One of the foundations of effective rigorous acquisition as well as strong support for struggling students is that teachers activate prior knowledge. Activating prior knowledge not only helps students make connections between what they know already and what they are about to learn, it helps students become mentally engaged in upcoming learning. We’ve been hearing [...]
I first met Stephanie and Gloria when they attended one of our Supporting Struggling Students workshops a few years ago. They loved the idea of creating a proactive intervention plan and took copious notes during the workshop. I didn’t see them again until the following year when they attended one of our Motivating Reluctant Learners [...]
A while ago McDonalds introduced a burger called the McLean Deluxe. Made from a lean hamburger, it was broiled, not fried and came with a fresh tomato slice and fresh lettuce leaf. It was the virtuous alternative to the high-in-saturated fat Big Mac. On the rare occasions when I ate at McDonalds, I would always [...]
By: Shauna Brown Leung One of the challenges common to all teachers focused on increasing rigor in the classroom is getting students to master the vocabulary of the content. Teachers throughout the country tackle this feat by giving students lists of “key terms” to define for each unit. Some require flash cards, others ask students [...]
By:Robyn R. Jackson One Thanksgiving my father’s entire family gathered at my great uncle’s house for dinner — all seventy of us. We had a ball from the oldest (91) to the youngest (4 months). After dinner, I was standing near the pool table talking to one of my uncles when one of my littlest cousins, aged 2, [...]
From time to time we come across a resource we find really useful. Our colleague Dr. Shawn Joseph recently wrote a wonderful book, The Principal’s Guide to the First 100 Days of the School Year: Creating Instructional Momentum that is chock full of helpful tips and strategies for new, veteran, and aspiring principals. Here’s an excerpt: [...]
Each of us has preferences that are dictated by our culture, our experiences, and our own perceived strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps you prefer quiet dinners at home because you survived rowdy dinners with five rambunctious brothers growing up. Maybe you would rather read the book than watch the movie because you have always had a [...]
We spend a lot of time trying to remediate students who have failed or are failing our classes. I often wonder why we don’t take that energy we use addressing failure by doing what we can to prevent failure in the first place.
As you begin your plans for the year, take a look at these five steps to help prepare student for success.
