Teaching

Dot to Dot

Lessons that are rich in arts are engaging, but how do you bring art into the classroom? To afford students the time and space to analyze, create, and synthesize … these are the ultimate goals of education, and as such, they are the reasons why we must not only invite the arts into core classrooms,

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Musicals for Middle Level Arts and Academics

Musicals offer a wealth of opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and enhanced academics Musicals can serve as rich sources for student learning, especially when staged at your own school. While musicals are considered entertainment, they can serve as strong curriculum resources. Stage, film, and TV musicals are also possibilities because they are ingrained in popular culture

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Embracing Dialects in Middle School English Class

A variety of voices in literature helps students recognize themselves in text and connect with others I will start with an understatement: Now seems as apt a time as any to begin conversations about multiculturalism and marginalized populations in the classroom. A stance of cultural respect opens opportunities for learning and has the potential to

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Students as Change Agents for Environmental Issues

Trade books and classroom activities help students see the positive impact one person can have Change. A six-letter word bandied around a lot. Politicians use the word every election cycle to argue for the need of the electorate to select new leaders. In a democracy, change means so much more. Citizens have the ability to

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A Journey for Content Area Literacy Development and PLCs

How to engage teacher teams in whole-school literacy and learning improvement It’s 7:30 Tuesday morning and groups of teachers are sitting in their first meeting of the year for their professional learning communities (PLCs). Thick binders filled with colored tabs and volumes of files of student literacy achievement data are in front of them. Teachers

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