In This Post: The difference between book reports and book reviews. Eighteen new ways to engage your students with books! For the love of books! If you love to read, at some point you will want to share a book you love with others. You may already do this by talking about books with friends. If you want to share … Read More
Using Conferences for Grading Students
In This Post The struggle of quantifying mastery with a letter or percent. Grading conferences as a solution to this struggle! Steps to set up grading conferences in your classroom & communicate about them to stakeholders. Feedback from students on grading conferences. In a mastery learning classroom, determining student quarter or final grades can be difficult. How do you assign … Read More
Top 20 Blog Posts to Start 2020
In This Post: A look back at my favorite blog posts from 2019. Want to be on this list? Guest blog with us in 2020! As we embark on 2020, I find myself reflecting back on 2019. There’s been a lot of growth and change, much of it positive. And at Teach Better, that is always our goal. Better today. … Read More
Teaching Writing for Student Voice
In this post: The importance of providing freedom for students in your writing instruction. Strategies to use when teaching writing to shift the focus to student voice. My experience and background in empowering student writers. When we think about teaching writing, we often associate it with the traditional 5 paragraph essay, a regimented guide, or a ready-made curriculum. There’s a … Read More
Strategies to Increase Critical Thinking Skills in students
In This Post: The importance of helping students increase critical thinking skills. Ways to promote the essential skills needed to analyze and evaluate. Strategies to incorporate critical thinking into your instruction. We ask our teachers to be “future-ready” or say that we are teaching “for jobs that don’t exist yet.” These are powerful statements. At the same time, they give … Read More