Blogs on Lesson Plans

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Matt DavisFebruary 28, 2013

March is Women's History Month, and International Women's Day, March 8, is also a part of the celebration each year. For educators and students, the month provides a wonderful opportunity to dig deeper into women's contributions, struggles, and triumphs throughout history.

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Matt DavisFebruary 25, 2013

Dr. Seuss's 109th birthday is March 2, and since 1998, Read Across America has shared the same date. Each year, teachers, students, and parents are encouraged to read their favorite books together to honor the author who once said, "You’re never too old, too wacky, or too wild to pick up a book and read to a child."

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Matt DavisFebruary 18, 2013

The Academy Awards are just around the corner, and there are a number of nominated films that can be great teaching tools for educators this year. It looks like it might be a big year for Steven Spielberg in the classroom and on Award night -- his Lincoln has been nominated for 12 Oscars, including Best Picture.

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Maurice EliasFebruary 12, 2013

As Presidents' Day is upon us, every student at every grade level should participate in an academic lesson related to our nation's leaders. There are four questions I would like to see every student in every grade asked, with appropriate follow up:

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Randy TaranJanuary 29, 2013

In this nine-part series, we will look at important factors that influence the happiness and social and emotional learning of elementary school age children. These are very useful in helping students learn, manage emotions better and increase empathy. Each blog features one letter of the acronym HAPPINESS:

  1. H = Happiness
  2. A = Appreciation
  3. P = Passions and Strengths
  4. P = Perspective
  5. I = Inner Meanie/Inner Friend
  6. N = Ninja Mastery
  7. E = Empathy
  8. S = So Similar
  9. S = Share Your Gifts

In this post, we’ll explore the Inner Negative Meanie, the Inner Positive Friend and the choices that every student has.

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Matt DavisJanuary 29, 2013

This week, there might be a bit of Super Bowl energy and excitement running through your classroom, and there are a number of great ways to wrangle those murmurs into teachable moments.

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Matt DavisJanuary 28, 2013

Although Black History Month provides a great opportunity for students to explore black history, it's important that teachers "reinforce that 'black history' is American history," writes Pat Russo in Dos and Don'ts of Teaching Black History Month. Keeping that in mind, in February, teachers can dig deeper into the history, provide students context, and connect the past to the present.

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Ashley ProphetJanuary 18, 2013

Organized debates are an engaging way to help students discover, explore and organize ideas during the writing process. However, neither my teacher colleagues nor students share my enthusiasm. To find out why, I asked how they felt about using debate in the classroom. Here were their responses:

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Andrew MillerJanuary 7, 2013

Worksheets matter! I know we hear a lot of talking points that tell us to get rid of them, but I think it's much more complicated than that. That call for "no more worksheets" comes from a place where that is all there is. By that I mean classrooms where students do nothing but worksheets. Often these worksheets are de-contextualized from relevant work, and this is where there's an opportunity to reframe and refine the traditional worksheet. There is a time and place for drill and practice or individual practice -- even in a PBL project. The key is to make it appropriate and relevant.

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Susan RileyNovember 30, 2012

These days, integration in any area, be it STEM or the arts, seems to be the buzzword to curriculum designers everywhere. There are so many resources floating around out there with the claim of integrating content areas. Yet, true integration is often difficult to find. Indeed, integration is a rare yet seemingly "magical" approach that has the capacity to turn learning into meaningful practice.

Which of course, as any teacher will tell you, is anything but magic.

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