Classroom Strategies
Explore classroom guidance, techniques, and activities to help you meet the needs of ALL students.
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Finding the Courage to Teach Texts Outside Your Comfort Zone (2019 Blog Competition Finalist)
Teaching texts that honor difference and inspire challenging conversations
Creating a Culture of Shared Norms and High Expectations in Your Classroom (2019 Blog Competition Finalist)
How to create a culture that facilitates powerful learning for ALL learners
Say “Author” (2019 Blog Competition Finalist)
Strategies for including all learners in discussions about complex text
How Does Education Research Relate to My Practice?
Is your reading program working? What can you do to improve it?
My Experience with Teachers College Units of Study
A veteran teacher explains the strengths and weakness of the program based on her experience
Tidying Up
Instructional Routines for Whole-Class Reading and Writing
Reaching New Heights
A Framework for Examining Cognitive Complexity in Mathematics
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Top Posts of 2019
Read the most popular posts of the year!
For the Love of Learning
How a focus on building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction can enrich ELA instruction and engage learners
Math Instructional Routines: Creating Opportunities for Students With Disabilities to Grapple with Grade-Level Math
How Routines for Reasoning can support all students to engage with the mathematical practices
I See Me
Building a diverse classroom library with the help of First Book Marketplace
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
2019 Blog Contest
Creating Equity in the Classroom
Designing and Integrating a Grade 3 Assessment on Fractions
A Q&A With Raven Redmond and Jennifer Ahearn
What Makes a High-Quality Diverse Text and How to Get These Texts Into Your Classroom
Resources and guidance for educators
Laying a Solid Foundation of Literacy
Building Teacher Capacity with the Reading Foundational Skills
Developing the Math Language Routines
Foster Student Participation Through Building Math Language, Practices, and Content
Striving for Foundational Excellence
Country Heights' Journey Through Foundational Skills Instruction
Part 1
Most Misunderstood Math Standards in Grade 1
Are these instructional mistakes happening in your classroom?
Are We Teaching Fractions Correctly?
Exploring evidence-based fraction instruction that supports a strong foundation in future mathematics
Creating Choice Boards to Meet the Needs of Every Student
FAQs about using choice boards
Part 2
Most Misunderstood Math Standards in Grade 2
Are these instructional mistakes happening in your classroom?
Strong materials in the hands of great teachers
A year of school visits highlights what makes curriculum work
Press Play
Using Podcasts and Documentaries to Supercharge Background Knowledge and Bolster Reading Comprehension
On Your Side to Beat the Summer Slide
Ways to Partner with Your Local Public Library
Student Closing Statements
Use this routine to check for understanding and identify misconceptions
Kids Gift Us with Their Time
Increase Achievement, Motivation, and Connection with Students Through Classroom Games
Part 3
Yarn Number Line: A Lever to Develop Fraction Understanding
A routine for developing conceptual understanding of fractions
Part 1
Common Mistakes with Student Writing Prompts
Are your writing prompts letting students show what they know?
Three Simple Steps to Empowered Word-Learning
Using morphology, context clues, and outside resources to help students decipher word meanings
Using Data Binders to Increase Student Independence
A tool for fostering intentional and purposeful learning
Part 2
Choral Counting: A Lever to Develop Fraction Understanding
A model process for using choral counting to build conceptual understanding
Part 1
Using Exit Tickets Strategically
Educators share how they've made exit tickets a powerful tool for supporting students
Part 1
Creating a Model Process for Hands-On Professional Learning
An in-depth look at Fraction Lab, a professional learning model focused on improving content knowledge and instructional practice at the same time
Part 3
Providing Feedback on Student Writing
Strategies to deliver positive, focused feedback to improve all aspects of student writing
Part 5
Taking the First Step in Designing Mathematics Intervention
As you plan a math intervention strategy, where should you focus first?
Giving Students a Choice with Their Learning
Using academic choice boards to build metacognition
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Top Blog Posts of 2018
Here are our top 25 most-visited posts of 2018.
Choosing Text Excerpts for Close Reading
A teacher's recommendations for how to select text excerpts that make students love reading
Effective Reading Instruction
Why a text-centered approach, instead of a strategies-based approach, is more effective
Part 2
Designing High-Quality Writing Tasks
Three steps for creating an effective writing assignment
Part 3
Wit & Wisdom: Implementation Dos and Don’ts
Lessons learned from teachers who've implemented the curriculum
Part 5
Most Misunderstood Math Standards in Grade 5
Are these instructional mistakes happening in your classroom?
Encouraging a Growth Mindset through Art
Strategies for moving beyond "follow-the-leader" style art projects and developing an art curriculum that supports student learning across subjects
Using Content and Language Objectives to Help All Students in Their Learning
Strategies from an English Language Learner Specialist
Part 1
Addressing Common Challenges with Student Writing
Why aren’t students successful writers and what can teachers do to help?
Doing Better: Aligned Instructional Practice
An overview of the Instructional Practice Guide suite of tools
Building A Culturally Responsive Classroom
Why building a culturally responsive classroom matters for the success of ALL students
Engaging Students with #BookSnaps
Reinventing how your students discuss text within the classroom
Creating and Sequencing Text-Dependent Questions to Support English Language Learners
Strategic selection and organization of questions can be a scaffold that helps English learners grapple with highly complex questions.
Considering Reading Instruction with the End in Mind
Meet students not only where they are, but also where they're going.
Part 8
Most Misunderstood Middle School Mathematics Standards in Grade 8
Are these instructional mistakes happening in your classroom?
Part 7
Most Misunderstood Middle School Mathematics Standards in Grade 7
Are these instructional mistakes happening in your classroom?
Inspiring Writers
A process for supporting writing practice with K-2 English Language Learners
Part 4
Re-Teaching Doesn’t Always Mean Repeating
Consider alternative ways to re-teach when students struggle with new content
Part 6
Most Misunderstood Middle School Mathematics Standards In Grade 6
Are these instructional mistakes happening in your classroom?
Part 2
To Write or Not to Write? There is No Question! Part 2
Activities to support the connection between reading and writing
Part 1
To Write or Not to Write. There is No Question!
The benefits of integrating reading and writing practice
Part 4
How much time do you need to create a foundation for literacy?
One coach’s reflection on increasing the foundational skills block
English Language Arts Practices
How do we determine that students are increasing their literacy skills as they progress across grade levels?
Welding Literacy into Scientific Instruction
An experienced educator provides a literacy protocol for interpreting scientific complex texts.
Part 3
How to Select Math Intervention Content
How do you diagnose the root causes of grade-level math struggles, and design targeted interventions to address them?
Part 3
Adding Fun to Your Phonics Block
Incorporating strategies to make phonics time the best time of day
Three APPS to Support Students with Special Needs
Helping All Kids Grapple with Grade-Level Content
Creating Student Empowerment Through Your Garden-Variety Graphic Organizer
How I use graphic organizers in my classroom to promote student independence
Emerging Effects from CCSS
A high school math teacher shares examples of student progress following CCSS implementation
3 Steps to Engage Students in Research Writing
A high school teacher shares concrete suggestions for sparking curiosity and stimulating quality research questions
Part 1
Designing Shifts-Aligned Interventions in the Math Classroom
Avoid common pitfalls when it comes to supporting students with unfinished math learning
Four Best Practices for the Math Classroom
A math teacher shares lessons learned and alternative strategies he's discovered during his teaching career
Designing Effective Homework
Best practices for creating homework that raises student achievement
High-impact strategies for teaching writing with evidence at the high school level
An interdisciplinary PLC develops common strategies and rubrics to support student writing.
Instead of…Try This
Avoid common pitfalls in the ELA classroom with these strategies
Assessing Grammar and Language Convention Skills
New guidance explains how to assess writing skills through embedded-error passages and multiple-choice items
Creating a Feedback Culture
Using effective feedback to help students master their learning goals
Blended Learning: The Station Rotation Model
Find out how a blended learning station-focused model can help you differentiate instruction and give ALL students the support they need to tackle grade-level work
There has got to be a better way to do this! How to start an interdisciplinary PLC.
Insights on the value of interdisciplinary PLCs and how to create one in your school
Digital Book Baskets for High School Classrooms
Students create their own high-interest text sets to build knowledge
Lessons Learned from a High School Mathematical Modeling Lesson
A high school algebra teacher creates a lesson to engage her struggling students through real-world application
Q&A – Supporting Fluency in K-12 Classrooms
Practical suggestions for focusing on reading fluency
Limiting “Teacher Talk,” Increasing Student Work!
A team of teachers share strategies to increase student ownership in literacy
Demonstrating Conceptual Understanding of Mathematics Using Technology
Using free recording software to capture students’ solution methods and help teachers reflect on their instruction
Part 1
At the Foundation of Foundational Skills: Structured Phonics
Learn how structured phonics instruction is critical to literacy development and a necessary part of an ELA curriculum
Top 5 Questions About ELA Scaffolding in High School
What do we do when they “don’t get it”?
Top 5 Questions about ELA Scaffolding in Elementary School
Real-world advice for how to scaffold complex text for struggling students
Part 5
Navigating the Spiral in Mathematics Textbooks
A classroom teacher and curriculum coordinator describe how they used the spiral design of their textbook to help them focus on creating coherent instruction.
