As a high school teacher, you’re looking to make the biggest educational impact on your students before they complete their formal K-12 education. So, it’s no wonder that you’re always looking for new and better ways to prepare them for college and give them every chance to succeed once they get there. But then you realize that while your students have plenty of opportunities to hone their reading and writing skills as part of your normal curriculum, what’s really lacking is how to transition from being a high school student into being a college student. The first step in going to college is navigating your way through the lengthy college admissions process. And unless all your students have the financial resources to pay for a private admissions consultant, they’re really going to be left on their own for this.
Fortunately, you understand that each of your students deserves the chance to attend the college of their dreams. Your mission to help them master the skills they need to write the very best college admissions essays they’re capable of. To get you started, we’re sharing our favorite tips on developing a creative writing unit that incorporates college application essays. That way, the students in your class can watch the acceptance letters start rolling in.
Ms. Cooper teaches 5th grade. At times, she wonders if she is genuinely an effective teacher. Her students don’t seem excited about the curriculum or as motivated to learn as she would hope. Students give up easily when faced with challenging assignments and often rely on her guidance when completing classroom activities. However, informally she hears about the latest games her students are playing at home. They devote time and patience to overcoming challenges, using strategic thinking, collaborating with teammates, and investigating resources when learning new skills.
Think back to when you learned to read. Did you begin by learning about letters and letter sounds, or did you jump into reading novels? Most likely, you had a teacher or adult guiding you in learning the basics of phonics before attempting more challenging word reading. This process of progressing from foundational skills to more advanced with appropriate support is known as scaffolding. You’ve probably heard this term used before, and you’ve also probably utilized elements of scaffolding in your own classroom without even realizing it. Scaffolding is a powerful way for teachers to help their students become confident and independent learners, as well as meet necessary learning goals. Whether you teach first grade or high school, all students benefit from effective scaffolding in order to retain information and progress as learners.
Students learn better when they are provided with opportunities to engage in hands-on activities. Through play, students can explore concepts and lessons in a way that meets them where they are. In today’s edtech classroom, students can develop typing skills in fun and play-based ways.It’s possible to seamlessly support young children’s learning in the edtech classroom with fun game-based learning. Find out how play-based learning can be incorporated in the technology classroom below!
From the moment we wake up, we are presented with choices. What should I wear? Will I have toast, yogurt, or eggs for breakfast? Should I have all three? Will I have one cup of coffee, or two? Which route will I take to get to work? While at times overwhelming, making choices adds excitement to our daily lives and gives us a sense of control and agency. Adults aren’t the only ones who benefit from having options available to them. Oftentimes, teachers make most of the decisions on the day-to-day activities in a classroom; however, giving students choices within these activities helps both to increase engagement and empower them to take ownership over their learning. By allowing multiple ways to reach one learning objective, teachers can show students that they recognize different learning styles and that there is more than one way to demonstrate understanding of a concept.
In today’s very technology-driven world, typing may be one of the most underrated skills out there. After all, there are documents, spreadsheets, slide shows, forms, videos, and websites to create too. And these projects may seem more exciting to students in your class because when they’re done creating them, they have something creative and tangible to show off.
In a world where the majority of communication happens online, teachers are finding they are now responsible for guiding their students in becoming informed and respectful digital citizens. Starting as young as kindergarten, children are interacting with others in digital communities on a regular basis. As students spend more time online, the term “digital citizenship” is becoming more widely used.
Labor Day 2021 is just around the corner, and teachers around the country will soon be bombarded with the popular question, “Is there school on Labor Day?” Instead of just saying ‘no’ on autopilot, now is the perfect time to take advantage of this excellent learning opportunity in your classroom.
Back to school means it’s time for teachers to implement strategies to get to know students. Whether it’s ice breakers, activities, or routines to roll out on the first day back in the classroom, it’s important that teachers are strategic about these first few days in the classroom. Orienting students to expectations for the upcoming year sets them up for success.
As a teacher, you know just how important it is to prepare your students for standardized testing. SAT scores are a hot topic for high schoolers. Most colleges and universities around the country require SAT scores for admission, but they have other uses for them as well.
