All about Me and Other People, Using Biographies in Instruction

The start of the school years is a time to get to know our students. Perennial favorite activities other than “what I did on my summer vacation” essays are “all about me” assignments. As students take a look at their own lives, this is a perfect time to add biographies to your class lessons. Reading … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Writecomics.com

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine the power (and words) packed within a comic strip of engaging pictures. Comics allow you to differentiate and meet the needs of more students, especially your kinesthetic learners. You can use comics to empower struggling readers with less text. September 25th is National Comic Book … read more »

Comic Approach to Reading: Graphic Novels

Comic books once were considered the worst things kids could read. Lots of irresistible issues were hidden under beds or between the covers of textbooks. Many comic books were banned because of their ephemeral nature, graphical format, and often mature and violent content. Think of those lurid covers featuring a scantily-clad, buxom girl in the … read more »

4 Free Resources for Teaching Growth Mindset

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.” Henry Ford September 13 is Positive Thinking Day. Consider it to be an excellent time to stop and think about how to develop positive thinking and attitudes in our students. One well-known method to promote positive thinking is through growth mindset. Growth mindset, … read more »

Going Beyond Fake News to Information Literacy

Fake news and stories about fake news are everywhere right now. In a recent blog post, I shared criteria for judging online resources, including news stories, using the CRAAP test. However, since this topic is of critical importance to our students, it merits another look. In fact, digitally literate teachers who teach their students to … read more »