State testing Season has arrived! Monday it begins ~ the test many students (and teachers) dread all year and many stress out about. It shouldn’t be this way. Why is there so much time, attention and resources given to a test? We participate in professional development all year that reminds us that good teaching includes …
A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen (2017 Oregon Battle of the Books) I love historical fiction and read it quite often in both teen literature and regular fiction. Sooo, it can sometimes be hard to find a book with a fresh take and engaging story. A Night Divided proved to be that book for me. It is …
When you ask questions in class, do you already have an answer in mind? I loved the phrase in chapter 2 of “guess what’s in the teacher’s head”, it made me chuckle out loud. As someone who has observed many lessons in a variety of subjects, it is easy to spot a teacher that has …
Do you ever ask your students to reflect on their learning? If someone was to ask your students, “how do you learn?” would they really know how they learn best? A few years ago, I worked at a charter school where student reflection was part of the school culture. Students understood how to assess their …
Right from page one, the authors of Making Thinking Visible challenge what we know about thinking in our classrooms. When posed with the question, “What kinds of thinking do you value and promote in your classroom?” I admit I was a bit stumped. I immediately thought of questioning. The idea to question students to get …