to separate your thinking as a mathematics learner from your thinking as a mathematics teacher — most teachers think about teaching as they are learning and think about learning as they are teaching. In this session, we shift the focus to your…

video: Classroom Case Studies, 3-5

…your personal conception of number and operations. It may have been difficult to separate your thinking as a mathematics learner from your thinking as a mathematics teacher — most teachers think about teaching as they are learning and think about learning as they are teaching. In this session, we shift the focus to your own…

video: Classroom Case Studies, K-2

…your personal conception of number and operations. It may have been difficult to separate your thinking as a mathematics learner from your thinking as a mathematics teacher — most teachers think about teaching as they are learning and think about learning as they are teaching. In this session, we shift the focus to your own…

section: Homework

…you answer this statistical question? Try this experiment on yourself. You might take your pulse rate under several different conditions, for example, early in the morning, late in the day, and after exercising. Are your measurements the same? Suggested Readings: Krus, David and Webb, James (Autumn, 1997). “Demonstrating Variance Using the Muller-Lyer Illusion.” Teaching Statistics,…

video: Perspective Shifting in Math

Teachers transform an idea presented by researchers into new approaches to teaching math. While the traditional way of teaching math relies on learning one solution to a particular type of problem, perspective shifting offers many ways of seeing and approaching one problem, as these middle school math students learn. Multiple perspectives create the potential for…

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: Patriotism and Foreign Policy — Essential Readings

The following essential readings are available below: Cooperative Learning Multiple Intelligences: Gardner’s Theory  …

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…

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: Before You Watch | Teaching Writing as a Process

…various purposes for writing. She reviews the stages of the writing process and outlines the classroom practices that develop students’ writing. The workshop participants then watch and discuss two sets of classroom excerpts showing writing instruction in grades K-2. Following their discussion, they analyze their own instructional practices for teaching and managing their writing programs….

lesson: Featured Classroom: Rebecca Cituk, Portsmouth, RI

…blue, for example. I feel like teaching is a learning experience for everyone involved, including the teacher. I want my students to realize that I’m still learning, too, that it doesn’t stop here. And for them, that’s how it will be, and that this is just a stepping stone to the next adventure that is…

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…

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…

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 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: 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: 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: 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.

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…

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?…

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: Gothic Undercurrents – Activities

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: 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: 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…

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…

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: 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

…differences between experts in a field and relative novices in the same field. This contrast gives us some very interesting information and establishes the goals of learning and teaching in acquiring expert cognitive skill. A consistent finding about people who are very competent in various areas of knowledge like mathematics or science, chess playing, or…

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…

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 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…

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,…

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: 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…

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….

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: 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…

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…

unit: Building New Neural Networks

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….

video: Why Integrate the Arts?

…explores how integrating the arts with other subjects can benefit middle school students. The program shows teachers working together to increase student engagement, address diverse learning styles, and give students alternative ways to communicate.   See Related Teaching Practices Library Programs: Can Frogs Dance? Revealing Character Exploring Our Town Constructing a Community Finding Your Voice…

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….

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: 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…

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…

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: 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: 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 benefits of using a thematic approach in your teaching? How can a unit be organized around a given theme? What opportunities do you provide beginning students to communicate…

video: Working With Local Artists

At P.S. 156 in Brooklyn, New York, visiting dance artist Ca This program looks at a successful, ongoing collaboration between P.S. 156, The Waverly School of the Arts, in Brooklyn, New York, and two local organizations — Lotus Music & Dance and the Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Artists from both organizations collaborate with the school’s…

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 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…

workshop: Engaging With Communities

Our goal is to prepare students to not only take what they have learned in the classroom and use it outside the classroom, but to take the love of that language and the interest in the culture that has happened in the classroom and take it into a community where they can continue learning it….

section: Part A: Classroom Video (30 minutes)

To begin the exploration of what algebraic thinking looks like in a classroom at your grade level, watch a video segment of a teacher who has taken the “Patterns, Functions, and Algebra” course and has adapted the mathematics to her own teaching situation. When viewing the video, keep the following three questions in mind: Note…

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: 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…

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…

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…

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…

section: Assignments + Projects

video: View & Analyze the Video

…The video addresses the following questions: What is the content of language instruction? How is language transparent or opaque? When do you focus students on form? *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: Part A: Classroom Video (30 minutes)

To begin the exploration of what algebraic thinking looks like in a classroom at your grade level, watch a video segment of a teacher who has taken the “Patterns, Functions, and Algebra” course and has adapted the mathematics to her own teaching situation. When viewing the video, keep the following three questions in mind: Note…

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

video: Teaching Argumentation Skills

Dan Guerrero challenges his students to construct arguments using academic language and terms. Teacher: Dan Guerrero School: Tennyson High School, Hayward, CA Grade: 11 Discipline: ELA Lesson Topic: Toulmin model of logic Lesson Month: January Number of Students: 36 Other: The majority of students in this AP English class have been reclassified as fluent English…

section: Teaching Strategies: Manipulatives

Manipulatives: An old Chinese proverb states: I hear, and I forget; I see, and I remember; I do, and I understand. Manipulatives are hands-on tools that allow students to do mathematics. They provide physical representations of abstract concepts. As students often explain, “They help you see and touch the numbers” and “They let me see…

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: 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: 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: 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…

section: Rights and Responsibilities of Students — Lesson Plan

…the Social Studies that correlate to the featured lesson; Teaching the Lesson provides an activity-by-activity 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…

video: View & Analyze the Video

…video addresses the following questions: What is community? How can teachers access community within and beyond the classroom? What roles can heritage speakers play in the classroom? *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…

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: Civic Engagement

section: Public Policy and the Federal Budget — Lesson Plan

…the Social Studies that correlate to the featured lesson; Teaching the Lesson provides an activity-by-activity 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…

video: Peer Teaching

Dr. Amanda Micsenyi raises the bar for a particularly eager student, challenging him to read additional articles about HIV/AIDS and share his findings with the class. Teacher: Amanda Micsenyi School: Millennium Brooklyn High School, Brooklyn, NY Grade: 9 Discipline: Science (Quantitative Research) Lesson Topic: HIV literature review Lesson Month: March Number of Students: 28…

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: 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 would you organize the teaching of a full-length film or literary work in your class? How do you strike a balance between students’ ability to interpret and think about abstract…

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: 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: Critical Pedagogy: Octavia E. Butler and Ruthanne Lum McCunn

video: First Steps

This session provides an overview of the first steps teachers should take when working with student writers. The educators, researchers, and writers featured in the video programs talk about specific goals they share with their students, recognizing the local, state, and national standards that serve as a floor, not a ceiling, for their work. They…

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: 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 is the role of a textbook in your teaching? How do you decide when to supplement or replace textbook activities or content? What opportunities do you give students to practice…

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…

video: Critical Pedagogy: Abiodun Oyewole and Lawson Fusao Inada

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…

video: Program 12: Peer Conferences

…with a peer rather than reading it aloud? At what point(s) in the writing process do you think this strategy would be effective? Lindsay gives her students autonomy by allowing them to choose the location for their conferences. Evaluate how well you think this strategy would work in your classroom and with your students. Lindsay…

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…

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: 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: #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: 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…

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…

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: 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…

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 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….

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…

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: 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: 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…

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….

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….

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Partnerships and Programs

…XR, 3D printing, and more. LabXchange Annenberg Learner has partnered with Harvard’s LabXchange to offer free, high-quality science education resources. The Annenberg Learner Podcast and select Learner series are available on LabXchange, including: Habitable Planet, Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions, A Private Universe, Reading & Writing in the Disciplines, and Essential Lens: Analyzing Photographs and more….

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: 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: 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….

section: Class Context

…practice to independent practice, and this is reflected in the sequence of activities. Students developed confidence with new vocabulary, learning words first through listening, and building familiarity with them in the reading/matching and writing activities. They then demonstrated their learning in conversation, first with a partner and then in presenting to the class. This lesson…

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…

session: Arabic: Vegetables We Like

CLASSROOM AT A GLANCE Teacher Rita Lahoud Language Arabic Grades 2 School Public School 261 Philip Livingston, Brooklyn, New York Lesson Date May 23 Class Size 17 Schedule 50 minutes once a week اضغط هنا للترجمة باللغة العربية   Video Summary In this lesson, Miss Lahoud’s second-grade Art and Arabic students develop vocabulary through art,…

lesson: What Is Life? | A Closer Look

Look for the following topics in the video, indicated by the on-screen icon. Cells Organic Molecules Extremophiles Teaching Tips Scientist at Work Curriculum Resources  …

section: Assignments + Projects