Education Articles for Teachers & Educators

The writing process can be challenging for any student, but English Language Learners tend to need increased support and careful lesson planning by their teachers for the best success in class. English grammar differs greatly from grammar constructs of other languages, and some of our common writing structures, such as a topic sentence followed by supporting details for an organized paragraph, may be unfamiliar to them. ELL students also typically have a limited English vocabulary, making it challenging to write their thoughts. Children need to comprehend many components of the writing process, including the written prompt, the piece they are responding to, or other tasks and instructions. These challenges can lead to great frustration for some students, which can even manifest as a lack of motivation. This blog article will present some considerations for designing ELL-friendly writing prompts to help set your students up for success throughout the writing process.

Our educational system is not always constructed to best support creativity. Consider the countless hours students spend studying facts, reciting definitions, or learning how to solve math problems using provided formulas. Creativity may sometimes take the backburner in a lesson when important concepts must first be taught. But creativity in instruction is not an all-or-nothing focus. Just as we need to make sure that students are learning the foundational knowledge and skills within each lesson objective, we also need to make sure that students can use those concepts and apply them creatively through experiences and activities. Often, we see students thrive most when they are provided with opportunities to apply concepts, stretch their thinking, and complete tasks “outside of the box.” Sometimes, though, this can be difficult for students. While some students have a natural, innate ability to use their creativity in meaningful ways, others may struggle with expressing creativity. But this does not mean they can’t improve! In fact, most researchers agree that creativity can be practiced like a skill and improved. Though there are many types of creative expression, one specific kind is called divergent thinking. It is a creative process that can easily be implemented into classroom activities across content areas.

Grouping your students in the classroom can be an excellent way to help promote dialogue and critical thinking within your classroom activities. While there is a place for independent work, direct instruction, and other models in your classroom, student grouping can also be incorporated to build more powerful lessons. With busy classroom schedules and arduous lesson planning, sometimes planning methods for grouping students can be placed on the back burner, resulting in the teacher repeatedly falling back on the same grouping methods. Adding a unique grouping structure occasionally to your classroom, when designed with a purpose to align with and enhance your lesson, can not only add some excitement but can help launch creativity within your students. This article will address a grouping type called the Pyramid Analysis, also known as a Pyramid Discussion. This article uses the term Pyramid Analysis to reinforce the notion that this grouping strategy works well at the analysis level or higher for activities that can enhance critical thinking.

English Language Learners (ELLs) benefit from activities in your classroom that can help them both interact with the lesson content and improve their English Language proficiency. How you group your students in your classroom can impact the success of your ELLs throughout your school year, because your grouping strategy can help you better plan the right supports for your ELLs. This short article will present you with grouping considerations as you plan lessons and activities with your English Language Learners in mind.

This article provides you with one of many simple methods you can implement to help support ELL Vocabulary Understanding. By providing students with prompts and a word bank, you can help reinforce important vocabulary words within your content lesson to ensure you have multiple layers of support for your ELL students. This short article is an excerpt from our Simple ELL Vocabulary Strategies quick course, which provides additional ideas for vocabulary support.

As technology becomes more and more a part of our daily lives, we begin to see its benefits in the classroom as well. When used purposefully, technology can truly transform the learning experience for both students and teachers. After reading this article, you will be familiar with the SAMR model of technology integration and how to implement technology at each level in order to transform your students’ learning experience.

The Power of Positive Communication in a School Setting by Model Teaching | April 26, 2021. We have all heard of the [...]

Have you found yourself spending too much time dealing with behavior issues in your classroom? Do you sometimes feel as if you have spent more time correcting a student’s behavior rather than teaching? If so, this article will discuss the ABCs and how to use them to take a deeper look at behavioral issues.

Many of us have heard the term “flipped classroom”, and especially as technology is becoming increasingly a part of education, more and more educators find themselves trying the strategies involved in “flipping” a classroom. Unfortunately, there are some misconceptions about true flipped learning, and oftentimes, educators are not utilizing the strategy to its full potential.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning as the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. That definition can seem overwhelming to educators when they are told to include SEL in their curriculum. Read on to find out three simple strategies you can incorporate into your daily classroom routines that encourage the social-emotional growth of all your students.

When we hear the term differentiation, we often think of helping students with learning difficulties by providing students the right support so that they can be successful at high levels in the classroom. This is the most common practice, but differentiation can mean so much more! Learn some common strategies for differentiating the content you teach, the process by which your students learn, and the products they complete to demonstrate their knowledge.

Have you been wondering how to improve your students’ fluency in multiplication? You’re not the only one! You can help your students become more precise and accurate with their multiplication facts by using a strategy called Constant Time Delay. This article will discuss this strategy and demonstrate how to incorporate it into your classroom in 3 easy steps.