Worksheets, Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, and Rubrics from TeAch-nology.com
Essential Questions
Examples of Essential Questions In schools, essential questions may offer the organizing focus for a single discussion, a month’s unit of study or a whole year’s exploration. Outside of school, of course, essential questions might challenge us for years. In this section we will look at school examples that work well at four age levels: Primary Grades - Students from the age of 4 to 8. Primary Grades Questions about traits are especially powerful for this age group as young ones try to understand the world around them. What are the traits of a good fast food restaurant? Traits are at the heart of evaluation on Bloom’s Taxonomy - the skill of making wise choices based on criteria and evidence. Another major strategy to introduce young students to essential questions is to focus on questions requiring analysis. Why do you suppose the rain falls down? Primary students are also ready for flights of fancy, questions that invite them to speculate, predict, invent or imagine. Intermediate Grades
Twenty Ideas for Engaging Projects
The start of the school year offers an ideal time to introduce students to project-based learning. By starting with engaging projects, you'll grab their interest while establishing a solid foundation of important skills, such as knowing how to conduct research, engage experts, and collaborate with peers. In honor of Edutopia's 20th anniversary, here are 20 project ideas to get learning off to a good start. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Please tell us about the projects you are planning for this school year.
Lesson Plans
Art & Culture » Find lesson plans related to different media, including architecture, music, and visual arts, as well as subjects, including anthropology, philosophy, folklore, and more. Foreign Language » Find lesson plans related to ancient languages, including Latin and Greek, as well as modern languages, including Spanish, French, Russian, and more. History & Social Studies » Find lesson plans related to AP US History, World History, groups of people, eras throughout history, and themes, including civil rights, globalization, immigration, and more. Literature & Language Arts » Find lesson plans related to places, including America and Britain, as well as genres, including novels, short stories, poetry, and more.
The Power of Project Learning
By Wayne D'Orio Here’s a riddle: Imagine there is a learning technique proven effective through 100 years of use that is now enhanced by the power of today’s technology. Imagine it can excite learners to continue their work well past the parameters of the school day. It is project-based learning, and the answer is yes, and no. Why Project-Based Learning? While project-based learning can be decidedly low tech, the recent surge of interest has been driven by the increase in technology capabilities in public schools. “Friedman’s book had an incredible impact,” says John Mergendoller, executive director of the Buck Institute for Education in Novato, California, a nonprofit research organization promoting problem- and project-based learning. While there are no official PBL statistics to track, the push toward project-based work in the last few years is obvious, most pronouncedly in the rash of schools built specifically around this model. Two other factors help Tech Valley’s mission.
Mini-Lesson: Learning about Tasks and Hooks
Purpose: To know the elements of a well-written hook and task To learn the role of the task and hook in an engaged learning project Lesson: Today we are going to look at the task and hook: two very important elements of an engaged learning project. Some questions to think about as you look at sample hooks and tasks: Who owns the problem presented? Task/Assignment: Click on the link below. Sample Tasks and Hooks for Projects Extension: Pick one task and hook.
Super Teacher Worksheets
Assessment: Turning a Blunt Instrument Into a Powerful Learning Tool
It’s ironic that assessment in schools is most often “something adults do to students,” as Rick Stiggins puts it, because all humans are highly evolved for learning, and self-assessment is a powerful tool all learners use. Whether you are trying to master a recipe, solve an equation, improve your golf swing, you continually ask yourself questions such as “Have I learned to do what I need to do?” “What did I do wrong?” Wouldn’t it be great if schools didn’t turn a finely honed learning skill that all students master to some degree (if they can read and write, for example) into a blunt instrument for institutional measurement that clearly hasn’t been working? Although my pedagogy has moved more and more toward empowering learners to take responsibility for their own learning, assessment in my courses has not heretofore strayed from comment feedback in students’ reflective blogs and in traditional grading methods. “It won’t count on your final grade at all.” Shareski trains teachers.
