School Systems Blog
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Tactics for Teaching English-Language Learners
Teaching English-Language Learners (ELLs) is one of my favorite topics. I’ve taught ELLs in three countries overseas and have volunteered in ELL settings in the U.S. It is wonderful how common it is for classrooms in the U.S. to be filled with many different language speakers–but it is also extremely challenging for both teachers and students.
Because this is so common, it is important for every educator to understand that they will need to step into the shoes of a language teacher at some point. So, when that time comes—or if … -
5 Amazing Black History Month Stories to Share with Your Students
Dr. Carter G. Woodson
This February, many educators and students are celebrating Black History Month in honor of African Americans and their contributions to Civil Rights. This history is not only important to the African American culture, but also to our country as a whole; making it a crucial topic to cover in the curriculum.
With this said, I thought these news stories would be really neat to share with students. They are taken straight from the front pages of newspapers, which date all the way back to 1857 and up to … -
Project-Based Learning: How to do it
So far, in my series of blog posts on Project-Based Learning (PBL), I have shared what PBL is and why it should be used. While it is easy to tell someone about PBL and the benefits involved, the same is not true for explaining how to do it. Because each class is unique, deciding how to use PBL is really up to the teacher and the students. So, I must preface this last post in the series by saying–these are general guidelines that can (and should!) be customized to your …
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We Love Our Customers!
At the end of 2012, we asked all of our customers to participate in our annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. In this survey, customers had the opportunity (regardless of answers) to enter to win one of three iPad Mini devices.
We can’t express enough how much we appreciate our customers’ feedback. The number of responses exceeded our expectations. All answers are taken very seriously and help provide direction for our efforts to improve. After all, each year we strive to do better, and we’re excited to make 2013 a great experience for … -
Pinterest Resource Roundup: Anchor Charts
Pinterest is full of resources for teachers (we shared some HERE and HERE); however, one resource idea has particularly caught my eye lately: anchor charts. These charts promote literacy skills by outlining or describing procedures or strategies on a chosen subject. The teacher takes the role of the scribe while the students brainstorm the ideas, and when completed it is hung up in the classroom for all to see. Then, as the year continues and more knowledge is gathered about the anchor chart topic, additions and corrections can be made.
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