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 […]
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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 […]
Video: One Way to Rock Out CCSS-Friendly, In-class Debates
In this video, I walk through how I went about preparing for and carrying out our second in-class debate of the school year. Why spend time debating? Debates are very CCSS friendly — they make argumentative writing (W.CCR.1) a lot easier, they require collaboration (SL.CCR.1), evaluation (SL.CCR.3), clarity (SL.CCR.4), and it’s super awesome when they […]
A First Day of School Activity that Teaches Argumentation
Next Tuesday, when our Michigan students come for their beautiful, post-Labor Day first day of school, I’m going to bust out something hot. In our school, we have to set goals for ourselves that can be measured with data. My goals are focused around W.CCR.1 and R.CCR.10 — writing argumentatively from a variety of complex […]
How to Craft a Bomb-Diggety Resource Request
Depending on your district, funds for professional development resources may be short. And since you’re dedicated enough to be reading a blog for educators, you probably just go out and drop the cash for the latest and greatest (mega overpriced) PD book. Am I wrong? In both of the schools I’ve spent most of my teaching time (an urban […]