Teach The Reader, Not The Book!
In our co-taught 9th & 10th grade literature classroom, Caitlin and I are currently living by the motto, "teach the reader, not the book". While we are thrilled when our students understand and enjoy a book, we are also deeply committed to ensuring that we are...
Balancing Curious Play with Skill Acquisition in Math Classes
This is my second year at ESA and my 7th year as a math teacher. Since my first year of teaching, I've always loved the sense of problem-solving at my feet. I love thinking about how to fit this magical puzzle of real student engagement, mixed with this sense of...
Without Geometry, Life is Pointless
Background: The first semester of Geometry focuses on formal two-column and paragraph proofs. Students tend to struggle understanding the importance and value of doing proofs in a Geometry class. They aren't able to answer the question, 'Why Proofs?' or make the...
Baking for Buy-In
I've dreamed for years of developing a Baking Unit within my Chemistry course. Finally (year 10!), it seems to fit perfectly with this semester's topics of Chemical Reactions and Gas Laws. Students currently move through a unit with small, authentic pieces (a lab...
Thinking like a historian?
In the essay "Examining the Reputation of Columbus" Jack Weatherford writes, “Christopher Columbus' reputation has not survived the scrutiny of history, and today we know that he was no more the discoverer of America than Pocahontas was the discoverer of Great...
Social Studies and Practice as Historians
Worlds Collides, a combined 9th and 10th Grade Social Studies Class, is an exploration of the indigenous people of Central America and the Caribbean and the eventual clash with European aggressors. Students are digging in to both primary and secondary sources to...
Alex – Speech (1)
PoP: How might we authentically include students with severe disabilities so they are academically engaged in their classes and socially engaged in the school community through my role in Speech? ESA strives to be a community inclusive of all people, and in many ways...
Nora – SETSS (1)
PoP: How might we authentically include students with severe disabilities so they are academically engaged in their classes and socially engaged in the school community through my role in SETSS? Most of the students with Autism and ID in our school experience a level...
Fall SpEd Problem of Practice
In recent years, our school has been receiving more students with more severe disabilities, in particular students with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities (previously Mental Retardation). Our special education team and instructional staff are unaccustomed to...
¡En español!: Getting Students to Talk to One Another in Spanish
I have taught high school Spanish for almost thirteen years, and the phrase I most frequently proclaim is "¡En español!" If I had a dollar for every time I uttered these words, my early retirement would most certainly be secured. In fact, here is an...