Within 12 hours, I’ll be on a plane bound for Germany, all thanks to an awesome study tour fellowship through the Transatlantic Outreach Program (if you teach any area of social studies, you need to look into this). But before embarking on this two week adventure, I’d like to share some questions I’m holding that […]
Why I Will and Won’t Care if Michigan Legislators Block Funding for CCSS Implementation
If you’re in a Common Core state, chances are there is a raucous coalition of folks desperately seeking to abandon ship. I can’t even begin to fully explain this phenomenon (I’m hoping you, the awesome community of Teaching the Core, will help fill in my gaps), but I can tell you that the actors in […]
Dave’s Summer 2013 Reading List
Wow, this year has flown by. Last Friday, I walked out of my school for the last time this school year. (This morning, I will re-enter it for world history curriculum work, but let’s ignore that for a moment.) The beginning of summer means, to me, the beginning of some semblance of reflective leisure. Sure, […]
A Non-Freaked Out, Focused Approach to the Common Core — Part 5 — Every Kid Speaks
[Update from Dave: my all-day literacy workshop for 6-12 teachers across the content areas includes a solid segment on getting kids speaking and listening in a way that increases their long-term success and improves their mastery of content. Read more about that workshop here. I’d love to come to your school.] Prior to the Common […]
Non-Freaked Out Common Core — Part 4 — Argument and Debate
If there is one way that you can begin implementing the writing and speaking/listening portions of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in a simplified, manageable, high bang-for-your-buck fashion, it’s simply this: have students argue. Frequently. Whether you teach science, social studies, technical subjects, ELA, even math, argument is a dependable path to enlivening your […]