In case you haven’t heard, the moment all of us social studies teachers have been curiously looking forward to — the release of national social studies content standards — has come. Or not. At this month’s National Council of Social Studies (NCSS) Conference, where the national standards were expected to be unveiled, social studies gurus […]
Close Reading, the Common Core, and a Freaking Awesome Prezi
I don’t know about your district, but in mine we have a leading contender for Buzzword of the Year: close reading. So what is this mystical act? And, like too many buzzwords, is it mere hogwash? Or could there be awesomeness contained within it? [Please note that, contrary to journalistic common sense, I am saving […]
Student Teachers Rock
Today, I’m privileged to be hosting some workshops at the Fire Up conference, hosted by the Inter-Institutional Teacher Education Council of West Michigan (ITEC-WM). Believe it or not, I’ll actually be speaking on something pretty far removed from the Common Core, but very near to the driving purpose of Teaching the Core and anything else […]
Keyboarding Skills and the Common Core
If you’re a K-6er trying to incorporate the grade-specific Common Core State Standards (CCSS), you’ve probably noticed an interesting skillset nestled within anchor standard W.CCR.6: keyboarding! That’s right! While I spoke about W.CCR.6 as an anchor standard in this post, I didn’t delve into the grade-specific standards contained within it, and therefore I didn’t really […]
How to Get Students to Really Listen, Summarize/Paraphrase, and Respond to Peers
If you’re noticing a large gap between your students’ speaking skills and the ambitious Speaking and Listening Standards within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), you’re not alone: many teachers that I talk to share how difficult it is to have discussions or debates in which students actually listen to one another and respond. Mentioning […]