Creating a new path to personalization and engagement. GUEST COLUMN | by Matt Cole and Alex Inman Due to the COVID-19 pandemic upending traditional education, many teachers were forced to get creative and tap into new and innovative methods that would maintain a healthy level of engagement and interaction for their students during remote and hybrid learning. That’s because 65 percent of households in the U.S. reported their children were learning online at one point in October 2020. While the majority of teachers and students have returned to class for the 2021-2022 school year, remote and hybrid-learning models have had a lasting impact due to the reliance on technology tools. This also includes the integration of games into lessons, which...
During his freshman year of high school, Govan Alvarado tried out for the soccer and basketball teams. He didn’t make the rosters. Not because he was bad at the sports, though. His grades were terrible, and coaches told him he wasn’t eligible. Alvarado asked a teacher at Alameda International Jr./Sr. High School in Lakewood for help, and she directed him to Colorado Youth for a Change, a nonprofit organization that keeps students from dropping out of school. Through the program, Alvarado was paired with a mentor, Lily Rodriguez, and the two meet weekly to go over his grades, review homework and talk about what it will take to succeed. This year, in 10th grade, Alvarado’s report card shows mostly As...
Teaching theme in reading is such a tricky skill in 3rd grade. It’s one of those reading concepts that is confusing for them. Initially, they may think they are looking for the main idea – which of course it is not. But what is it? How do you explain what theme means? Here are 3 tips and strategies for you to try with your 3rd-grade students that will help them understand what theme is and how they find it. What is theme in reading? The theme is the central message or lesson the author is trying to convey through the story. We are going to examine the characters and how they change in the story to determine what the author...
We’re ignoring you… “The Children’s Bible” by Lydia Millet WOW. This is certainly a clever book that packs a punch. Remember when Greta Thunberg thundered: “My message is that we’ll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. Yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering.” In case you were wondering how exactly ignoring climate change/not protecting the planet steals children’s futures, Lydia Millet spells it out for you in a very clever way, using...
It’s time to head to the kitchen with everyone’s favorite kitchen tool. LeapFrog’s Choppin’ Fun Learning Pot is an interactive toy that promotes listening comprehension, sequencing, builds vocabulary and reenforces number and color concepts. Your Insta-Pot- type pot includes a cutting board, knife, spoon, and 4 vegetables that can be cut in half and put back together. Each vegetable has a corresponding picture button with the color of that vegetable. This super cool pot has some super cool catch phrases for the vegetables too. For example, “Broc-on, Dude” for broccoli and “This corn is popping!” The dial has numbers 0-4 each with a different cooking setting, such as warm, simmer, and boil. The Choppin’ Fun Learning Pot guides kids through...
