By Rhonda van Bergen In many elementary classrooms today, literacy has taken center stage as new standards in reading and writing are implemented. Teachers spend significant time teaching English Language Arts (ELA) skills and strategies to prepare students for high-stakes testing in those areas. Unfortunately, content area instruction in science and social studies often takes […]
Social Studies
Posted inSocial Studies
Reading Rights: Do I Have To or Can I Please: The Right to “Just Read”
By Lauren Davenport and Marie Southwell Just Read: A few years ago, on a visit to the library, a wonderful teacher I knew, Mr. Andrew Cedermark, was in the shared campus library with one of his classes. We had a history of talking shop and collaborating even though we work in separate schools, so when […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
From STEM, Let’s Pivot to the BRANCHES of the Humanities
There is no doubt that the neglect of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – better known as STEM in educational circles – has come at our own peril. Our students’ achievement in mathematics is surely not where other Americans expect it to be, and the comfort of anyone saying “I hate math” is embarrassing. As […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
How Educators Can Honor Judith Heumann’s Legacy
Judith Heumann’s passing is a reminder to teach about inclusivity and disability rights Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I have taught for nearly two decades, and I have had the privilege of working with diverse students, each with unique backgrounds, experiences, and struggles. These […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Black History is World History
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! “Wait, can you go back to that slide!?” one of my students asked. It was the beginning of February, and I was teaching a World History class about the Enlightenment. After numerous slides highlighting the ideas of European men, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
From the U.S. to Brazil, Educators Must Confront Far-Right Extremism
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! The scenes are familiar – protestors wearing national colors, pushing down barricades, beating police officers. Government buildings broken into, offices ransacked, and national symbols desecrated. It sounds like a scene from the far-right attack on the U.S. Capitol two […]
Posted inOpinion
Teaching About Tragedy: The Execution of the Dakota 38
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! December 26 marks the 160th anniversary of the largest mass execution in U.S. history. In 1862, at the height of the Civil War, 38 Dakota men were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota, on the day after Christmas. The events leading up to the war, […]
Posted inPedagogy
Use the World Cup to Score Higher Engagement with Middle Schoolers
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Studies have shown over and over again that students learn best when they find the content relevant and engaging. Lately, I’ve found my middle school students to be super engaged with the World Cup. Rather than repeating, “Guys, please […]