I have a confession … my students haven’t been performing well on tests. It’s the beginning of the school year and the coursework will not…
View More Retake Test ContractWeek in Review
I like for students to be able to see how everything we do within a week is connecting together. All too often, students assume they…
View More Week in ReviewVocabulary Development
The Frayer Model has been used on cards for years by teachers to help develop students’ vocabulary. I have found that students have a hard…
View More Vocabulary DevelopmentCurrent Events
Now that I am teaching Social Studies (or Social Science as CPS calls it), I feel that it is only appropriate for a middle schooler…
View More Current EventsMath Talks
Today, I decided to introduce the practice of talking about Math in my class. This is called a Math Talk. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) really…
View More Math TalksHabits of Mind
During a professional development on 08/27/14, teachers were given a list of the Habits of Mind and asked to vote on the ten most important…
View More Habits of MindCreate an Environment for Learning
Creating an environment for learning is the foundation for all instruction within a classroom. It is critical that the foundation is solid in order to…
View More Create an Environment for LearningDevelop Students’ Understanding
As depicted in the graphic above, understanding information is a process. Although the process is not always linear, students have to first acquire information. The…
View More Develop Students’ UnderstandingExtend and Apply Students’ Understanding
Classroom Instruction That Works lists two strategies that are designed to extend and apply students’ understanding – Identifying Similarities and Differences and Generating and Testing…
View More Extend and Apply Students’ UnderstandingEducation Defined
Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
View More Education Defined