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Hate the Language of the Common Core? Blame the Adverbs (Angrily)
courtesy benchmarkeducation.com I believe the author Stephen King would hate the language of the Common Core State Standards for one reason: unnecessary adverbs. His book On Writing has a section...
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“TestingTalk” Website Where Teachers Can “Be Brave”
Education historian and activist Diane Ravitch was the keynote speaker at the 86th Saturday Reunion, March 22, 2014, at Teacher’s College in New York City. Introducing Ravitch was the high energy Lucy...
View ArticleAsking vs. Training for Common Core
An ad supporting the Common Core State Standards posted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation featured a Missouri Teacher of the Year, Jamie Manker, saying, “I support the Common Core because it’s...
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End of Course Test: A Testing Week That Shouldn’t Count
Guest Writer: Rebecca Leech courtesy discoveryeducation.com This week, the rural Tennessee high school where I teach is finishing our annual TCAP End of Course standardized testing. End of Course tests...
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Social Studies: The Not So Ugly Step Sister
With implementation of the Common Core across the US, classrooms are seeing a shift in reading, writing, and math standards. Science is also getting a spotlight with STEM and STEAM integration....
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Irrational Fears Prevent Real Common Core Progress
Ashley is smart as a whip but often doubts her own abilities. When she first encounters a new math concept she always believes it’s going to be hard and fears attempting it. But with a little help she...
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Integration: Bringing it Together For Kids
Dictionary.com defines integration as: “an act or instance of combining into an integral whole.” Schools across the nation are using this idea to purposefully combine curriculum and standards in...
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Announcing LeBron’s Return with Informational Space with Information Text
Teachers are looking to include informational text in their English Language Arts classrooms, but what about informational space? The hard copy of the NYTimes Saturday Sports section on Saturday, July...
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Science Inquiry: Take the Plunge
This summer the Kansas State Department of Education hosted three academies led by teachers for teachers. I attended a session on science curriculum to learn about the next generation science...
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The Difference Between Calculation and Mathematics
This piece originally ran on Bluffcityed.com on July 29, 2014; In mid-July last year, I was ready to try something completely different. I had previously taught Algebra I, but I was moving to a new...
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Teaching Strategy: Adding Primary Sources to Elementary Social Studies
I don’t care which television news channel you select – I hate them all. Why? There are a variety of reasons. For one, they are all emotion, little fact. They focus on sound bites instead of the whole...
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Digital Writing Text: “Snow Fall-The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”
“Snow Fall” by John Branch The blizzard raging outside recalls the looping GIF of drifting snow that opens the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times feature story, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at...
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Use Holidays to Teach Apostrophes
One thing students – and adults, for that matter – struggle with is the use of apostrophes. It’s difficult to watch people of all ages butcher the proper use of this fickle piece of punctuation, but it...
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Top 5 Reasons Socrates Would Rock a High School TODAY!
Socrates – from “The Death of Socrates” by Jacques-Louis David (public domain) Great teachers come in all shapes and in all sizes. But to my way of the thinking the greatest teacher in Western history...
View Article“I’m Not an Educator, but I Portray One” Experts in Ed Reform
There are advertising campaigns that successfully employ the technique of “advertised ignorance” or “false authority” where an individual proudly declares that he or she is not an expert just before...
View ArticleThe Best Teaching Happens in the “Worst” Schools
By Jennifer Orr “That’s a good school.” I’ve heard people say that many times. If the speaker’s child attends the school in question, it’s possible they have many reasons for such an assertion. If not,...
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Assessing the Damage: What students should know about tests like Smarter...
By Guest Writer Jessica Classen “But I’ve passed all my classes! I mean, I should be able to graduate. Will I have to go summer school? Will I not be able to walk? What happens?” The panic in his...
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Tips for Parents: Conquering Common Core Math: 8 Tips to Use at Home
I teach students who fall far below grade level in math and parents tell me all the time how impossible Common Core Math concepts are. They don’t even get it, so how can they help their children? But...
View ArticleTeacher Collaboration: Scaffolding by Grade Levels
Is your department communicating? It seems like common sense, however, too many times teachers in the same subjects are not communicating from one level to the next. Students shouldn’t have to fill in...
View ArticleEngaging Parents From School To Home
The school to home link is very important to me. Many people view today’s education as starting and stopping in the classroom. Learning is an ongoing process and needs to continue from the classroom to...
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