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Class is almost over-but instead of zoning out or packing up early, your students are hunched over their work, erasing, recalculating, and debating. The room buzzes with the rich math talk every teacher hopes for as kids actually seem excited to solve problems.

If you think this sounds too good to be true, educator Donna Paul would say you may not have found the right math games yet. "I've seen struggling students begin to participate more because a game leveled the playing field," she explains. "I've watched math-loving students push their thinking further. And I've seen entire groups of students talk math talk without me having to initiate it."

Games sometimes get a bad rap, but the benefits extend far beyond creating a more joyful and fun math classroom-though that is a by-product. Teachers say they can defuse math anxiety, challenge and motivate students to strengthen their knowledge of concepts, provide crucial insights on where gaps in understanding exist, and create a space where educator Dawn Johnson says " making a mistake doesn't feel like such a big risk."

Here are 14 math games that work-tested in real classrooms, beloved by students, and designed to get middle and high school students genuinely engaged with rigorous mathematical thinking.

Stand Up or Sit Down: Start by writing a problem on the board with a solution that only you, the teacher, will know is correct or incorrect. Give students a few minutes to solve the problem individually. Once time is up, students have a choice:

Stand up if they think the displayed answer is correct.

Stay seated if they think the displayed answer is incorrect.

Reveal whether the answer was actually correct or incorrect, awarding students one point if they made the right choice. Repeat until someone reaches 10 points. (Source: Happy Numbers)
Collage by Benjamin Currie for Edutopia, iStock (3)
Taboo: This game can be played as a whole class activity or in pairs. You'll need a list of review terms to start-like quadrilateral, triangle, area, perimeter, volume, and surface area. For each term, create a list of words students cannot use to describe it. For example, for the word triangle, the taboo words might be three, sides, angles, and shape. One student will be the clue-giver, and the rest will try to guess the term. The clue-giver can say anything but the taboo words. For the word triangle, the clue-giver could say, "Think of something with a base and a point at the top, like a mountain or a warning sign." Or, "It's the simplest figure you can draw that connects all the points without making a square." (Source: Slides With Friends)

Showdown: Create flash cards with math problems on one side and solutions on the other, focusing on a concept you want students to practice. Divide the class into small groups, and provide each student with a whiteboard and marker (notebook paper also works). Groups choose a card, and each student solves the problem individually. When the process is complete, a member of the group will reveal the answer on the other side of the card, and students who solved correctly earn one point. The student with the most points in their group by the end of the allotted time period wins. (Source: Math Idea Galaxy)

Pass or Play: Have students stand and form a circle. Choose a student at random to start with and ask them a question-for example, is it possible for the median to be higher than the mean? The student can either answer and the next question goes to the person on the left, or pass and the next question goes to the person on their right. Students earn a point for each correct answer, and the first to get five points wins it all. (Source: Slides With Friends)

The 100 Squares Challenge: Create a pile of paper strips, each with a math problem on it, and lay them face down on a table that students can easily access. Next, project a 100-square grid onto your wall or whiteboard. In teams of two, students will grab a paper strip, then work with their partner to solve the math problem as quickly as possible. One partner checks with you to ensure that they have the right answer. If they're incorrect, they can try again. If they're correct, they sign their initials in the numbered square of their choice from the grid. When the grid is completely full, students can still add their initials to a square, but they must erase those of a classmate first.

After 20 minutes, generate a random number between one and 100. The winner is the team that has their initials on that square. (Source: Jennifer Feehan via Edutopia)

Math-Tac-Toe: In pairs, students draw a tic-tac-toe grid on notebook paper. On the board, write a math problem for one student to solve individually. Reveal the correct solution. If correct, that student places their mark (X or O) anywhere on the grid. If incorrect, they forfeit their turn and their partner gets the next problem. Players alternate until one gets three marks in a row. (Source: Plays)

Cake Walk: This game works best with smaller groups. First, arrange chairs in a circle, labeling each with a number. Prepare a set of math problems in advance. Direct students to walk around the circle while music plays, and when the music stops, quickly rush to find a seat. Display a math problem on the board, which each student will solve individually. Then pick a random number. If the student sitting in that chair has the correct solution, they can choose a small prize-like a snack cake or a piece of candy, or you could play for points. (Source: The Sassy Math Teacher)

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14 Exceptionally Fun Math Games for Middle and High School

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Robust skill-building and reinforcement of key mathematical concepts lie beneath the excitement of these games.

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Would You Rather Math – ASKING STUDENTS TO CHOOSE A PATH AND JUSTIFY IT WITH MATH

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When our little ones head off for school, they take their first steps in a lifelong journey of learning. Not only will they begin to build foundational skills that will pave the way for academic success, but they'll also learn social-emotional skills like kindness, sharing, empathy, and many more that will contribute to their overall success in life. Some research suggests that social-emotional activities might be the most important work children can do in their early years. In fact, one study found that social-emotional wellness in kindergarten correlated with success up until age 25. Here are some of our favorite social-emotional activities to use with your preschool and kindergarten students.

Teach students to identify their emotions

Identifying and labeling feelings (your own and others') is a valuable life skill that takes lots of practice. These social-emotional activities are not only fun and engaging for little ones, they spark essential conversations that lead to deeper understanding.

1. Read, read, read!

There are TONS of children's books featuring interesting main characters and story lines that teach social-emotional skills. Reading about characters they can relate to, in situations they can relate to, helps young children learn valuable lessons. Here are two book lists to get you started: Picture Books To Teach Students About Kindness and Children's Books for Teaching Social Skills.

2. Sing

Different emotions evoke different feelings in our bodies. Teach your students this song to help them learn to identify what is really going on. Also, find role-play scenarios and reflection questions.

3. Practice with emotions play-dough mats

Learning to read others' emotions is a valuable SEL tool. Children can explore and identify nuances of facial features that are paired with emotions by using play dough to draw faces on these free emotions play-dough mats from The OT Toolbox.

4. Play a monster-emotions match game

Download the free game cards here. This fun and engaging game helps kids learn how to identify emotions in other people. The game begins as students walk around the room making the feeling face that matches their card. As they walk, they look for another student who seems to be demonstrating the same feeling. Once everyone thinks they have found their matching feeling friend, let them check their cards to see if they are right. Play a few rounds to give kids a chance to try out different feelings.

5. Make emotion masks

These masks are a great tool for talking about feelings. And all you need is paper plates (cut in half), craft sticks, tape, and markers. The activity will focus on four emotions: happy, mad, sad, and silly. For each emotion (and each mask), make a face and then ask the class to identify the emotion it represents. Once they correctly identify the emotion, have them use the marker to draw that face on one of the plates. You can use these masks during read-alouds (hold up the mask that shows how the main character is feeling) or during class conversations to reinforce their understanding of what different feelings look like.

6. Start each day with a check-in

This chart is a fun one to help students communicate how they're feeling. Position it next to your classroom door, and have students point to the emoji that most closely matches how they're feeling as they enter. Social-emotional activities like this one help students get in the habit of monitoring their emotions and give you valuable information about your students' moods.

7. Draw helping hands

Encouraging students to think about others can make them realize how much control they have over the feelings of others. Have students trace or draw their own hands and reflect or write what their helpful hands can do for others.

8. Do an emotions sort

Linking Zones of Regulation activities to fun experiences helps kids make connections. For example, this simple Emotions Sorting Game inspired by Disney-Pixar's Inside Out helps kids learn and explore emotions. The game is a printable download available from Mom Endeavors.

9. Play emotions Jenga

Attach a collection of emotion words onto Jenga blocks-for instance, happy, sad, angry, frustrated, etc. You can either write on the blocks with a Sharpie or try these pretty labels from Collective Feelings. One at a time, pull one of the emotion blocks out of the stack. Ask for a volunteer to either tell you the definition of that feeling or share a story about a time they felt that emotion. Talking about emotions in a group, and hearing others' stories, helps kids make lasting connections.

10. Make an emotion spinner

If you're looking for engaging social-emotional activities to teach kids more about identifying their emotions, try these emotion spinners. All you need to make them are paper plates, brads, markers (or paint or crayons or colored pencils), and a large circle punch if you have one. For full directions on how to make and use emotion spinners, check out this blog from Meaningful Mama.

11. Play a round of emotions charades

Prepare a set of cards with emotion words and pictures of what those emotion looks like. Then play a round of emotions charades, which helps preschoolers read nonverbal cues, identify and regulate emotions, and learn how to express emotions in a healthy way, all of which are essential elements of emotional intelligence.

12. Make affirmation bracelets

Set out cups of colored beads. In front of each cup of beads, add a sticky note with a positive affirmation. Teach your students what each affirmation says and means. Give each student a pipe cleaner and help them create a bracelet by threading the beads onto the pipe cleaner. Optional: Each time they pick up a bead, have them say the corresponding positive affirmation out loud.

Teach kids strategies to deal with hard feelings

Being able to identify and label feelings is a great start. Knowing what to do when unsettling feelings come up is the next step. Feelings like anger, sadness, and confusion will undoubtedly arise from time to time in the classroom. Here are a few social-emotional activities to help your students learn how to cope in a safe environment.

13. Teach students to use I-statements

Encourage students to be mindful about how they're feeling by helping them practice how to articulate their thoughts without lashing out at others. Give them starters such as "I feel angry when ...," "I feel happy when ...," "I feel frustrated when ...," etc. Once they are able to articulate their feelings, help them strategize ways to handle their feelings.

14. Use strategy cards

These free downloadable cards offer 23 different strategies (with pictures and words) that kids can use to manage their emotions. Print them out, punch a hole in the corner of each card, and attach them to a ring.

15. Download these free posters

Use these posters to teach kids what to do when they feel their emotions escalating. Once they are familiar with the strategies, post the posters in your calm-down corner for kids to reference as they regroup. Included with the downloads are 30 great calm-down ideas like "I can count to 10," "I can blow a feather," and more.

16. Stomp out dinosaur-size feelings

Read Tony Mitton's charming story Dinosaurumpus aloud to your class. Then, play this easy-to-assemble dinosaur game that encourages kids to roar, dance, and stomp out their emotions.

17. Make calm-down jars

Make these mesmerizing calm-down jars for your classroom using just water, oil, and food coloring. Add glitter for a little extra pizzazz. When students are feeling overwhelmed or upset, give them a few minutes to focus on the jar as they turn it upside down and back. Focusing on the movement and colors will help students calm down so they can get back to work.

18. Put together a calm-down kit

Stock a plastic bin with tools to help little ones manage their emotions. Include things such as strategy cards, squeeze balls, calm-down bottles, putty, and breathing exercises. For more ideas, check out this awesome list of 40+ Things To Put in Your Calm-Down Kit.

19. Set up a calm-down corner in your classroom

Kids have a lot of feelings and emotions to process throughout the day. Sometimes it's all too much, and the result can be bad behavior. A calm-down corner gives kids a place to recenter and refocus so they can join the learning again. Check out this article to learn everything you need to know about setting up a calm-down corner.

20. Teach yoga poses ...

Teach your students simple yoga poses to help them get control of their bodies when emotions are running high. For best results, pair poses with deep-breathing techniques. The printable set comes with 50 different yoga poses (including simple descriptions) and suggested sequences of poses to use.

21. ... and breathing techniques

Deep breathing reduces stress and anxiety and helps kids learn to manage their emotions. Check out this source for lots of fun ideas for building breathing breaks into your day.

22. Teach coping strategies

In any social situation, conflict is bound to occur. That's why teaching kids how to peacefully solve problems is essential. Equip your students with the tools they need to manage uncomfortable situations with these coping strategies and free social problem-solving poster set.

23. Tell stories that help kids learn strategies

Conflicts happen, no matter how old we are. The key is learning strategies to help solve conflicts peacefully, and it's never too early to start! These picture books encourage solving disagreements through communication, compromise, harmony, collaboration, and forgiveness.

24. Make a rainbow road

Label six colored sheets of paper with statements like "I feel ___ (sad, happy, angry, frustrated, etc.) when ____." Tape the sheets on the floor to create a rainbow road. To play, have a student roll a die, then count and walk to that number sheet. Help them read their statement and then have them fill in the last blank.

Build in lots of opportunities for kids to work on social skills

Like everyone, little ones learn best by doing. Give them lots of opportunities to interact with peers one-on-one, in small groups, and as part of a whole class, ideally with as little adult interference as possible. As they play during social-emotional activities, they'll learn to navigate among other kids who may have different styles and opinions. Activities like creative play, building projects, board games, and partner reading are great tools to reveal kids' strengths and challenges as they begin to figure out how to manage school in the best way for themselves.

25. Do your homework

As children start learning more about their feelings and emotions, their social skills start to blossom. This social skills checklist is an amazing resource that describes in detail the social skills that children learn in their preschool years. Read the article for more SEL activities for preschoolers from The OT Toolbox.

26. Create a culture of kindness

Create a culture of kindness in your classroom. Read your students the story Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud. Then spread the love with a few of these activities.

27. Make kindness trees

Looking for social-emotional activities that provide an opportunity to talk about why being kind is important and how we can practice kindness every day? Draw a large tree trunk on a sheet of chart paper. Then pass out different-colored leaves made from construction paper and ask each student to write an act of kindness they can do on their leaf. After they've finished writing their kind acts, help them tape their leaf to the tree trunk as reminders of how they can show kindness and respect for others.

28. Engage in compliment circles

If you need social-emotional activities that don't require any prep work, hold compliment circles in class. They take very little time but yield powerful results. Create an environment of respect and kindness with this simple activity that teaches kids how to give and receive compliments. Read more here.

29. Play games

Playing interactive games with your students is a great way to start conversations about their feelings. It can make the conversation more centered around fun and less stressful. Read this article from The Art of Education for more SEL tips and a list of 10 Engaging Games To Play That Explore SEL.

30. Read about and practice sharing

In Mo Willems' adorable book Should I Share My Ice Cream?, Gerald the elephant has to make a quick decision about whether to share his ice cream cone with his best friend, Piggy. Read the story to your class and have a conversation about sharing.

Then try this fun game. Make "waffle" cones out of rolled-up sheets of construction paper, then have students practice passing their "ice cream" to a friend. Not only will students learn cooperation, but this game is also a great opportunity to use polite language such as "please" and "thank you."

31. Teach students how to partner share

There are many strategies that teach kids to work collaboratively with a partner. And it's important with little ones to teach these skills explicitly. Read this step-by-step tutorial written by kindergarten teacher Sarah Casady, How To Get Your Students Talking. Also, check out 10 Alternatives to Think-Pair-Share.

32. Use conversation starters

Get the conversation started with questions like "What is your favorite thing to eat at lunch?," "What was the funniest thing that happened to you today?," and the like. Be sure the questions are open-ended to avoid getting short yes or no answers. Here are 20 conversation starters from The Early Childhood Academy to get you started.

33. Hone listening skills

Learning to listen, not only to themselves but to one another, is a critical skill for preschoolers. Set aside time each day to sit quietly with your students and listen for sounds in and around the classroom for increasing lengths of time. Or ring a chime and ask students to see how long they can hear the sound it makes. Being able to signal your students when it is time to listen, and having them respond appropriately, is critical for creating a classroom environment that supports learning.

34. Play listening games

Gameplay is one of the best ways to engage young learners. Try some of these listening games, like Simon Says, Telephone, Freeze Dance and more.

35. Rehearse with role-play

Role-play is a wonderful way to teach your preschoolers and kindergartners social behaviors, rules, and expectations. Rehearsing these skills in a safe space, with a teacher's guidance, helps them learn social norms.

36. Play with puppets

According to Tanja Mcilroy, founder of Empowered Parents, playing with puppets is one of the most educational things you can do with your students. A puppet can be the voice used to correct classroom behavior and teach social skills. Many children will find this less intimidating and more playful than instruction coming from an adult. For more tips, check out The Amazing Benefits of Playing With Puppets in Early Childhood.

Learn about friendship

Learning to make friends is one of the most valuable skills we can teach our preschoolers and kindergartners. Friendships require a plethora of social skills such sharing, compassion, compromise, and honesty.

37. Watch friendship videos

Learning to get along with others takes a lot of practice. Here are our favorite friendship videos that use compassion, wisdom, and humor to tackle what it means to be a good friend. Use them to jump-start conversations with your students as you build your classroom community.

38. Read books about friendship

Friendships are one of the most important parts of childhood-and school. Classroom conversations about making new friends, supporting and appreciating friends, and navigating friendship challenges are always in season, and there's no better way to launch them than with a good book. Looking for books you can use for social-emotional activities? Here's a good place to start: Children's Books About Friendship That Give Us All the Feels.

39. Sing songs about friendship

Music is an amazing way to help your students feel connected and understood. And songs about friendship can definitely foster a sense of community in the classroom. Here, we've compiled 50 Fantastic Songs About Friendship for your students to enjoy and bond over.

40. Read poems about friendship

Poetry often speaks to our hearts in a way unlike any other form. And making friends is one of the greatest gifts in life. So why not combine the two and teach your students in a way they can really connect with? Here, we share 30 Heartwarming Poems About Friendship To Share With Students.

41. Make lots of time for friendship-building activities

Here is a list of 25 ideas to get you started.

Practice mindfulness in the classroom

Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Mindfulness techniques help students handle big emotions (in themselves and others) and cultivate a sense of peace and calm.

42. Introduce mindfulness with children's books

Source: 15 Books To Teach Kids About Mindfulness

If you're looking for social-emotional activities that incorporate reading, there are dozens of brilliant books that teach the lesson of mindfulness for preschoolers. A couple of our favorites, just for little ones, are Peaceful Panda and I Am the Jungle.

43. Make gratitude rocks

Taking time to go inside and think about things you are grateful for is a powerful life skill. For this activity, bring a collection of rocks to class for your students to choose from. Then, using paint, markers, or crayons, give them time to decorate their rocks. Ask your students to take a few minutes and think about something they are grateful for and narrow it down to just one word. Have them write their word with Sharpie on their rock-be sure to give them help if they need it. When everyone is done with their rock, make time for those who are comfortable doing so to share their rock and explain it to their classmates.

44. Go on a nature walk

Take your little ones outside to indulge their five senses. Explore the changing color of leaves, different leaf shapes, pine cones, and more. Listen for birds and other critters. Lie down on the grass and feel the earth beneath you as you look up at the blue sky.

45. Practice progressive muscle relaxation

Most of us, including kids, aren't always aware of the muscles in our body and how they feel or move. But we can all carry a lot of emotions in our physical bodies. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a coping skill and relaxation exercise that can help us calm our body and mind by slowly and progressively tensing and relaxing our muscles, one group at a time.

46. Listen to music

It's not too hard to tell when young students need a break or need a few minutes to recharge. And you know the old saying "Music soothes the savage beast." Why not pop on this soothing video with gentle guitar music playing in the background for a few minutes? Music makes for fantastic social-emotional activities during snack time, as a brain break, or during transition times.

47. Play in water

Nothing is more calming to the nervous system than water. Set up a water table in your classroom and let students engage in free cooperative play. Include your water table as a station at center time.

48. Play in sand

Just like the water table, a sand table offers the basis for many social-emotional activities to rotate into your stations. Learn about the benefits and try some of these fun ideas from The Early Childhood Academy.

49. Make time for art

There are SO many reasons kids need to paint. Painting is one of the best social-emotional activities because most people find peace and relaxation in art. It focuses their minds and helps them look at the world around them in a much more engaged way.

50. Listen to a rain stick

There's just something so soothing about the sound of a rain stick. Help your students turn their thought inward by taking a few moments to stop and listen. Turn down the lights and invite your preschoolers or kindergartners to lie down on the rug and close their eyes. Turn the rain stick upside down and back again for a few minutes, leaving a few seconds of silence between each rotation.

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50 Fun SEL Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten

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SEL skills are crucial to develop in the early years. Check out our favorite social-emotional activities for preschool and kindergarten.

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Free and easy to use spinner. Used by teachers and for raffles. Enter names, spin wheel to pick a random winner. Customize look and feel, save and share wheels.

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A look at a few common misconceptions, plus tips on effective practices for teaching young students to read.

As a literacy coach, I see it all the time. Good teachers who are doing their best to implement effective reading instruction feel confused, overwhelmed, and disheartened when trying to align their teaching practices with evidence-based instruction.

The science of reading, backed up by research, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and mountains of evidence, calls for teaching methods that are different from how we were trained to teach children how to read. While it's tempting to treat the science-of-reading movement as just another educational fad that will be gone in a few years, for our students' sake, we simply can't ignore the evidence.
The science of reading says students need to read decodables, not leveled readers, so we shouldn't be using anything they can't decode during our literacy block.
Below are some of the most common lingering misconceptions and myths I hear as a literacy coach when teachers attempt to align their instructional practices with the science of reading.

The truth here is complicated, and whether the texts you're using are appropriate depends on the task for which you are using them. Decodables are for students to practice the phonics skills they are learning and have learned during the foundational part of the literacy block. They're also great to use for students to read independently when the teacher is meeting with small groups, because teachers can be reasonably sure their students can actually read them without resorting to guessing and looking at the pictures.

Decodables, however, should not and cannot be the only type of text used during an effective literacy block. Other than a good method to practice decoding words, most decodables don't contain anything meaningful in the way of content or ideas. A largely misunderstood premise of the science of reading is the importance of knowledge building and vocabulary acquisition.

Our youngest students, even before they can decode any texts, need to begin building knowledge about the world and be exposed to domain-specific and academic vocabulary through read-alouds and whole group literacy instruction.

A statement from Knowledge Matters Campaign's Scientific Advisory Committee highlights the critical importance of knowledge building in addition to a focus on foundational skills: "Knowledge is necessary to comprehend what we read. Foundational skills are literally meaningless unless readers can make sense of words and texts. This sense-making requires knowledge that must be systematically built (not just activated!) through instructional experiences and curricula that evoke curiosity and the desire to learn more. In short, knowledge matters. "
If my students aren't showing mastery on weekly progress-monitoring assessments, the curriculum must be too advanced or not age-appropriate.
How to shift our thinking: Our job as primary educators is not only to teach students how to decode the written word. We must also teach them about the world through rich texts and meaningful, idea-centered instructional units so that they're prepared to eventually read and comprehend texts about those topics independently.

Evenan effective foundational program takes time to show results, and most aren't looking for mastery on weekly assessments or progress monitoring. What you should be looking for is progress. Study after study has shown that many students need multiple exposures over time to new concepts and skills before showing mastery.

Ensure that your foundational program has that cyclical review and practice built in, or carve out opportunities for your students to continually review the phonics concepts you've taught as you move on to new ones. Then, look to see how many of your students have mastered the concepts after having reviewed and practiced them for several weeks. Use that data to create small group instruction for the students who haven't mastered the concepts.
The science of reading research says children need explicit and systematic phonics instruction to read, so I don't need to use our whole group reading program anymore.
How to shift our thinking: Mastery doesn't come after one or two lessons for foundational skills, and the timeline for mastery varies greatly from student to student. Look for growth over time rather than mastery after each lesson.

The truth here goes back to myth 1. If we aren't teaching our primary students more than decoding, we begin to see students struggle and reading scores stagnate at around third grade. The primary years are foundational not just for learning to read, but also for learning about the world.

Students need to begin building their understanding of science, social studies, and literature from a young age so that they can comprehend what they begin to read independently as they reach upper elementary school. Knowledge Matters Campaign advises that an effective whole group literacy program should be "coherently building knowledge of words and the world."
My students need to learn how to decode and comprehend texts before we worry about writing instruction.
How to shift our thinking: Whether studying animals, space, or ancient Egypt, young children love to explore and learn about new ideas. Before beginning a new literacy unit, think about what knowledge and understandings your students will build from it aside from your reading and writing standards and benchmarks. Make that knowledge focus just as important as your reading and writing standards.

Many teachers are told that they must teach to mastery in all things. While this sage advice works well in some grades and subjects, it hinders progress in many K-2 literacy classrooms. Students need to feel free to experiment and try things out and, yes, make mistakes, before teachers even think about assessing mastery.

When always looking for mastery, teachers feel discouraged if they don't see their students mastering skills and concepts right away. They assume that either they're teaching it wrong or the curriculum they're using is too difficult. According to The Dyslexia Classroom, the truth is that students take anywhere from one to 20 or even more than 100 exposures/practices to master concepts-especially to reach the automatic stage. Our students are mapping new sounds, letters, and words in their brains to build that automaticity, and that takes both time and repetition.

When it comes to writing instruction, give your students and yourself a break. Let them spend plenty of time at the experimentation and practice stages, and work at the sentence level before building up to multisentence and paragraph-level instruction.

How to shift our thinking: When our students write, even at the sentence level, about what they're reading, they internalize and comprehend texts at a deeper level. Don't avoid that benefit just because they haven't mastered writing yet.

Change can be excruciatingly difficult for everyone, so we need to recognize when we are clinging to old ways of doing things due to our own discomfort or misunderstandings rather than what's in the best interest of our students.

If you're struggling to shift your thinking or just need more information about instruction aligned to evidence-based practices, there are many resources available to help. Try starting with the Reading League's new Compass tool to direct you to resources helpful in your journey.

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4 Myths About Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction in the Early Grades

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A look at four myths about evidence-based reading strategies in the early grades, with some tips for effective teaching.

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback

Students will use scaffolding to research and organize information for writing a research paper. A research paper scaffold provides students with clear support for writing expository papers that include a question (problem), literature review, analysis, methodology for original research, results, conclusion, and references. Students examine informational text, use an inquiry-based approach, and practice genre-specific strategies for expository writing. Depending on the goals of the assignment, students may work collaboratively or as individuals. A student-written paper about color psychology provides an authentic model of a scaffold and the corresponding finished paper. The research paper scaffold is designed to be completed during seven or eight sessions over the course of four to six weeks.

Research paper scaffolding provides a temporary linguistic tool to assist students as they organize their expository writing. Scaffolding assists students in moving to levels of language performance they might be unable to obtain without this support.

An instructional scaffold essentially changes the role of the teacher from that of giver of knowledge to leader in inquiry. This relationship encourages creative intelligence on the part of both teacher and student, which in turn may broaden the notion of literacy so as to include more learning styles.

An instructional scaffold is useful for expository writing because of its basis in problem solving, ownership, appropriateness, support, collaboration, and internalization. It allows students to start where they are comfortable, and provides a genre-based structure for organizing creative ideas.

In order for students to take ownership of knowledge, they must learn to rework raw information, use details and facts, and write.

Teaching writing should involve direct, explicit comprehension instruction, effective instructional principles embedded in content, motivation and self-directed learning, and text-based collaborative learning to improve middle school and high school literacy.

Expository writing, because its organizational structure is rooted in classical rhetoric, needs to be taught.

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Computers with Internet access and printing capability

1.

Decide how you will schedule the seven or eight class sessions in the lesson to allow students time for independent research. You may wish to reserve one day each week as the "research project day." The schedule should provide students time to plan ahead and collect materials for one section of the scaffold at a time, and allow you time to assess each section as students complete it, which is important as each section builds upon the previous one.

2.

Make a copy for each student of the Research Paper Scaffold, the Example Research Paper Scaffold, the Example Student Research Paper, the Internet Citation Checklist, and the Research Paper Scoring Rubric. Also fill out and copy the Permission Form if you will be getting parents' permission for the research projects.

3.

If necessary, reserve time in the computer lab for Sessions 2 and 8. Decide which citation website students will use to format reference citations (see Websites) and bookmark it on student computers.

4.

Schedule time for research in the school media center or the computer lab between Sessions 2 and 3.

Students will

Formulate a clear thesis that conveys a perspective on the subject of their research

Practice research skills, including evaluation of sources, paraphrasing and summarizing relevant information, and citation of sources used

Logically group and sequence ideas in expository writing

Organize and display information on charts, maps, and graphs

Session 1: Research Question

You should approve students' final research questions before Session 2. You may also wish to send home the Permission Form with students, to make parents aware of their child's research topic and the project due dates.

Session 2: Literature Review-Search

Prior to this session, you may want to introduce or review Internet search techniques using the lesson Inquiry on the Internet: Evaluating Web Pages for a Class Collection. You may also wish to consult with the school librarian regarding subscription databases designed specifically for student research, which may be available through the school or public library. Using these types of resources will help to ensure that students find relevant and appropriate information. Using Internet search engines such as Google can be overwhelming to beginning researchers.

Session 3: Literature Review-Notes

Students need to bring their articles to this session. For large classes, have students highlight relevant information (as described below) and submit the articles for assessment before beginning the session.

Checking Literature Review entries on the same day is best practice, as it gives both you and the student time to plan and address any problems before proceeding. Note that in the finished product this literature review section will be about six paragraphs, so students need to gather enough facts to fit this format.

2.

Explain the process of analysis using the Example Research Paper Scaffold. Show how making a numbered list of possible themes, drawn from the different perspectives proposed in the literature, can be useful for analysis. In the Example Research Paper Scaffold, there are four possible explanations given for the effects of color on mood. Remind students that they can refer to the Example Student Research Paper for a model of how the analysis will be used in the final research paper.

4.

Check students' Analysis section entries to make sure they have included theories that are consistent with their literature review. Return the Research Paper Scaffolds to students with comments and corrections. Note: In the finished research paper, the analysis section will be about one paragraph.

Session 5: Original Research

Students should design some form of original research appropriate to their topics, but they do not necessarily have to conduct the experiments or surveys they propose. Depending on the appropriateness of the original research proposals, the time involved, and the resources available, you may prefer to omit the actual research or use it as an extension activity.

Session 6: Results (optional)

2.

Check the Results section of the scaffold and any visuals provided for consistency, accuracy, and effectiveness.

3.

Check the Conclusion section after students have completed it, to see that it contains a logical summary and is consistent with the study results.

Session 8: References and Writing Final Draft

4.

Explain to students that they will now use the completed scaffold to write the final research paper using the following genre-specific strategies for expository writing:

Use active, present tense verbs when possible.

Avoid the use of personal pronouns such as I and my (unless the research method was qualitative).

Cite all sources.

5.

Distribute copies of the Research Paper Scoring Rubric and go over the criteria so that students understand how their final written work will be evaluated.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Observe students and provide feedback as they complete each section of the Research Paper Scaffold.

Provide a safe environment where students will want to take risks in exploring ideas. During collaborative work, offer feedback and guidance to those who need encouragement or require assistance in learning cooperation and tolerance.

Involve students in using the Research Paper Scoring Rubric for final evaluation of the research paper. Go over this rubric during Session 8, before they write their final drafts.

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Scaffolding Methods for Research Paper Writing

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback Students will use scaffolding to research and organize information for writing a research paper. A research paper scaffold provides students with clear support for writing expository papers that include a question (problem), literature review, analysis, methodology for original research, results, conclusion, and references.

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A few years ago, I met a chef and asked him, "So, bay leaves? Do they even have a point? You can't taste them. You have to take them out. They seem to get in the way."

He shook his head and said, "Nah, it's the opposite."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"They're the invisible heroes of the culinary arts. Bay leaves won't give you a distinct flavor. They don't stand out. It can be so subtle you don't even detect it. But what they do is offer depth. They're a small thing that makes a big difference. They're working behind the scenes to amplify everything else. Trust me, they're a big deal."

I realize that bay leaves are actually a controversial topic among chefs. Some say they don't really enhance the flavors at all. Others say they don't enhance the existing flavor so much as add a new flavor entirely. I'm not about to dive into the culinary debate. But it has me wondering . . .

What are the bay leaves in education? What are those small, seemingly invisible tweaks we can make that end up having a huge impact on our teaching?

1. Create Question Breaks During Direct Instruction

I once had a student teacher observe how often I asked questions and how often students asked questions to one another. The results were depressing. 97% of the questions were from me to them. Only 3% were from them to me. None were to each other. Well, actually, we scrapped two very common student questions: What did the teacher say? and Can I borrow a pencil? At that moment, I tried a new strategy.

Take a break during direct instruction and ask students to generate as many questions as they can.

Do a Rally Robin activity where they ask one another their questions.

Do a stand-up, hand-up, pair-up, where they walk around asking questions. This has the added advantage of functioning like a brain break where they are able to move and get their blood flowing.

Return to their seats and highlight all the questions that remain unanswered.

This was a small, bay leaf moment. It didn't require a huge chunk of time or a new way of teaching. But it tapped into their prior knowledge and taught students to ask questions. They began to recognize the reality of the adage that the smartest person in the room is the room. It also allowed me to see what types of questions students had in the moment, during direct instruction, instead of after the fact.

2. Record Directions in Video Format

In my 7th year in the classroom, I had a student teacher do a time audit while he observed me. One of the biggest surprises was that I could easily spend 5 minutes over-explaining directions. This was also when students were most likely to get off-task.

At that point, I made a switch. Instead of verbal directions, I filmed a quick screencast video going over the directions and sharing a quick exemplar that students could view. I then played that same video for each class period.

The average screencast video was 90 seconds.

The use of visual and exemplar made it easier for students to see what was expected of them.

Students who were confused could re-watch the video with headphones on. Some students would even watch the videos and pause as they went.

Students who missed class could easily watch a video the next day (or, in some cases, would watch the video from home on our LMS).

For me, this is a reminder that innovation doesn't have be big or flashy. Sometimes it's in the small tweaks we make on a daily basis that yield big results in the long run.

3. Have Students Ask for Feedback

I've noticed something in my life. If I don't expect critical feedback, I tend to get defensive when someone offers a critique. If I expect critical feedback, I am more open to it. I'm far less likely to get angry or defensive. If I ask for feedback, I am even more likely to embrace the feedback. You can imagine it like a continuum of self-initiated and others-initiated. If I ask for critical feedback, it's often something I genuinely want.

I mention this because students often struggle with giving and receiving critical feedback. They don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. However, critical feedback is vital for growth. One small bay leaf solution is to have students ask for specific feedback. So, in this 20 minute peer feedback process I replaced the elevator pitch with "Tell your partner what type of feedback you want."

Similarly, I sometimes ask students too tell me what type of feedback they want to receive on an assignment. This builds on their own sense of agency while requiring some humility. You're saying to students, "I expect your work to be imperfect and I'd like you to ask for a critique." Students are also more likely to use the feedback they receive because it connects directly to their own plan of what they would like to modify or revise.

4. Turn Rubrics into Checklists

Think of the last time you did a project. Chances are, you used a checklist or a set of checklists or checklists of the checklists you need to create. It's a common diagnostic tool that we use to keep things on track. I love checklists so much that I actually read a book called Checklist Manifesto. And yet, when students do projects they often use rubrics. There's nothing inherently wrong with rubrics. After, rubrics are great for judging finished work or assessing one's performance. We use rubrics in life. We just don't tend to use the rubric as we go.

A simple, bay leaf solution is to have students turn their rubrics into checklists. This turns the rubric into a diagnostic tool they can use on a daily basis. It also helps ensure that students have actually read and understood the rubric they're using. I share this idea in a YouTube short that I created:

By the way, if you like this YouTube Short, would you consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel?

5. Teach Verb Tenses in Math

When my ELL students struggled with word problems in math, I started with front-loading vocabulary and teaching academic language. However, students still struggled. I asked them to explain what they didn't understand and they underlined certain sentences. I immediately noticed the same sentences over and over again. Many of these were written in a passive voice. Others were complex verb tenses that we use in writing but not in speaking (for example, the past perfect progressive). In some cases, the issue was one of context. In English, we use the progressive in a more general sense ("I'm building a house" rather than "I build a house") and we use it to describe future activities ("I'm going on a vacation this summer"). So, I began to teach the verb tenses in a systematic way and noticed that students were able to access the challenging word problems.

6. Switching to Timed-Pair-Shares

I'm a huge fan of Kagan strategies and I love the think-pair-share concept. But one of the best bay leaf solutions was to shift from think-pair-share to think alone then shift to a timed pair-share. In a timed pair-share, each member has the exact same amount of time to share their answer with a partner. This helped ensure that all students had equal time to share their thoughts. I immediately noticed that students were quiet or introverted began sharing more openly. Extroverted students started listening more. Many of my students with learning differences as well as multilingual students were far more likely to share in a partner conversation as well. If a student finished early, I would require their partner to ask follow-up questions.

7. Doing a Design Sprint First

In doing design thinking projects, I noticed that many students wanted to rush into the Create a Prototype phase. They were so excited about making something new that they became fixated on the hands-on making element. I had a hard time getting students to slow down and embrace the inquiry and research elements needed before ideation and prototyping. But then I tried something new. I took the entire project and turned it into a 45 minute sprint. Students moved quickly through each of the phases of the LAUNCH Cycle.

I then asked students, "If we did this again, what would you need from me?" Overwhelmingly, students described the need for time, for revision, and for additional prior knowledge. They had discovered, on their own, that great design sometimes takes time. As we then moved into a multi-week design thinking project, I would reference this design sprint as an experiential framework they could access. There was the sense of, "We've done this before. I know what to do now."

8. Paying Close Attention to Body Language and Voice

When I was in my practicum, I struggled with classroom management. I could keep students engaged by using humor, energy, and critical thinking questions. Students responded well to my approach and I embraced the notion of being a fun teacher. But then the assistant principal stopped by to observe me. He stopped by the classroom during my prep period and said, "Look, it's no secret we're going to hire you next year." He then offered a list of positive strategies he had observed. I was so excited. I had pretty much locked down a job as a social studies teacher.

But then he said, "But I want you remember that you don't teach in your head. You teach in a physical environment and you need to use that to your advantage."

For the rest of the prep period, he walked me through how to use space proximity when discipline issues occurred. He had me practice giving eye content. He walked me through how to change my posture, take deep breaths, and calmly correct students who were talking when I was talking. I practiced using my authoritative and approachable voice to send non-verbal expectations. At the end of this prep period, he handed me Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones and said, "Some of this might be too traditional for your style but remember that you can have high expectations for student behavior while also focusing on making the learning engaging and authentic."

That bay leaf changed my world. To this day, I still pay close attention to the concrete, physical reality of teaching. I've learned to monitor my body language. I still use a "raise your hand if you can hear me" approach to getting people's attention.

9. Changing the Negative to Positive Ratio on Feedback

When I get a course evaluation, I can have five positive comments but I will tend to fixate on the single negative comment. Similarly, if someone reviews my book on Amazon, I'm likely to pay more attention to the single negative review than the multiple positive reviews. It turns out, I'm not alone. What I'm experiencing is the negativity bias. Researchers Rozin and Royzman posited that both animals and humans to give greater weight to negative entities (experiences, events, objects, personal traits) over positive ones. It's not unlike Khaneman and Tversky's notion of prospect theory and loss aversion (we care more about not losing things rather than gaining things).

So, now imagine you have students giving each other "glows and grows" or doing a Harkness protocol or something like a 3-2-1 (three positives, two negatives, one question). Because of the negativity bias, many students will not pay attention to the important positive feedback because of this negativity bias. One bay leaf type solution has been to separate critical feedback and positive feedback based on time. This preps students to go into a peer feedback process knowing what to expect. Here, they might actually ask for specific critical feedback.

Another option is to change the ratio of negative to positive. Psychologists Barbara Fredrickson and Marcial Losada have suggested we use a "positivity ratio." Their research initially proposed that a ratio of about 3 positive interactions to 1 negative interaction is necessary to thrive in various domains. It should be noted that the positivity ratio has been contested, in terms of the mathematical analysis of the initial studies and the variability of each person and domain.

But there remains a solid set of research suggesting we need more positive feedback compared to negative feedback. For this reason, I have kept the ratio in my own feedback toward students at about 4 to 1. I've noticed that students seem more confident, more likely to make modifications based on the critical feedback, and better able to build on their strengths.

10. Reframing How I Ask for Feedback

In Adam Grant's latest book Hidden Potential, he describes a shift in asking for feedback. Instead of saying, "How did I do?" you shift to "What should I do differently next time?" This bay leaf of an idea can make a huge difference. When I ask, "What should I do differently?" it sends a signal that I'm looking for critical feedback. I'm inviting people to be candid in their response. It also focuses on growth and action. I'm more likely to get specific ideas.

In other words, asking "How did I do?" tends to solicit evaluative feedback, which might focus on past performance without necessarily providing actionable insights. Answers tend to be vague and positive. On the other hand, "What should I do differently next time?" directly seeks constructive feedback aimed at future actions, which is more likely to facilitate growth and learning. There's actually some solid research behind this idea. Framing questions in a way that focuses on future improvements may encourage more detailed and actionable responses, which can support growth and learning.

Every time I teach, I give my students a 4 question survey to help me improve in my craft. I rewrote the question, "What feedback would you give to your professor?" and changed it to "What advice would you give your professor for the next time he teaches this class?" I'm noticing more specific, practical ideas as a result.

11. Do a Concept Attainment Lesson Before Inquiry

I remember feeling disheartened when I read John Hattie's chart describing how ineffective inquiry-based learning was in its effect size on student learning. But then I saw a video where he described how inquiry-based learning is actually highly effective if we front-load vocabulary and do a concept attainment lesson first.

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So, this simple 35 minute process became a bay leaf in my PBL and inquiry-based process. I later added an explanation of the phases of a project, complete with a visual. I found that breaking the project down into parts and providing students with road map actually reduced their cognitive load.

12. C0lor Code Your Use of AI

I stole this idea of green, yellow, and red from AJ Juliani. The idea is that red is "no AI used at all," yellow is "some AI with significant human modifcation" and green is "created by AI." I changed it up because of the red-green color blind issue and set up a three color system where students could complete an assignment and define for me whether a section is AI-generated, AI-generated but modified by a human, human-generated but modified by AI (such as Grammarly feedback) and human generated with no AI usage. This is an idea I explored more in-depth in an article about how AI will change the essay.

The goal here is to shift from a gotcha form of catching plagiarism and toward a space of trust and transparency:

As a professor, I can look at an assignment and see, in a clearly visual way, the interplay between AI and human. I can see the way an AI-generated idea sparked an entirely new line of thinking that then led to something fully human. I can also see how students created significant modifications in their work.

So, I would love to hear from you. What are some of those bay leaves that you use in your classroom?

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A few years ago, I met a chef and asked him, "So, bay leaves? Do they even have a point? You can't taste them. You have to take them out. They seem to get in

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Boosting Engagement With Notices and Wonders

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When students make “I notice” and “I wonder” comments on course content, teachers can see what they know—and what they need to learn.

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"My daughter, who is six, just loves the journal and is excited to work in it. She's totally learning and talking about skills in a fun way and already making comments outside of journal time that show she's absorbing the growth mindset ideology. Love it!"
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Big Life Journal: Growth Mindset for Kids & Teens

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We create effective tools and resources to help kids and teens develop a growth mindset so they can face life's challenges with confidence and have every opportunity in life. Our products are based on the latest research, and that's what makes them so unique and effective.

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Figma is free for educators and students. Start using Figma in your classroom to design, prototype, and whiteboard.

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Using Padlet for virtual vocabulary instruction -

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Padlet is an excellent tool for virtual vocabulary instruction. See how easy it is for students to use padlet to share vocabulary word meanings.

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Join award-winning authors and illustrators for live read-alouds on the all new Storyvoice app!

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Quick activities that can be used to check for understanding or emphasize key information at the end of a lesson.

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Writing Across the Content Areas- basics

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Writing Across the Content Areas- basics

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Adler, M.J., & Van Doren, C. (1972). How to read a book. New York, NY: Touchstone.

Fearn, L., & Farnan, N. (2001). Interactions: Teaching writing and the language arts. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2007). Scaffolding writing instruction: A gradual release model. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Kasper-Ferguson, S., & Moxley, R.A. (2002). Developing a writing package with student graphing of fluency. Education and Treatment of Children, 25(2), 249-267.

Knipper, K.J., & Duggan, T.J. (2006). Writing to learn across the curriculum: Tools for comprehension in content area classes. The Reading Teacher, 59(5), 462-470.

McCarrier, A., Pinnell, G.S., & Fountas, I.C. (2000). Interactive writing: How language & literacy come together, K-2. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Washington, DC: Authors.

Nauman, A.D., Stirling, T., & Borthwick, A. (2011). What makes writing good? An essential question for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 64(6), 318-328.

Patterson, E., Schaller, M., & Clemens, J. (2008). A closer look at interactive writing. The Reading Teacher, 61(6), 496-497.

Rasinski, T.V. (2012). Why reading fluency should be hot!. The Reading Teacher, 65(8), 516-522.

Wall, H. (2008). Interactive writing beyond the primary grades. The Reading Teacher, 62(2), 149-152.

Williams, C., Sherry, T., Robinson, N., & Hungler, D. (2012). The practice page as a mediational tool for interactive writing instruction. The Reading Teacher, 65(5), 330-340.

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A Range of Writing Across the Content Areas

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Students must be taught to write and then be expected to write for a variety of purposes to a variety of audiences, including in mathematics, science, and social studies. As part of building the writing prowess of students, they must write routinely, both short and long pieces.

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Undoubtedly, the answer is that millions of people around the world would be listening to the speech, and thus he wanted his writing to be clear, precise, and flawless.

It should come as no surprise, then, that students care more about writing, revising, editing, proofreading, and perfecting their compositions when given a real-world audience. It's not just something that they've written for practice or a grade. It's a real piece of writing that will be read by real people in the real world.

5 Inspiring Strategies

Here are five successful writing strategies that I've used in my classroom to give students authentic audiences and motivate them to revise with gusto:

1. Self-Publishing Fiction

The world of self-publishing is more than just fan fiction and esoteric sci-fi. There are whole communities out there of budding writers sharing stories, giving each other feedback, and practicing the art of writing. Whatever kind of creative writing you do with your students, they can self-publish and connect with readers all over the world. Two of my favorite sites for students to self-publish are Wattpad and figment.

2. Recording Podcasts

This one comes with the added bonus that it forces students to read their writing aloud, which alerts them to all kinds of writing issues that would otherwise go unnoticed when reading silently. They can create podcasts about anything, but I've had students base them on National Public Radio's This I Believe series. Giving students the opportunity to literally voice their opinions is powerful stuff. Getting to share those opinions is even more powerful. PodBean is a great place for students to upload and share their podcasts with the world.

3. Blogging

As a blogger myself, I clearly value the power of writing short pieces concerning things that I'm passionate about. And guess what? So do students! They can create blogs about anything that interests them -- video games, sports, fashion, anything they choose. Not only will this passion-based writing energize them, but their words will also reach an audience that cares about the same things. I teach at a Google Apps for Education school, so having students create a public blog through Blogger is super easy, but edublogs, which is Wordpress' site targeted toward teachers and students, is also free.

4. Writing Correspondence

Learning to write letters, email, and other correspondence is an important skill in and of itself, but actually sending the correspondence to real people takes the lesson to a whole new level. I've had students write to prisoners of conscience around the world, with much success, as part of Amnesty International's Write for Rights campaign. However, students can also write to any public persona, such as a letter to their state governor about an issue facing their community, or an email to the author of a book they're reading. You could also go the old tried-and-true route of getting your students pen pals. Whatever you choose, the real power of this practice comes when students receive return correspondence. You can almost see their faces light up when they realize that their writing is deserving of a real-world response.

5. Making Videos for YouTube

The beauty of YouTube is that anyone can upload anything they want and instantly have an audience of millions. I've had students produce short, creative films based on books they were reading, but they can also create scripted how-to videos, screencasts, or interviews. This one is also great for giving students a chance to become amateur video editors and filmmakers -- not a bad bonus!

The Bigger Audience

Let's face it. Most of us middle- or high-school teachers are only one of about eight that our students will have during the course of a year. We might build great relationships with them and they might respect our opinion, but for most of them, they have a limit to how much they care about our assessment of their work. And can we blame them for this? Of course not. After countless assignments throughout the school year, the motivation for students to really care about impressing teachers with their writing must be pretty difficult to muster by the time, say, April rolls around.

For conventional writing assignments, students are usually trying to meet the expectations of one person -- the teacher who assigned it. However, with an authentic audience, students are driven by the knowledge that their writing will leave the school, go out into the world, and be judged not for their ability to respond to an assignment, but for their ability to reach other people through their writing.

Do you give your students authentic writing assignments? Does it motivate them? Please elaborate in the comments below.

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Why Revise? Because You Have an Authentic Audience | Edutopia

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Undoubtedly, the answer is that millions of people around the world would be listening to the speech, and thus he wanted his writing to be clear, precise, and flawless. It should come as no surprise, then, that students care more about writing, revising, editing, proofreading, and perfecting their compositions when given a real-world audience.

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3 Ways to Get Young Students Excited About Revising Their Writing

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Teachers can model revising for students in second and third grade and guide them through it in writing conferences.

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Looking for a new way to spark creativity in your students' writing? Try these video writing prompts.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is coming up, but the time is always ripe for encouraging students of every age to write. And how better to pique their interest and power up their pencils (or keyboards!) than with a video writing prompt? Just about any short, intriguing video can be made into a great writing prompt with the addition of a choice question or two, but I've put together a list of favorites discovered around the web. Happy writing!

Video Playlist: Video Writing Prompts for the Classroom

1. "A Cloudy Lesson" by Yezi Xue (01:58)
Short student films can provide ample fodder for creative work as illustrated by this whimsical thesis animation by Yezi Xue. Plus, it's free of dialogue, so students can write their own!

2. Crossroads Video Writing Prompt by Denise M. Cassano (01:47)
Arts educator Denise Cassano creates short films filled with ambiguous images meant to encourage critical thinking. Check out this worksheet of questions to accompany her illustrations and this article she wrote for Edutopia about using art to inspire creative writing.

3. Ken Robinson on Flourishing (02:42)
RSA Shorts are animated snapshots of big ideas from speakers that pose big questions. This one, from education luminary Sir Ken Robinson, is a particular favorite of mine. Ask your high school students: What would enable you to find your passion?

4. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (03:27)
Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is a classic source for visual writing prompts. Check out this student-produced video that describes why these timeless, eerie illustrations provide such fertile ground for young writers.

5. TrueMove H: Giving (03:03)
Popular advertisements, like this cell phone ad out of Thailand with more than 20 million views, can be great for writing prompts if they get kids thinking. This one has a twist that tugs on the heartstrings.

6. Writing Idea: You Just Discovered a Magical Movie Theater (00:56)
John Spencer is a professor and author who is passionate about creativity in the classroom, and he also makes sketch videos, including this list of nine animated writing prompts to use with students.

7. Education Is... (01:31)
TeachHUB offers a bounty of video writing prompts and accompanying lesson ideas by grade band for recent movie trailers, videos about current events and holidays, and even popular ads. Here are lesson ideas to go with Education Is.

Watch the first video below, or watch the whole playlist on YouTube.

More Resources to Encourage Creative Writing

The list above shows that you can turn almost any short video into a solid writing prompt. Of course, video is only one of hundreds of ways you can motivate and inspire young writers. I've gathered a few resources below if you need fresh ideas for videos and beyond. What are your favorite ways to engage kids in creative writing? Share in the comments section below.

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5-Minute Film Festival: 7 Video Writing Prompts for Young Authors

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Looking for a new way to spark creativity in your students' writing? Try these video writing prompts. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is coming up, but the time is always ripe for encouraging students of every age to write. And how better to pique their interest and power up their pencils (or keyboards!)

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Assigning More Writing—With Less Grading

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Check out four best practices for teaching writing that can help you improve student learning without creating a mountain of grading work.

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Students today are digital natives who need to develop the 4 Cs -critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Comics are perfectly situated for use in developing these competencies, and they work across grade levels-a single story may have the capacity to speak to both elementary and secondary school students.

Raina Telgemeier's , for example, might be classified for around fifth grade based on reading level, but this story of a girl struggling with anxiety that manifests itself in stomach ailments can reach any high school student, regardless of gender, who is trying to cope with bullying, test taking, family issues, and more.

Similarly, George Takei's They Called Us Enemy, a memoir of his childhood experience living in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II, is appropriate for both fifth-grade English language arts and 11th-grade U.S. History.

Teachers working to help students consider the way words and images combine to produce a single panel's composition may want to check out Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. And Nick Sousanis's Spin Weave and Cut offers practical annotation projects for thinking about comics in the classroom.

Comics' dual languages-verbal and visual-give them the range and depth to foster the 4 Cs across the curriculum, both when students analyze comics and when they create them as products to demonstrate their learning.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking incorporates an array of higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis, evaluation, interpretation, problem-solving, and systems thinking. Even a simple three-panel comic can elicit many of these skills as students read. They must pay attention to literary details such as narration, setting, characterization, and symbolism, and visual elements including line, shape, color, and contrast.

Students can also develop interpretive skills by thinking about comics' specific language of word and thought balloons, sound effects, lettering, how the gutter-the space between panels-is used, and panel layouts and sequencing.

An extraordinary quality of comics that is ripe for student interpretation is their ability to collapse time and space in a single panel, i.e., to turn space into time and time into space. For example, students could take a single panel from Richard McGuire's comic Here and interpret it in terms of how space and time are represented through elements inherent to comics.

McGuire uses a panel to double as a window that, in turn, simulates a computer screen, conveying multiple timelines in a single space. The entire comic takes place in one corner of a room in a house. Panels within panels, combined with sparse text, stretch the building's history back to the prehistoric period and project it forward into the future. Who occupied this house at different points in time, and what do the occupants' activities say about family life and history at a different moment? Who might occupy the house in 20 years, and what will they be doing? What will society look like at that future time? These questions cascade from a single panel, and the history of the building becomes a palimpsest for history itself. There's a lot for a student to unpack.

Communication

In comics, verbal interpretation must always also be visual interpretation, and that interpretation, as Kerry Freedman argues in a collection of essays on comics in the classroom that I edited, is complex: We visualize the totality of an image, a more synchronous perspective than the temporal dynamic of reading words one after another. Consequently, comics allow for a different form of multimedia communication appropriate to today's visual culture.

Students' everyday writing typically consists of texts, tweets, Instagram posts, and other truncated forms of communication, and teachers can use comics to demonstrate how brevity conveys key information in such shortened formats. In a comic, dialogue and narration distill a message to its essence.

Have students take a page from their favorite short story and adapt the 250 or so words into 10 words for a three-panel sequence. You can also do this with any piece of prose from a textbook, a lab exercise, or directions on how to do something. Students don't have to draw the three panels-they can use comics creation tools like Pixton or Storyboard That to generate panels, word balloons, caption boxes, background art, and generic premade characters.

This exercise will foster students' ability to communicate clearly and concisely with concrete detail.

Collaboration and Creativity

Comics are inherently collaborative. Ordinarily, a comic book requires a writer, an illustrator, a colorist, and a letterer, in addition to a managing editor. In the same way, students from primary school to high school can work together on creating a comic. Divide students into teams and assign a topic that speaks to them or the world they inhabit-e.g., attending school at home during a pandemic. I prefer the term teams instead of groups because team implies a coordinated unit working toward a common goal. Plus all students are familiar with superhero teams-the Avengers, Teen Titans, etc.

The process of making a comic together necessarily involves collaborative, creative problem-solving. How will students represent a virus, if they're making a comic about the pandemic? And will they reimagine what a superhero is? The staff in an emergency room converging on a new patient could be a super-powered team.

In creating an original work, a student must think critically about how to address their issue or topic, communicate about the words and pictures they'll use, collaborate on the roles each team member will play, and be creative in actually making the product of their learning. Comics and the 4 Cs go together like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, paper and pencil, or tablet and touch.

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Students today are digital natives who need to develop the 4 Cs -critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Comics are perfectly situated for use in developing these competencies, and they work across grade levels-a single story may have the capacity to speak to both elementary and secondary school students.

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Roll-a-Games can be used during your literacy or math blocks. During the game, students work in partnerships, or independently. Play begins when the first player rolls the 6-sided die. Players take turns rolling and drawing the parts based on what...

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A Year of Picture Prompts: Over 160 Images to Inspire Writing (Published 2017)

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These short, accessible, image-driven posts feature photographs and illustrations from The Times, and invite a variety of written or spoken responses.

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Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary

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The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet’s go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone.

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Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
Learn more

Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
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Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
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Slido is the ultimate Q&A and polling platform for live and virtual meetings and events. It offers interactive Q&A, live polls and insights about your audience.

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How to use stickers and memes in Microsoft Teams

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Adding audio feedback to Teams assignments (via class notebook)

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Instead of groans at the beginning of a writing lesson, your class were excited to pick up their pencils and you were the teacher that sparked their imaginations!

Even your most reluctant writers are generating adventurous vocabulary, perfecting punctuation and filling the page with no signs of stopping!

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Engage even your most reluctant writers with inspiring images, fun writing prompts and daily short burst writing activities that improve writing stamina.

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Explore a range of commonly taught grammar principles for elementary and middle schoolers with these short, fun videos and activities. From the difference between dependent and independent clauses to the correct usage of semicolons, let these resources guide you through the intricacies (and perils!) of everyday grammar.

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Mentor Texts for Documenting this Pandemic time period

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Mentor Texts for Documenting this Pandemic time period

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100-Plus Mentor Texts for Documenting Your Life in 2020 (Published 2020)

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Work by teenagers and adults, in a variety of mediums and genres, that can inspire your own account of this extraordinary year.

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Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

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PBS LearningMedia | Teaching Resources For Students And Teachers

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Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards.

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Interactive Learning Experiences Around the World

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Interactive Learning Experiences Around the World

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Give your students the opportunity to meet experts in the field, go behind the scenes and experience the BEST of CILC content provider programming! Consider Virtual Expeditions as your "taste test" in discovering the diversity of what we have to offer.

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Center for Interactive Learning - Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration

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Give your students the opportunity to meet experts in the field, go behind the scenes and experience the BEST of CILC content provider programming! Consider Virtual Expeditions as your "taste test" in discovering the diversity of what we have to offer.

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When you tell your five year old kids that they'll be out of school for two weeks to take precautionary actions to maintain their safety but those two weeks turn into two months. Then, those two months turn into possibly the last time you'll physically be with your class for the rest of the school year. These are kids that I've spent most weekdays with: eating breakfast, chasing "aha" moments, and giving high fives, big hugs and wiggly knees before we enter or leave the classroom. I've been there for some of their most memorable moments at this point in their five years of life. We've laughed, cried, danced, sang, played, painted, hopped, skipped, jumped and oh, so much more. And when someone lost a tooth, we all searched around the classroom looking in every crayon, toy and block bin because we, as class, knew how special that was to a five year old. So what do you do? Do you send off your students with a two week packet and hope for the best? Or when your families or administrators ask that you provide continuity of learning to your kids virtually, you step up to the plate.

Is the first step to take out your planbook and begin mapping out your online academic content? What do you do with your new normal? What does distance learning look like for our younger kids? Where do you start?

1. Reach-out and Check-In with Students and Parents

First and foremost, reach out to your families and check-in with them. Consider using a communication platform like Seesaw that you can plug in family contact information into. Sometimes it's not as easy as one call away. It may be more than two calls away or even the emergency contact that they listed. I know it's out of the way and may not be part of your job. Imagine being one of those kids who has been cooped up in their home, away from their friends and stripped of their routine of learning and play. Then imagine that kid getting a call from their teacher. In my experience, tears were rolling down both sides of the phone. These efforts in times like this are necessary to show your kids you care! The next step is to build your community back up.

2. Host Social Gatherings for Students to Interact with Each Other

You may want to go from interacting one on one with your families to allowing your kids to see and interact with each other. When picking a platform, choose one to not only build connections with parents and families but to provide students an opportunity to communicate with each other. This learning community can be accessed in two ways: live interactions and student-based interactions.

Kids at the primary age are social so you may want to start with social gatherings. They're low stake opportunities for your class to build community especially while becoming familiar with communication through an online platform. I like to let them know that it's okay if they only want to show their face partially or that they can turn off the camera until they're comfortable. Give your kids an opportunity to become comfortable by introducing family members and pets. Build excitement through the anticipation of what they will share the next day. Tell them to bring something from their "new classroom" to share with the class!

3. Arrange a Virtual Spirit Week

Our school put together a virtual spirit week in which students would dress up for each of our virtual gatherings. My students were so excited to see each other after a few days of being away from each other that they spent the first five minutes making silly faces in the camera and just saying hi. These are also good times to teach rules, expectations and online learning etiquette (also known as the mute button especially for unnecessary background noises).

4. Include Parents in Learning/ Teaching Experiences

On "Whatcha Reading Day" a parent shared that she was unable to go to the library. Instead that parent found her childhood books. Holding back tears she shared with our whole class, students and families, how special it was to finally sit down with her daughter to read, teach and learn alongside her. In the corner of my screen I saw another student hold her parents hand out to make the sign we use to show someone that we agree. At that very moment, I realized that we were building our online community: students, parents, family members and myself. Parents began to share what they have been doing at home to support their kids learning. And they were great ideas!

As one parent noted:

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to experience students and parents co-learning. I especially love watching parents learn from their kids. Take advantage of the times that you have with family members in these gatherings as they support their kids. Include parents in the process, conversations and activities. I took all the ideas and ran with them. We decided to have a read aloud each day presented by both my student and their family member.

5. Include Opportunities for Asynchronous Participation

Not all students are going to be able to make these live social gatherings. Be mindful that many families have jobs. Some may have multiple kids with only one device. Students can still be involved by uploading videos. Provide opportunities for your kids to interview your parents, record your read alouds, reflect on your activities and upload them onto a classroom platform like Seesaw. You can later respond to students, praise their efforts and show them you care about them and their learning. Build connections on your online platform by allowing your kids to see, like and respond to each other's work. Watch what this looks like in our class here.

Whether or not we return to school by the end of the year, remember that we are all in this together. Be kind to yourself, families, and your students or teachers. At the end of the day, if they have a roof over their heads, food to eat and they're safe, the next step is to have a sense of belonging. Take the time to build a sense of community and remember those kids who need to be and feel loved. Our new normal can still be together: eating breakfast, chasing "aha" moments, and giving high fives, big hugs and wiggly knees virtually at home!

Thank you for your efforts!

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5 virtual ways to build a classroom community

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5 Virtual Ways to Build a Classroom Community | PBS Education

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When you tell your five year old kids that they'll be out of school for two weeks to take precautionary actions to maintain their safety but those two weeks turn into two months. Then, those two months turn into possibly the last time you'll physically be with your class for the rest of the school year.

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150 Resources from the New York times for Teaching About the Coronavirus

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150 Resources from the New York times for Teaching About the Coronavirus

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This cross-curricular resource collection, including math, history, science and music, helps students process, deepen and challenge their understanding of the pandemic and its effects on our society.

Since January, The Learning Network has published over 150 resources to help students process, deepen and challenge their understanding of the pandemic and its far-reaching effects on our society.

Via our daily writing prompts, we've asked students to share their experiences: finding joy in the face of isolation, staying fit, and managing social distancing and online schooling. Through our daily lesson plans, we've encouraged students to explore topics like the science of the virus, the history of global pandemics and the effects of social class.

Our graphs have encouraged students to analyze how interventions can slow the spread of the coronavirus, and our short films have helped students consider how the crisis has contributed to growing racism and inequality - and a need for ice cream. We also have a quiz to help educate students on the basics.

While our regular daily and weekly features are on hiatus during the summer, we'll be back in September with many more resources for the new school year. Let us know what else we might add to this collection as the world continues to battle the virus by making a comment or emailing us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.

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In Málaga, Spain, Marcos Moreno Maldonado makes drawings that weave around his words, keeping a diary that is botanical, beautiful and strange. Keeping a journal is just one of 12 writing projects we suggest for students. Related Article | Related Resource Collection Credit... Marcos Moreno Maldonado

Every day of the school year, we publish a fresh Student Opinion question that invites students to read a Times article and respond with their own ideas. Some of our questions ask students to make an argument, while others invite personal writing. Teachers tell us that these daily opinion questions are a good opportunity to practice writing for an authentic audience.

An emergency hospital in Kansas during the 1918 influenza epidemic. Related Article | Related Lesson Credit... National Museum of Health and Medicine

Each week in " What's Going On in This Graph? " we spotlight an engaging graph previously published elsewhere in The Times and pair it with a simple set of questions: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you think is going on in this graph?

The Times asked Olympic and Paralympic athletes from around the world to make videos about the postponed Summer Games, and what life is like stuck at home. Related Film Club Lesson

Each week in Film Club we feature a short documentary film from The Times - most are under 10 minutes - and ask students to think about themes like race and gender identity, technology and society, civil rights, criminal justice, ethics, and artistic and scientific exploration.

To encourage thoughtful and honest dialogue, we pose open-ended questions: What moments in this film stood out for you? Were there any surprises? Anything that challenged what you know - or thought you knew? What messages, emotions or ideas will you take away from this film? What questions do you still have?

Film Club entries explored how the pandemic is exposing education's digital divide; how it is bringing out fears, stereotypes, xenophobia and racism; and life lessons for navigating our difficult times from an astronaut.
Are Ice Cream Trucks Essential? In These N.Y.C. Neighborhoods, They Are Concert for One: I.C.U. Doctor Brings Classical Music to Coronavirus Patients

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Writing Prompts, Lesson Plans, Graphs and Films: 150 Resources for Teaching About the Coronavirus Pandemic

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This cross-curricular resource collection, including math, history, science and music, helps students process, deepen and challenge their understanding of the pandemic and its effects on our society. Since January, The Learning Network has published over 150 resources to help students process, deepen and challenge their understanding of the pandemic and its far-reaching effects on our society.

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Technologies we like for remote learning

The move to remote learning is enhanced by the wide availability of technology that would have made such a transition much more difficult only a few years ago.

The educational technology market has exploded with new products in recent years - as has technology in general, as more and more companies move to remote work. This reality is certainly something that PBL teachers can leverage, given the fact that many projects intentionally blend traditional learning and the type of work that's happening in our communities.

Here are some of the tech tools we like for connection and collaboration...

For individual & group meetings

Whole class, project team, or one-on-one meetings can now be done with Webex, Google Meet, and Zoom (including relatively short meetings with small teams via their free option), or with Whereby.

For white boards, brainstorming

Mural and Explain Everything are virtual white boards that can be used not only for targeted instruction, but are also fantastic for remote brainstorming and problem ideation.

For student project management

Trello is an example of a tool that helps individual students keep track of project action items and share them with their project teams - a really valuable skill students need to master regardless of context.

For customized online instruction

Teachers can take advantage of Nearpod as a way to create customized online instruction that targets the individual needs of each student. Or students can explore classes and online clubs with apps like Tract.

For younger students

Many of the K-2 teachers we know are using SeeSaw as the tech platform for kids to view and respond to lessons. Teachers can provide feedback on kids' work right in the application, too.

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Technologies we like for remote learning

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Here are some of the technology tools we like for activities in our PBL remote classroom - including individual and group meetings, brainstorming, project management, and customized instruction.

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Fast drawing for everyone. AutoDraw pairs machine learning with drawings from talented artists to help you draw stuff fast.

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Instructables - free engaging lessons K-12

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Instructables - free engaging lessons K-12

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Instructables is committed to helping teachers inspire, engage, and prepare students through hands-on projects to make in the classroom. Always free, and always fun, come explore projects for your next classroom lesson!

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Instructables is committed to helping teachers inspire, engage, and prepare students through hands-on projects to make in the classroom. Always free, and always fun, come explore projects for your next classroom lesson!

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Practice addition, multiplication, fractions and algebraic reasoning with our popular math games. Discover fun learning games kids love to play.

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AnswerGarden is a new minimalistic brainstorm tool for online brainstorming, real time audience participation and classroom feedback.

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Online trainings for learning to use Nearpod

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Online trainings for learning to use Nearpod

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Resources to get the most out of your Nearpod experience

Attend a live webinar

Seeing is believing! Come see the Nearpod magic in action and get ideas you can take back to your school and classroom.

Click on the event to see more options. Those who register will receive recordings even if they cannot attend.

*Webinar schedule is listed in your local time zone

Looking for on-demand webinars and trainings? Explore our full library ⟶

How can we help?

Bookmark the Nearpod Blog

Get new ideas and inspiration to bring to your next lesson!

Read more articles like these on our blog ⟶

Join the teacher Facebook community

Connect with educators from across the world and get real-time support and feedback from other Nearpod teachers.

Join now

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Find teacher resources to take student engagement to the next level. Explore Nearpod training materials including live webinars, on-demand resources, FAQs and more!

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vetted sources for apps and sites

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Common Sense Education provides educators and students with the resources they need to harness the power of technology for learning and life. Find a free K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum, reviews of popular EdTech apps, and resources for protecting student privacy.

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Our step-by-step grade-specific Get Started Guides have everything you need to introduce Seesaw to your students including the Seesaw Student Challenge, task cards, and badges and certificates!

When students complete the Seesaw Student Challenge, you can be confident that they have the basics covered when it comes to independently document their learning with Seesaw, plus they'll have a few new entries in their journal.

Getting Started Guides

Preschool - 2nd Grade Getting Started Guide

3rd Grade - 5th Grade Getting Started Guide Grades 6+ Getting Started Guide

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Our step-by-step grade-specific Get Started Guides have everything you need to introduce Seesaw to your students including the Seesaw Student Challenge, task cards, and badges and certificates! When students complete the Seesaw Student Challenge, you can be confident that they have the basics covered when it comes to independently document their learning with Seesaw, plus they'll have a few new entries in their journal.

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Our screen capture tools help you easily create, edit and communicate with videos and images. Simple and intuitive tools to share your ideas.

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With ScreenPal I've been able to extend my expertise and automate some of my more routine tasks by creating high-quality video content and feedback, which then frees up my time for more personalized mentorship.

Cal Poly University Professor and founder and CEO of Mentorship Academy

ScreenPal's user-friendly interface and seamless integration into our existing teaching methods made it an obvious choice. From day one, it was clear that ScreenPal was not just another tech tool; it was a catalyst for active learning and collaboration.

Technology Integration and Innovation Coordinator, Arlington ISD

We use ScreenPal internally to create and manage all of the videos we share with educators. ScreenPal makes it easy to create videos with a consistent, branded look and feel, and then to share all of those videos from a central repository.

Chief Program Officer, The Modern Classrooms Project

Join millions of people communicating through video.

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At ScreenPal, we don't believe that video recording and editing should be difficult, or cost a fortune. Our simple and intuitive tools help you get the job done easily.

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CK-12- free online textbooks and activities

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CK-12- free online textbooks and activities

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Digital graphic organizers can be used on all devices and with many free apps, websites, and programs. Get 25 digital graphic organizers FREE and learn how to use them in Seesaw, Google Slides, and Pic Collage!

By using graphic organizers digitally, you can save paper and give students many options to customize and personalize their work.

Get the Free Digital Graphic Organizers

I create and save my graphic organizers as an image file since they will give the most flexibility as far as how and where they can be used. Grab the set of graphic organizers by signing up to my newsletter. If you have already joined, you can find the download in the free resource library.

The set of 25 images comes with colored and transparent backgrounds. I love to use transparent graphic organizers to give students even more control over the final look of their work. Or you can add backgrounds that fit the theme or activity before assigning to students.

Sharing Digital Graphic Organizers with Students

After downloading, you will need to share the organizers. I recommend using Google Drive for this - upload them to a folder and share the link to the folder with students either via Google Classroom or another secure site. Students can then make copies of the organizers to add to their own Google Drive.

*If you are using my organizers, please do not share them or uploading them publicly.

Many teachers prefer sharing via Seesaw. If you have a strong connection, you can share via AirDrop too!

I suggest frontloading students with all of the digital graphic organizers in the beginning of the year so they have them either in their Drive (if using Chromebooks) or in their camera roll (if using iPads). That way you only have to share them once.

Have students create a folder in their Drive or Camera Roll called "Graphic Organizers" to find them quickly.

Using Digital Graphic Organizers on Google Slides

After receiving a copy, students can set the graphic organizers with the colored backgrounds as the background in Google Slides or Google Drawing. They can then add text boxes and image on top of the organizer.

However, I like my students to be able to change the background and still use the organizer. To do that, I create and share a Master Slide on Google Slides. In Google Slides, click View > Master Slides. I add a new slide and title it the name of the organizer. Next, I insert the transparent graphic organizer AS AN IMAGE right on top of the slide. I leave the background white.

Then I assign this slideshow to students in Google Classroom. The image will be locked down BUT students can still edit and add their own background!

Using Digital Graphic Organizers on Seesaw

Have students set one of the graphic organizers with colored backgrounds as a background in Seesaw. From there they can draw, add text and Emojis to complete it.

Seesaw will not allow the background to be changed and does not allow pictures to be layered. So you will be more limited with Seesaw, but it is a great way to get students used to organizing their ideas digitally.

Using Digital Graphic Organizers on Pic Collage

If you use iPads, I recommend Pic Collage for completing digital graphic organizers because you can layer images, add text, emojis, and even draw!

Pic Collage has an in-app web search so students can even add pictures right from the web.

Pictures can be edited, cropped and duplicated too. Pic Collage creations can be shared in SeeSaw since they save as an image.

On Pic Collage, after sharing the digital graphic organizer, students save it to their camera roll as an image.

If using the colored background organizer on Pic Collage:

1. Select plus then background.

2. Touch the image icon to open the camera roll.

3. Select the organizer and it locks down as a background.

4. Add pictures from the camera roll, text, Emojis and search the web to add content to the organizer.

If you are using the transparent version on Pic Collage:

1. Press the plus then image and select the organizer. This inserts it onto the collage as an image.

2. Pinch to stretch it to fit the canvas.

3. Lightly "shake" their iPad and select "Straighten" to make sure it is straight.

4. Press plus and choose Background.

5. Touch the search icon and search the web for a background.

6. Save the template, open a new Pic Collage and set the template just created as the background (so it doesn't move around when text, images, and Emojis are added).

Assignments for Digital Graphic Organizers

The 25 templates in the free resource library can be used in any subject area with all grade levels. I left a white rectangle for you or students to title the graphic organizer. You can use them to:

Practice applying a certain reading skill.

Use organizers to practice problem-solving in math.

Plan a piece of writing.

Create visual notes in science and social studies.

Since the organizers are digital, students can add photos, text, Emojis and even images from the web - so the potential for creation and opportunity to "show what they know" is almost limitless!

With younger students, I suggest assigning specific organizers for specific tasks. I suggest giving older students more choices as to how they want to organize their information. So for example, if you want them to take notes on 3 characters from a novel, they may opt to use various organizers depending on the amount of text or pictures they include.

Digital graphic organizers also make differentiating a breeze since you can assign different organizers to different students.

How Do You Use Digital Graphic Organizers?

Any ideas I missed or programs you recommend for using digital graphic organizers? Also, be sure to tag me if you are using my digital graphic organizers in the classroom!

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Free Digital Graphic Organizers and How to Use Them

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Digital graphic organizers can be used on all devices and with many free apps, websites, and programs. Get 25 digital graphic organizers FREE and learn how to use them in Seesaw, Google Slides, and Pic Collage! By using graphic organizers digitally, you can save paper and give students many options to customize and personalize their work.

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Sponsored by World101 and ViewSonic

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. When you make a purchase through these links, Cult of Pedagogy gets a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.

Early in March, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a domino effect of school closures. Overnight, educators were forced to rethink their instruction as they moved online. Thankfully, most aren't comfortable simply replacing themselves with cookie-cutter, ready-made content built without the unique needs of their students in mind. They miss their students, and their students miss them, so they are willing to put in the hard work to ensure that their authentic teaching styles remain intact. This should not be a surprise to anyone who understands the art of teaching; technology simply cannot replace teachers.

One of the most effective ways to move instruction online is to build screencast videos. Screencast videos are unique because they are actual recordings of your computer screen or tablet as opposed to a video of an in-person lecture. They are a powerful way to deliver instruction, but they do require a fair amount of time and planning, which I have learned through a lot of trial and error. Building effective screencasts continues to be the barrier that stops educators from making a smooth transition to distance learning, so I have put together the following tips to help guide you through the process.

My Own Screencast Journey

As an educator myself, I spent several years developing screencasts and making mistakes along the way. I was fed up with lecturing and was determined to find a better way to tailor my instruction to students' needs. I knew technology could be a powerful tool to amplify my impact, but I wasn't willing to replace my lectures with a disembodied voice on a screen who didn't know my students. So five years ago, I made the commitment to eliminate lectures from my classroom and replace them with instructional videos I created myself. This allowed me to facilitate a blended, self-paced, mastery-based classroom built on the backbone of high quality feedback and differentiated instruction:

Years later, I left the classroom to launch The Modern Classrooms Project, a nonprofit that equips and empowers educators to create blended, self-paced, mastery-based classrooms of their own. Through our in-person trainings and our Modern Classroom Essentials* course, we have supported teachers as they learn how to:

Plan and record their own instructional videos

Build student-friendly websites for instructional content

Design effective self-paced learning experiences for students at all levels

The following tips align with what we teach participants about creating their own instructional videos.

Start with the Research

When launching distance learning and meeting students' needs, it can be tempting to dive head first into instructional video creation without actually understanding what works. But before you start investing countless hours of time and energy constructing videos, it's important to understand what the research says about cultivating engagement.

Video Length

The research on how long instructional videos should be is incredibly clear and tells a simple narrative: Keep it short. The ideal length should be under 6 minutes. Between 6 and 9 minutes, engagement drops slightly.

Image from Brame, 2015.

After 9 minutes, engagement drops considerably, and if your video is over 12 minutes, you have a real problem on your hands. It is important to note that the majority of these studies have been conducted on young adults, so for younger students try to keep it 6 minutes or under (Brame, 2015).

These time recommendations can make educators anxious. It can be hard to imagine how to synthesize concepts or skills in such a short span of time. One of the beauties of instructional video creation is it forces you to think about delivering content in a lean way. What is essential? What is not? And where can students discover the content for themselves without you walking them through the process?

A simple way to make videos short is by chunking more frequently. Educators are used to thinking about lessons in 45-, 60-, or 90-minute blocks of time. When you use instructional videos, those constraints disappear. A 10-minute lecture that is designed as part of a 60-minute lesson can be chunked into two 5-minute videos, each of which then becomes part of a 30-minute lesson (Ibrahim et al., 2012).

It also helps to speak quickly and enthusiastically. Teachers are used to speaking slowly and enunciating very clearly, but that is not necessary in a screencast; in fact, it can be quite boring. Instead, speak fast and use conversational language to bring your authentic self into the picture (Guo et al., 2014). Don't worry that students won't be able to follow if you speak too quickly; they can always rewind the video and watch sections again. And don't be afraid to make mistakes-a few of these will make your video sound more genuine.

Video Design

Next let's talk about design principles. First off, minimize text (Guo et al., 2014). Nothing is less engaging than an instructional video with a whole bunch of typed up text. It is especially redundant when you simply read the text during the recording. You might as well just send them a document and have them read it over instead. When possible, always accompany what you say with visuals (Brame, 2015).

Second, instructional videos do not need to be pretty; they need to be personal. Your students want to hear from you; otherwise you could just send them existing videos from YouTube. Research has shown that engagement increases when students know their own teacher is behind the screen delivering the instruction (Li et al., 2016).

Lastly, interactivity is engaging. Embedding pop-up questions into your videos provides great checks for understanding. Moreover, accompanying videos with guided notes helps kids stay focused and ensures that the information travels with them to their next task or assignment (Lawson et al., 2006; Vural, 2013; Zhang et al., 2006).

Don't Forget to Plan First

As with any lesson, good advance planning is essential. Don't just find a software, fire it up and start screencasting. This usually leads to long, dry videos that generally disregard the research. When we train educators to build instructional videos, we tell them that the large bulk of the work will be equal parts planning and recording. The rest of the time is devoted to enhancing your videos and sharing them out with your students.

In most cases, planning your video means putting together the visuals. We find the easiest tools for this are PowerPoint or Google Slides: You'd design the slideshow, then present that as the visual component of your screencast while narrating with your voice. Depending on the content area, these slide decks can look quite different from one another, but the best ones are highly visual and include a nice balance of new information and examples, with as little text as possible.

Other educators will use guided notes instead of slides. If you have already built a nice series of guided notes that would accompany your in-person lectures, those can work really well as the background of your instructional video. Whether you use a slideshow or guided notes, about 40 percent of the time you spend building your screencast should be spent preparing this part.

Finding the Right Recording Tool

If you haven't noticed already, there seems to be an endless stream of edtech products that all allow you to accomplish very similar tasks. This is especially the case for screencasting, so to keep things simple, I'll just recommend a few tools I know are good. Once you've learned those, it's pretty easy to transfer those skills to other tools you might want to try.

The big distinction in screencasting tools depends on whether you have a touchscreen device. While not required, touchscreen devices with styluses (tablets and 2-in-1 laptops) unleash a whole new frontier of functionality. Here is how you should think about the two options:

Interactive Whiteboards

(for touchscreen devices only)

If you have a touchscreen device, we encourage educators to use screencasting tools that serve as interactive whiteboards. Our favorite is Explain Everything. The beauty of a tool like Explain Everything is it acts like a highly interactive digital whiteboard with a built-in recorder and editing tool. More importantly, you get to control the background of your whiteboard. Instead of writing on a blank canvas, you're able to upload visuals-slide decks or guided notes-to become the background of your interactive whiteboard.

Here is an example of one of my Explain Everything videos: Independent vs. Dependent Variables.

For educators looking to learn how to use Explain Everything and all of its tools, you can access our comprehensive tutorial on our online course* or by clicking directly here: Explain Everything Tutorial. If you do go this route, make sure you have a stylus to annotate. We recommend the Meko Universal Stylus because it is affordable but allows for really clean and clear annotations with a high level of precision.

Traditional Screencasters

If you do not have a touchscreen device (most people don't) then do not worry! Traditional screencasters will still get the job done. With the right planning in place, you can create really high-quality, engaging videos. When picking an effective screencaster, you want to look for one that gives you a high level of flexibility, strong editing tools, annotation capabilities, and a webcam function. The most important editing function is the capacity to "truncate." This allows you to scroll to a specific point in a video and re-record when you make an inexcusable mistake without having to redo the whole thing.

Our favorite screencaster is Screencast-O-Matic. It is really easy to use and has all the functionality you need. The free version is ok, but the paid version is worth the upgrade for the added features. Here is our full Screencast-O-Matic Tutorial which can also be found on our online course*. There are many other screencasters out there with similar functionality. The product does not really matter much if it covers all the key components; in the end, it will come down to how you use it.

Since it is difficult to annotate or write using a traditional screencaster, you have to make up for that lack of functionality with animations; these allow you to show lines of text or bullet points one at a time, as you're speaking, rather than all at once. This minimizes the stress that students feel to write down everything immediately, and keeps them focused on each point of your video as you discuss it. Slide decks that are animated to slow-release information lead to far more engaging videos for students. But make sure the animations are simple and have a purpose. Avoid flashy animations and unnecessary sound effects; they prove to be more distracting than beneficial.

Recording: The Most Relaxing Part

Once you have selected your screencasting program and completed the planning process, it's time to start recording. For some educators, this is anxiety producing. Do your best to relax; the more authentic you are, the better.

Before you start, make sure you are in a quiet room and try to get headphones with a mic. For years I have used simple apple headphones with a mic. If you are looking for a more advanced option, consider a headset with an adjustable mic. When you are recording, you should have one goal in mind: Never speak without doing something on the screen.

Interactive Whiteboard (only if you have a touchscreen device): When using an interactive whiteboard, this is a relatively easy task. When possible, write on the screen. If you are reading text or images, constantly annotate.

Traditional Screencasters: When using a traditional screencaster, this can be a little more challenging. As you read text or discuss images on the screen, consider using your on-screen pen or cursor-just as you might use a finger in person-to follow along with the text. When possible, underline and circle key information. This is when animations will make your life a lot easier (Ibrahim et al., 2012).

Remember not to get bogged down in little mistakes. When they do happen, use the truncate function as opposed to re-recording. If you're feeling nervous, consider writing out a script for yourself. Speak quickly and genuinely and before you know it, you will have a solid and engaging video.

Making it Interactive

Once you are done recording your video, consider how you can make it interactive. You can build a fantastic video that follows all the right research, but without tools designed to ensure students are following along, there is a good chance they will inevitably check out.

Research shows that two simple strategies can increase student engagement with instructional videos:

Embedded Questions

One of the most important features of in-person lectures or discussions is the check for understanding. It is both an opportunity for teachers to get a temperature check on student learning and a chance for students to identify their own misconceptions. The problem with most checks for understanding is that they only engage a small percentage of students. That is not the case with instructional videos. When you upload your videos to a platform like Edpuzzle, you can embed questions and comments at key points in the video that EVERY student has to engage with. We recommend that you use closed-response (multiple-choice) questions so that students get immediate feedback on their responses. If you want to track responses, you can build classes on Edpuzzle to track the data. Here's our tutorial on how to use Edpuzzle.

Guided Notes

An easy way to ensure kids are paying attention during an instructional video is to require the completion of guided notes. The challenge is making sure that your notes support learning as opposed to being an unnecessary and tedious barrier. (For an overview of how to put guided notes together, click here.) As your students watch your videos, they should take notes on key content. If you require students to take freehand notes, you will find that some will flourish, but the large bulk will struggle. It will also extend the video watching experience and in turn take away from the rest of the lesson which is likely more engaging. Instead, consider simply providing students with copies of your slides-on paper or digitally-and allowing them to annotate these slides with you as they follow along. If you are not comfortable with that, provide an explicit note-taking model for students, such as Cornell notes, to provide them with a clear structure.

The enhancing phase of building instructional videos is easy to overlook. But it should only take 10-20 minutes per video and can have a major impact on engagement.

Next Steps on Your Screencasting Journey

Like any new skill worth learning, screencasts require planning and practice. But with time they can become an essential teaching tool - whether you're physically in the classroom or not. Research on our Modern Classroom Fellows has shown that when you use screencasts to allow for self-paced learning and mastery-based grading, it substantially improves your capacity to effectively differentiate instruction.

If you are looking for more resources and support through this process, we can help. For educators who are looking to dig deeper into our resources, see exemplar units, or learn how to incorporate videos into a fully self-paced, mastery-based classroom, our free online course can be accessed here, which includes unlimited access to our content and tutorials.

Finally, for any teachers who want help creating videos and running a self-paced, mastery-based class, we offer our Modern Classrooms Mentorship Program*. Every participant in this program is matched with an expert mentor from our Modern Classrooms team, who provides:

1. Feedback on every assignment you submit, from instructional videos to progress trackers to mastery checks

2. On-demand, 1-1 personalized virtual coaching

3. Three Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from George Mason University upon completion

Our mentors have experience creating instructional videos for students across a wide range of grade levels and subject areas, and they stand ready to share their expertise. If you're interested in enrolling, you can save $50 at any time with the coupon code CULTOFPEDAGOGY.

Whether you take our free course, pay for additional support, or simply read this article, we hope you'll join us in using instructional videos to create better learning experiences for all students.

* Cult of Pedagogy has an affiliate relationship with the Building Modern Classrooms Project. Although the Modern Classroom Essentials course is free, if you purchase one of their paid offerings through the links on this post, Cult of Pedagogy will receive a percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
References:
Brame, C. (2015). Effective educational videos. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/effective-educational-videos/

Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (2014, March). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. In Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning@ scale conference (pp. 41-50). Retrieved from https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2556325.2566239

Ibrahim, M., Antonenko, P. D., Greenwood, C. M., & Wheeler, D. (2012). Effects of segmenting, signalling, and weeding on learning from educational video. Learning, Media and Technology, 37(3), 220-235. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ980817

Li, J., Kizilcec, R., Bailenson, J., & Ju, W. (2016). Social robots and virtual agents as lecturers for video instruction. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 1222-1230. Retrieved from https://rene.kizilcec.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/li2015social.pdf

Lawson, T. J., Bodle, J. H., Houlette, M. A., & Haubner, R. R. (2006). Guiding questions enhance student learning from educational videos. Teaching of Psychology, 33(1), 31-33. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top3301_7

Vural, O. F. (2013). The Impact of a Question-Embedded Video-based Learning Tool on E-learning. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(2), 1315-1323. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1017292

Zhang, D., Zhou, L., Briggs, R. O., & Nunamaker Jr, J. F. (2006). Instructional video in e-learning: Assessing the impact of interactive video on learning effectiveness. Information & management, 43(1), 15-27. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378720605000170

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By NAfME Member Elizabeth Caldwell This blog was first published on "Organized Chaos."
We are living in unusual times, to be sure.

My school district, along with many others around the world, is closed indefinitely in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 (known widely as Coronavirus). As we go through this time of uncertainty, I know many of us are scrambling to find ways to continue to provide music learning opportunities for our students without actually being in school. Whether you're hoping to move to online/virtual teaching, provide students with online resources, or put together no-tech resources for families without internet or technology access, here are some resources to help.

1. Virtual Teaching

If you're looking at setting up an online classroom or teaching virtually, Michelle from The Musical Rose has been teaching music virtually for a few years now, and she has put together resources for music teachers looking to teach online. Click here to visit her website, where you'll find links to her social media accounts where she is posting her most updated content, and click here to view the slides from her Facebook live presentation on using Zoom and Nearpod, along with general tips for online teaching (including general music and ensemble rehearsals!).

If you have a private lesson studio as well, Ashley Danyew has some excellent ideas and resources to transition private lessons and studio group classes to online teaching. Click here to read her post, where she outlines different online platforms for live lessons, pre-recorded videos, and activities to send home, templates for letters to send to parents, and other advice for private lesson teachers.

2. Online Resources

If your students have reliable internet and device access, there are plenty of resources available for music teachers, and many are being offered for free temporarily to support school closures or already offer free options! Check out each of these below to explore these options-obviously this list is not exhaustive, so feel free to share others you love in the comments on my blog or on Amplify:

Of course, there are plenty of online resources that can be used as tools or exploration opportunities:

For more ideas incorporating technology in music teaching, my top recommendation is Midnight Music. Katie has been involved in music education technology for years, and she has excellent resources and information on her website-go explore her site right here. You can also find more ideas in Facebook groups specifically dedicated to sharing ideas for online music teaching during school closures, so if you are on Facebook you can search for those as well.

3. No Tech Resource Ideas

For my district, we are preparing paper and pencil packets for students. We are not one-to-one with devices, nor does every family in our district have reliable internet access, so we have chosen to provide resources that can be accessible to everyone. If you are looking for student learning resources that don't require technology or internet access, Charissa from Music with Mrs. Dunc has a free take-home packet you can download here for elementary general music. The packet includes rhythm and pitch practice, composition, and more without any need for technology!

Here are some more ideas you can use with a range of grade levels:

Interviews: Have students interview family members about their musical backgrounds and interests. What is their favorite song right now and why? What instruments do they play? What does music mean to them? Who are their favorite artists? Students can record the responses they get and also answer the questions themselves.

Instrument invention: Have students invent a new instrument. They could draw a picture of it and describe how it is played, how it's constructed, and what it sounds like, or they could make one out of recycled materials.

Hand-washing dance choreography: Have students choreograph a short dance routine incorporating the different ways we're recommended to wash our hands (scrubbing nails, between fingers, etc). Check out this one for inspiration.

Listening log: Have students write down music that they hear each day. Depending on the age, they can also record information about the songs, like the title/artist, genre, mood, time signature, tempo, instrumentation, etc., or they could draw a picture in response to the music.

Singing log: Have students write down songs that they sing each day. They can sing along with a recording, sing by themselves, or sing with their family.

Soundtrack of my life: Have students create an imaginary album that shows who they are. They can make a list of song titles, and for each song describe the music-this could be done either by asking students to come up with their own imaginary songs or by having students find existing songs that would describe aspects of their personality/life. Students could also design an album cover to go with it, write liner notes, etc.

Instrumental / choral practice: Of course, if students have sheet music for choir songs, instrumental method books, recorder music, etc., then they can practice their music! Include tips for independent practicing, fingering charts, etc., to help students maintain productive practice.

4. Professional Learning Opportunities

With more flexible schedules and some extra time on our hands, this is a great time to do some reflecting and learning ourselves! Elisa from Music Ed Mentor has compiled a list of online professional learning opportunities for music teachers in this post, and you can find more ideas including book and listening recommendations in these posts below:

With all of the information and debating swirling around, let's remember to be deliberate and compassionate. Let's all help each other as we forge new paths-please share ideas in the comments on my blog or on Amplify to help other teachers support their students!
About the author:
NAfME member Elizabeth Caldwell has been teaching elementary general music and choir for over a decade and cannot imagine ever doing anything else. She is also the author of the website, Organized Chaos Music, where she regularly shares organization strategies, lesson plans, and other ideas to encourage purposeful creativity in the music classroom. She holds her B.M.E from Wheaton College (IL) and her M.M.E. from Boston University, and was named Teacher of the Year in 2018. She has presented on lesson planning, restorative behavior management, effective recorder teaching, world music, National Core Arts general music standards, and other music education topics at conferences around the globe, and teaches an e-course on lesson planning through her website.

Follow Elizabeth on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Did this blog spur new ideas for your music program? The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) provides a number of forums for the sharing of information and opinion, including blogs and postings on our website, articles and columns in our magazines and journals, and postings to our Amplify member portal. Unless specifically noted, the views expressed in these media do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Association, its officers, or its employees. Share them on Amplify! Interested in reprinting this article? Please review the reprint guidelines.
Catherina Hurlburt, Marketing Communications Manager. March 17, 2020. © National Association for Music Education ( NAfME.org)

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Music Teacher Resources for School Closures - NAfME

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By NAfME Member Elizabeth Caldwell This blog was first published on "Organized Chaos." We are living in unusual times, to be sure. My school district, along with many others around the world, is closed indefinitely in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 (known widely as Coronavirus).

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Create Your Own Comic Strips Online with MakeBeliefsComix

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We Offer Support and Resources.

From Richard Byrne, editor of Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week -- ''Creating Comics for Comfort'' -- Living in Maine and father of two school-age children, Richard wrote the following item for teachers and students dealing with the terrible tragedy of the recent mass shootings in that state. He thought this an appropriate time to review and use Social and Emotional Learning resources, such as those offered by MakeBeliefsComix.com.

Make Beliefs Comix offers a library of fantastic, free ebooks for SEL. The library hosted by Make Beliefs Comix contains fillable PDFs that you can download for free. The latest addition to that library is 50+ Ways to Talk to Yourself and Find Healing. And for something a bit lighter, take a look at Pet Words: Conversations With Your Animal Friends.

"Here's a video overview of the Make Beliefs Comix ebooks and here's one about how to create comic strips on the Make Beliefs Comix website."

For many LGBTQ+ kids, especially when they're figuring things out, finding accepting spaces online can sometimes feel safer. Seek out creative opportunities and modes of self-expression, with this section in Make Beliefs Comix.

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MakeBeliefsComix encourages students to create their own visual pandemic diary.

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One easy way to start playing with ideas is through the free, online tool at MakeBeliefsComix.com.

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There has been much research conducted around the effect of the feedback we give to students. We know it needs to focus on the learning intentions and it needs to be purposeful. But I also know that unless I made the feedback relevant and easy for my students to access, much of it would go unnoticed. When I started using digital stickers, some of them designed by the students themselves, feedback started to become more fun - and more of my students started taking notice of it. Using Google Keep to store these stickers allowed me to have a quick and easy way of awarding them. Here's how I did it...

Step One: Create custom made stickers

The first step is to create your stickers. These can be literally anything you want them to be. Because I wanted mine to be more personalised for my students I used Bitmoji to create them. Just be mindful with this site that there are a few images that are not appropriate for school.

Once I had created my avatar and was happy with the way it looked, I selected a few that I wanted to work with. If the words weren't exactly what I wanted, but I liked the image, I copied it, pasted it into a Google Drawing and made the changes I wanted. I then downloaded it as a png file as this gave me a transparent background.

Use Bitmoji to personalise feedback to students. Click To Tweet

Remember, if you are using a Google Drawing to make your stickers, you need to drag the outline of the canvas around your work so that it fits snuggly before you download it.

The type of stickers you can create is only limited by your imagination. I've seen some teachers who have used a meme creating site to make some that their students have absolutely loved.

Customising your stickers to the interests of the students is important as this shows them that you, as their teacher, have taken the time to create unique and special rewards systems especially for them.

For the artistic and creative teachers among us, is a fantastic site for designing stickers by combining different elements into your own unique arrangements. The Noun Project is now an add-on in Google Slides. It's also available in Powerpoint. There are 100 different icons you can use either on their own or combined together. Google Slides will let you add shadows and reflection in colour, but you can't alter the colour of the icon. In Powerpoint you can recolour the shapes themselves.

Create your own stickers using Noun Project icons in Powerpoint. Click To Tweet

Step Two: Add your stickers to Google Keep

Now that you've got a few stickers you want to use, head over to Google Keep. It's part of your Google Drive. If you can't find it, tap the nine dots in the top right hand corner where the apps are launched from. Click on 'MORE' and you will find Google Keep there.

Open it up and you will see the home page. Down the left hand side you will see the navigation tools. You want to create a label so that you can access all your stickers easily from the one place.

Click on "Create new label" and give it a name. You can see I just called mine "Stickers".

To open up your label you simply click on it. Now you have the option to create a new note:

You want to click on the image icon because you are going to insert the .png files that you have saved. Simply upload your image from wherever you saved it to. You can see in the screenshot above that each image is tagged with the label 'Stickers'.

Step Three: Easily give your students feedback with your custom made stickers

Now comes the best part. When you are reflecting on the work your students have done in Google Docs or Google Slides you go to 'Tools' and choose 'Keep Notepad'.

This opens up Google Keep right next to the Doc you are on.

To add your sticker to the student's work, choose the one you want and drag it across. You

can then resize it if you need to and click 'wrap text' if you want it to sit somewhere in particular. Any stickers that you use on a more regular basis you can pin in Google Keep and these will sit at the top of the feed.

Google Keep opens up right in your browser alongside Google Docs and Slides. Click To Tweet

I also had my students design some stickers at the beginning of the year. We talked about what would make an appropriate sticker and what wouldn't. The message their sticker portrayed was important and lots of critical thinking happened around this.

Most importantly - they actually looked forward to checking their work and giving feedback became more manageable. Give it a go! It's a simple way to add custom stickers to your student's work.

Want to know some more quick tips and tricks about classroom life? Join our online professional learning community

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How To Give Quick Feedback to Students With Digital Stickers and Google Keep - Using Technology Better

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There has been much research conducted around the effect of the feedback we give to students. We know it needs to focus on the learning intentions and it needs to be purposeful. But I also know that unless I made the feedback relevant and easy for my students to access, much of it would go unnoticed.

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We’ve compiled an extensive list of 75 digital tools that can help teachers use formative assessment to elicit evidence of student learning.

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Providing video feedback for student assignments isn't necessarily a new concept. There are several articles out there that show how instructors give assignment feedback through video in their online courses.

What is new is my experience-based realization that video assignment feedback not only saves time, but it's significantly better for keeping online students engaged in my course.

When they're hundreds of miles away and may not ever get to see me face-to-face, providing personalized, visual feedback for student work can make it more meaningful, especially in an online learning environment.

The comments I've received from students are overwhelmingly positive and appreciative for this assignment feedback compared to only receiving written comments in their graded paper or in the rubric.

I find it similar to having a one-on-one meeting or conversation with the student, but I'm not sitting there right beside them. They can 'rewind me' and playback my feedback until it makes sense. In an online or distance learning course, video assignment feedback is very powerful.

Finding the right tool, or process, that works best for you is key to making this a feasible task and not a time-consuming nightmare. I use the TechSmith Snagit software application because it's the tool that's easiest for me to complete tasks quickly and achieve high-quality results. Find the tool that works best for you in order to make this worthwhile and not overwhelming.

Three ways to give meaningful video feedback on students assignments:

1. Click record, and go!

For those of you who are really good at 'winging it', I applaud you. To be honest, I'm actually a bit jealous.

Informal, impromptu recording is the least time-consuming method for providing video feedback for student assignments. The only prep work you need is reading through the assignment prior to recording, and maybe taking some mental notes.

But that's all you'd typically need to do before recording your screen and audio to provide the assignment feedback. Here is what this process looks like.

2. Comment and record

For the rest of us who prefer not to record off the cuff, this method offers some structure.

During an initial assignment read-through, insert comments to mark places where you want to give assignment feedback. Use them as notes while you record your screen and voice so you can remember to include everything you want to say.

This is the method that I personally find most helpful for my workflow. Having comments in the document/assignment keeps me on task, and the video is generally shorter and more focused.

It takes a little longer than the first way, but it's more comfortable for me and the results are often much higher quality. There are fewer 'ums' and rambling moments, too. Here is what this process looks like.

3. Take a screenshot first

This method gives you the most structure of all. Instead of scrolling through the actual assignment while recording, take a screenshot of the assignment and add all of your feedback - annotations, highlight text, or insert written comments throughout the captured image.

Then, record a video of the screenshot along with your voice feedback to provide more detail where you can walk students through your comments. It helps to hear you talk through feedback at the same time while they can see where you're pointing to in the assignment.

Also, having all your assignment feedback written down serves as sort of a script for you, so you don't have to figure out what to say once you hit 'record'. It's all there waiting for you to read it.

As you can probably guess, this method can be quite time consuming, especially if you have a lot of assignments to grade. This process does let you provide the most detailed feedback though, if that's what you're aiming for. Here is an example of the process I've used to complete this workflow for giving assignment feedback with video.

If you're looking for a way to provide more meaningful assignment feedback to your students, I hope you will consider using video. Experiment with a few different tools and workflows to find the one that works best for you.

Be sure to ask your students if they find the video feedback helpful, since they are the ones who are ultimately benefiting from your time and commitment to provide guidance and support.

Free Trial: You can try any of our screen recorders for free. Get everything you need to record on your Windows, Mac, and iOS devices.

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3 Time-Saving Ways to Give Assignment Feedback with Video (and keep online students engaged) | Blog | TechSmith

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Providing video feedback for student assignments isn't necessarily a new concept. There are several articles out there that show how instructors give assignment feedback through video in their online courses. What is new is my experience-based realization that video assignment feedback not only saves time, but it's significantly better for keeping online students engaged in my course.

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Kaizena - Fast, Personal Feedback on Student Work

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Classroom Posters to Support Device Usage

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Common Sense Education provides educators and students with the resources they need to harness the power of technology for learning and life. Find a free K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum, reviews of popular EdTech apps, and resources for protecting student privacy.

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Many ideas from the PBLWorks project library can be adapted for individual or remote learning.

Here are some that especially lend themselves to learning at home:

Literary Playlist (grades 6-12): Students read literary texts independently, then create and share music playlists that communicate about characters and themes in their texts and create written "liner notes" explaining their interpretations and reasoning.

Quadrats to Biodiversity (grade 6): Students mark off a small natural area near their homes, make observations, collect and share data to make calculations about the density and frequency of different species, and write news articles about their quadrat survey results.

Planning to Thrive (grade 7): Students develop personal health/wellness goals and create and implement plans to achieve those goals. They create action plans for real or fictional "clients" (these could be family members, if students are learning at home) and publish guides with best practices for setting and achieving health goals.

Shrinking Our Footprints (grade 5): Students collect and graph data about their families' impact on the environment (in terms of water usage, food waste, etc.), develop plans to reduce this impact, and communicate these plans to their families by writing informative letters.
Here are some remote learning project ideas for younger children (ages 3 to 7).
Our National Faculty member and kindergarten teacher Sara Lev suggests the following projects from our library, which she notes will "give young children agency and ownership" while still needing support from parents or caregivers.

Shapes Museum: Children learn about the different geometric shapes in their immediate environment (homes, yard, or street). They conduct observations (drawing pictures or taking photographs) of everyday items and structures to identify shapes in the world. Children then create pieces for a "museum" (hanging art around the house, or sharing the work digitally with friends in an online "museum") as they teach others about the shapes around them. Children might also develop games or activities to play at home or share with others (e.g., a concentration/memory game, or original dot-to-dot pages).

The StoryTime Channel: Children learn about story elements such as character, setting, and plot by reading picture books at home with a caregiver or independently, and then dictating or writing their own versions of stories (either adaptations or original pieces). Children then can create illustrations to match their story, use their toys to create live action animation, create a video of them reading the story, or any combination of these. Ideally, the students publish their story by sharing it on their own "StoryTime Channel" with friends from school.

Other projects that can be easily adapted for young children are Rain or Shine (observing the weather at home) and Taking Care of Our Environment (helping to create jobs and responsibilities to take care of children's homes and outdoor spaces).

For all of these projects, consider what resources you may need to provide.

If you can make printouts in advance of school closure or send them in a digital form, scaffold student learning of content and support their process. If technology permits, consider how you will check in with students about their process and, if possible, support student-to-student collaboration. This could include using technology to share drafts of work, engage in critique protocols, and make student work public.

Something else to think about: these projects might serve as an opportunity for students to connect with their families and deepen family involvement in student learning.

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Beyond the Worksheet Packet: PBL Projects to Adapt for Remote Learning

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Here are some that especially lend themselves to learning at home: Literary Playlist (grades 6-12) : Students read literary texts independently, then create and share music playlists that communicate about characters and themes in their texts and create written "liner notes" explaining their interpretations and reasoning.

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Schools are closed. Minds are wide open.

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Flippity.net: Flashcards and Other Resources for Educators and Learners

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Create an interactive virtual breakout activity.

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CommonLit | Free Online Reading Passages and Literacy Resources

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CommonLit is a comprehensive literacy program with thousands of reading lessons, full-year ELA curriculum, benchmark assessments, and standards-based data for teachers.

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1000's of 3 Minute Stories to build listening comprehension

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1000's of 3 Minute Stories to build listening comprehension

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Listenwise | Listening Comprehension Matters

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Listening comprehension matters | Listenwise

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Explore the best podcast lessons for grade-level rigor. Curriculum aligned lessons with literacy & language supports, great for English Learners. Free sign up!

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Writing and grammar curriculum designed for today's classrooms

NoRedInk simplifies the process of building strong writers and critical thinkers in Grades 3-12. Our writing platform facilitates effective instruction by helping teachers engage students through modeling, scaffolding, practice, and feedback.

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Unlock Every Writer's Potential | NoRedInk

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NoRedInk offers authentic assessments, adaptive practice, personalized content, and actionable data to improve your students' writing and grammar skills!

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Instead of learning more literacy skills, students may find deep value in using the literacies they have already been building. It's about connecting with people in their lives, and putting into words the messages they want to deliver to those people.
Fables:
These are (very) short reading pieces from the forthcoming Text Structures from Fables, which will offer six different ways to respond to reading. Each home edition includes one way to respond in writing, along with a whole lot of fables. They make great pieces for parents and kids to read at home.

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Learning from Home - Trail of Breadcrumbs

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Instead of learning more literacy skills, students may find deep value in using the literacies they have already been building. It's about connecting with people in their lives, and putting into words the messages they want to deliver to those people.

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Create your own storybook online. Make writing and publishing a book more fun with our picture book making tool!