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by Susan Verday  (Author), Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)
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by Jacqueline Woodson  (Author), Rafael López  (Illustrator)
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A Little SPOT of Anxiety: A Story About Calming Your Worries

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A Little SPOT of Anxiety: A Story About Calming Your Worries

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https://amzn.to/3fzCvsMby Diane Alber  (Author, Illustrator)

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Intensive Interventions for Students Struggling in Reading & Math 

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Managing Your Boundaries - From MindTools.com

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The Communication Cycle - Six Steps to Better Communication

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Sometimes life feels challenging and overwhelming. The Calm Wildcat- Virtual Calming Room is designed to help students, parents, and staff explore strategies to manage stress and mental health.

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G Suite

It's easy to feel anxious, overwhelmed and frustrated if you're asked to create elearning activities and teach remotely because of a school closure.

You might be asking ...

What are my students going to do?

How can they continue learning at a high level?

Can I maintain that teacher/student connection through elearning?

How can I keep up with the demands of elearning?

Some ideas and examples to follow can help. Having some plug-and-play activities to assign students can help, too -- even if you need to adjust them to fit your students' needs.

We've got you covered.

In this post, you'll find 100 elearning activities, templates and tutorials. They'll help you create elearning activities that lend themselves to powerful learning when students are away from school.

Some ideas to keep in mind as you roll out your eLearning activities:

Keep communication with students and parents at the forefront. Be ready for questions. Make your communication more thorough than you anticipate.

Simplicity is key. Activities that are too complicated can be hard to follow through without the proper support.

Make space for students' emotional needs, too. Their routine is disrupted. They don't get to see their teacher or their fellow students. Help them to make those connections while they're away.

Don't be too hard on yourself. If you've never taught with eLearning activities, it'll be a learning process. Do your best. Learn and improve.

Lean on others for support. Use social media and colleagues in your school/district to brainstorm ideas.

Here are over 100 remote learning activities, templates and tutorials you can use tomorrow:

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Teach better. Save time. Make a difference.

The short how-to tutorials on Google Classroom are EVERYWHERE. But how do we teach well with it? In this book, you'll find practical ideas to do great teaching with Google Classroom and thrive.

Looking for more remote learning resources? Our distance learning page has TONS of resources for bringing learning directly to your students no matter where they are! 💻 100 remote learning activities templates and tutorials
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100 remote learning activities, templates and tutorials

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Remote learning activities can be fun AND promote quality learning. Here are lots of examples and templates to use!It's easy to feel anxious, overwhelmed

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Back to school is a special time of year. Sure, it means the end of summer break, but it's also a time for new beginnings. It's a time to get back into the regular cadence of the school schedule.

This is a crucial time of year for setting expectations -- for students, for teachers, for everyone in the school setting.

It's a time to set routine -- to get some repetitions with how the class will run day by day, week by week.

And, of course, it's relationship-building time! We want to get to know our students. They want to know more about us. And they need to get to know each other to build the classroom community.

Below we have curated over 80 back to school activities for any classroom. Scroll down for tons of ready-to-use lessons along with tutorials, templates, and examples to make planning this year a little easier.
What are your back to school ideas? Please share them in a comment at the bottom of the post!

80 back to school activities for any classroom
Click on any picture below to jump directly to that section or use the drop down menu to browse the table of contents.

Scroll down orclick here to see our ideas for welcoming students back from break or starting a new semester.

Make learning memorable!

Take your teaching to the next level by transforming your lessons into a memorable learning experience.

What are your back to school ideas for remote learning? Please share them in a comment below!

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links:

Are you looking for quality, meaningful professional learning that both equips and inspires teachers?

Matt provides in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops and breakout sessions that equip, inspire and encourage teachers to create change in their classrooms. Teachers leave with loads of resources. They participate. They laugh. They see tech use and teaching in a new light. Click the link below to contact us and learn how you can bring Matt to your school or district!

Do More with Google Classroom

Teach better. Save time. Make a difference.

The short how-to tutorials on Google Classroom are EVERYWHERE. But how do we teach well with it? In this book, you'll find practical ideas to do great teaching with Google Classroom and thrive.

FREE teaching ideas and templates in your inbox every week!

Subscribe to Ditch That Textbook

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©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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Back to school is a special time of year. Sure, it means the end of summer break, but it's also a time for new beginnings. It's a time to get back into

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15 Strategies for Online Learning When School is Closed

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We have outlined 15 strategies to help guide your thinking in creating online learning environments for students when the physical school building is closed.

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Innovative Schedules for Teaching and Learning

Download the PDF here.

Introduction

The minutes and hours of the school day are critical to build knowledge, foster student motivation, and drive student outcomes. To make the most of precious instructional time, teachers must first develop engaging lessons that meet the various needs of students. This requires teachers to collaborate, plan, and reflect outside of instructional time. Effective school schedules maximize the time teachers spend with their students but also recognize teachers' additional responsibilities beyond instructional time. Unfortunately, not enough schools successfully balance these priorities.

Teachers in the United States spend far more time engaged in active instruction than teachers in other high-performing countries. Based on self-reported data, teachers in the United States spend 27 hours teaching out of 45 hours of work per week. Compare this with teachers in Singapore, who teach for only 17 hours per week, or teachers in Finland, who teach for a total of 21 hours per week. Schools in these countries prioritize time for planning and collaboration, recognizing that developing and executing lessons take time and preparation. According to a recent analysis of more than 140 school districts, the average length of a U.S. teacher's workday is 7.5 hours. In another analysis of more than 120 school districts, the most common length of time allotted for planning was 45 minutes per day. In this short time, teachers must grade student work, plan for future lessons, engage with families, and complete necessary paperwork. As a result, teachers have little time to plan or collaborate with peers.

The squeeze for time to plan lessons and complete other administrative tasks shapes a school's professional environment and, ultimately, affects the quality of instruction. In a recent survey from the American Federation of Teachers, one of teachers' two most cited "everyday stressors" was time pressure. As teachers are largely separate from other educators during instruction, lack of time for collaboration can be very isolating. More than half of lower secondary school teachers in the United States report that they do not teach jointly or observe other teachers. Such practices can improve teaching quality by granting teachers opportunities to receive feedback on their lesson execution and infuse new best practices into their repertoire.

In addition, providing teachers with more time to plan and attend to other responsibilities throughout the school day creates systematic opportunities to support new teachers and stretch more seasoned teachers-increasing the likelihood of teacher retention. During this structured planning time, new teachers should receive the coaching and personalized training they need to maximize their effectiveness and meet their professional goals. Meanwhile, experienced teachers can pursue leadership roles or coach new teachers.

Fortunately, schools can look to several promising models to change their typical schedules. The Center for American Progress compiled five of these innovative school schedules. Some of these schedules have already been implemented in schools across the country to improve instruction and ensure that teachers have ample time to teach, prepare, and develop their craft. CAP has also included teachers' ideas for alternatives to the traditional school day model.

While each example schedule varies, there were similarities in how school leaders and teachers at each school reimagined the use of time. These innovative schedules all included:

Additional time for planning and collaboration

Flexible instructional blocks to differentiate content to student need

Opportunities for small group instruction or student-directed learning

Innovative school schedules: Example schedules from schools across the country

Guilmette Elementary School, Lawrence, Massachusetts

What's different about this schedule?

Guilmette Elementary School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, added more than 260 hours of instructional time to the school year and built in common planning time by extending the school day and strategically aligning grade team schedules. The schedule also allows for targeted intervention and enrichment opportunities for all students. (see Table 1) Students follow a similar schedule on Mondays through Thursdays. On Fridays, students participate in high-quality enrichment programming from noon to 2:30 p.m., which is led by community partners. These enrichment activities include art, music, yoga, and cooking. Teachers participate in professional development and planning at that time.

Operations and cost

The extra instructional hours are a significant cost. The district's teacher contract provides teachers with a stipend of $2,500 per year for added hours that is distributed evenly across their paychecks. Moreover, the quality of the enrichment programs offered on Friday is dependent on the community partners that teach the programs. Guilmette has worked to find high-quality, affordable partners.

Outcomes

In the four years since Guilmette has implemented the new schedule, its English language arts and math proficiency scores have steadily improved; since 2013, Guilmette outperformed other elementary schools in the district. More information is available on the school's report card.

Objectives

Add 260 or more instructional hours each school year

Provide collaborative planning time for teachers

Create added opportunities for enrichment and targeted intervention that focuses on acceleration

Achievement First Greenfield middle school schedule, New Haven, Connecticut

What's different about this schedule?

Greenfield schools, which are a part of the Achievement First network, designed a schedule that leverages four modalities of learning: self-directed learning; small group learning; large group instruction, and immersive expeditions. Students engage in daily self-directed learning to build responsibility and differentiate the pace of their learning. During this time, students use independent work or technology to review new concepts and move through mastery of content at their own pace. Students also participate in small group learning in sections of 14 to 16 students to dig into specific topics and receive individual feedback. Larger group instruction is reserved for seminars, debates, and experiments.

Every eight weeks, students engage in immersive expeditions for one to two weeks that explore a specific issue and apply skills to the real world. Expeditions such as creating a play, television show, or movie allow them to use writing, improvisation, and teamwork skills to bring stories to life. For example, in the expedition "Make your story come to life," students write and produce scenes or short plays to be performed by other actors. They engage with a professional theater company for storytelling workshops and go on behind-the-scenes tours.

Interactive digital learning is a key element of the Greenfield model. A cloud-based Personalized Learning Platform, or PLP, takes the place of traditional textbooks. Students use a laptop to access their online self-directed content, track progress toward their goals, and take assessments to demonstrate mastery of concepts. This system minimizes teachers' work and increases transparency of student progress. Teachers or students do not need to input results to track progress; the platform does it automatically. Teachers, students, and families can log in to access student progress anywhere with an internet connection. It also helps the school communicate with parents and families.

Every teacher is responsible for leading one instructional area-either humanities, math, science, writing, or social studies. This specialization allows teachers to focus on achieving ambitious results in their content area. A yearly pacing calendar identifies where students must perform at every point in the year in order to be on track with these ambitious outcomes. Teachers use pacing reports each day to determine where students are performing relative to the bar and to adjust their instruction in ways that will maximize the number of students who are on and ahead of pace.

In addition, Greenfield differentiates teachers' roles and schedules to allow for specialization, planning, and life balance. This includes collaborative planning time for all teachers, differentiated coaching, and professional development, as well as growth opportunities based on teachers' skills and experience. Greenfield also offers a staggered teaching schedule for more experienced teachers.

Within each grade, students are organized into goal teams of 10 to 12 students and assigned a goal coach. These teams meet daily in order to set and reflect on academic, life habit, or enrichment goals; deepen relationships with the goal coach and other goal team members; and build habits of success. Within goal teams, students are paired off with another student, called a running partner. These pairs provide mutual support and accountability to one another as they strive for ambitious short- and long-term goals. Goal teams are led by a goal coach who is a staff member in the school. The goal coach works closely with one goal team to build community and to be a primary support for each student and running partner pair.

Operations and cost

The ongoing operation of this schedule is not more costly than other schedules that Achievement First operates in its network. Core to Achievement First's mission is to operate with the same public dollars as traditional district schools in the geographies where it operates.

Outcomes

The Greenfield schools piloted the model in kindergarten and middle school grades, all of which saw proficiency exceed or equal the scores of other Achievement First schools in Connecticut after just one year. Kindergartners exceeded 90 percent proficient rates in reading, and 60 percent of students demonstrated at least 75 percentile growth in math. For middle school grades, average scores on English language arts weekly quizzes ranked first or second in the overall Achievement First Connecticut network. Fifth grade math scores exceeded the network average, but sixth grade scores were below the average. For more information on socioemotional growth, review the Achievement First's Greenfield Schools Year 1 Pilot.

Objectives

Allow for accelerated, differentiated academics through four modalities of learning: self-directed learning time; small group learning; large group learning; and immersive expeditions

Build in time for enrichment

Foster habits of success in all kids, including curiosity, personal growth, empathy, gratitude, drive, and teamwork

Emphasize the importance of student, family, and staff motivation

Differentiate teacher roles based on experience and create more time for planning for all instructional staff

Reduce turnover by finding ways to accommodate senior teachers who need more flexible schedules

Generation Schools secondary schedule, Brooklyn, New York

What's different about this schedule?

Generation Schools Network's secondary school model creates up to 30 percent more learning time than traditional public schools in New York City and provides opportunities for differentiated instruction. It also reduces student-to-teacher ratios and overall teacher workloads to facilitate the development of supportive teacher-student relationships.

Furthermore, teachers have more time for collaboration and professional development. All teachers, as part of their approximately 180-day work year, participate in a one- to two-week Summer Institute dedicated to collaborative planning in preparation for the school year. In addition, grade teams have two weeks of professional collaborative time staggered throughout the year when their students are in intensives. This is in addition to the collaborative time that teachers have every day.

To reduce teacher workload and increase instructional time, the Generation Schools Network differentiates instructional roles-foundation, studio, and intensive teachers. This allows the school to build on a wider range of teachers' strengths and to design roles and responsibilities that help teachers be effective and reduce turnover. In addition, it reduces teachers' student load. Teachers have 75 or fewer students daily compared with their peers in New York City traditional public high schools, who often teach 150 students daily. The model organizes teachers into grade level teams and a college and career intensives team. The college and career intensives team rotates from grade to grade over the course of the year, spending a month with students exploring college and career pathways. Teachers on that designated grade team are not responsible for students that month and can use that time for collaboration and breaks. By staggering teacher breaks, Generation Schools Network expands the instructional year for students without increasing the number of working days for teachers.

Every student also has a differentiated schedule that fits their needs. Students participate in extended foundation courses-including interdisciplinary courses on humanities or science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM-which teach required subjects for all students as well as have various studio courses based on their interests. Studio courses include art history, physical education, art, foreign languages, or advanced sciences.

Operations and cost

Generation Schools' model reconfigures the same number of staff members who are employed in a conventional school model so that each school can offer much more planning time to teachers and instructional time to students without increasing staff costs, which are a majority of a school's budget. Depending on how districts budget, this type of schedule may require additional costs for maintenance or transportation.

Outcomes

Generation Schools Network has improved student achievement and graduation rates. Brooklyn Generation School, or BGS, has improved attendance, course completion, and graduation rates. At 69 percent, the four-year graduation rate at BGS has matched that for the city overall-70 percent-and outperformed schools with a similar demographic of students. These achievements are especially remarkable, as 85 percent of BGS' students enter high school behind or significantly behind. In addition, 100 percent of the 2016 graduating class was accepted into college-many receiving multiple admissions and significant financial aid to make the opportunity real.

Objectives

Increase instructional time for all students and opportunities to differentiate instruction

Reduce student-to-teacher ratios and overall teacher workloads to facilitate the development of supportive teacher-student relationships

Integrate collaborative planning time for teacher teams

Model school schedules designed by teachers
Created by Lexie Woo, fourth and fifth grade teacher in Queens, New York
Model elementary school schedule

What's different about this schedule?

This schedule allows educators the opportunity to improve their instruction through strategic collaboration with colleagues, additional planning time, and ongoing feedback from administrators.

The timing of instructional blocks rotates to diffuse the negative impact of time-sensitive factors, such as tardiness, early dismissals, fatigue, medication use, and attention span. In addition, each subject has a double instructional block once per week, providing time for innovative educational practices, including multidisciplinary learning; project-based learning; and science, technology, engineering, art and design, and math, or STEAM, and STEM. This allows students to engage in a more self-directed and autonomous educational experience, growing as independent thinkers and doers.

With this dynamic schedule, teachers can select preferred preparation times, allowing teachers to shape their day to fit their working style. In other words, teachers can deliver instruction at the height of their energy.

Objectives

Create more teacher planning time and develop more opportunities for teachers to receive feedback on their instruction

Allow teachers to self-select preparation periods to ensure that the timing works for their teaching and working styles

Offer double instructional blocks for each subject throughout the week

Rotate the timing of instructional blocks

Created by Crischelle Navalta, high school teacher in Donna, Texas; Jillian Harkins, high school teacher in New Haven, Connecticut; Mary Kreuz, high school teacher in Toledo, Ohio; Megan Williams, eighth grade teacher in Washington, D.C.; and Amanda Zullo, high school teacher in Saranac Lake, New York
Model high school schedule

What's different about this schedule?

This schedule strategically minimizes teachers' workloads to ensure that they have time to build their content expertise. In addition, teachers have additional time apart from active instruction to collaborate with their content team, plan independently, or assume a leadership position.

Objectives

Reduce instructional load by ensuring that teachers teach no more than two different course subjects, and limit teaching time to only 60 percent of a teacher's day

Build in approximately 40 percent of the day for conference time, leadership roles beyond the classroom, common planning time with content or grade team, and professional development

Conclusion
Meg Benner is a Senior Consultant at the Center for American Progress. Lisette Partelow is the Director of K-12 Strategic Initiatives at the Center.
Tasked to deliver differentiated, high-quality instruction that prepares students for the social and academic challenges in college and beyond, schools must push their thinking on how they allocate time throughout the school day. Innovative school schedules should meet diverse student needs and ensure that all teachers are primed to deliver engaging, rigorous content. As this issue brief demonstrates, various models already exist to accomplish these goals. As schools across the country reimagine their school day schedules, they will be most successful if they customize the use of time to meet content needs rather than adapting content to fit a fixed schedule.

Endnotes

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Reimagining the School Day - Center for American Progress

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Innovative Schedules for Teaching and Learning Download the PDF here. The minutes and hours of the school day are critical to build knowledge, foster student motivation, and drive student outcomes. To make the most of precious instructional time, teachers must first develop engaging lessons that meet the various needs of students.

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Elizabeth Vega teaches pre-kindergarten at Loma Verde Elementary in Novato, California. Her school and district leaders want to do more project-based learning and have invested in getting teachers like Vega some training. That means she took one workshop on project-based learning, got excited about the possibilities, and then was sent back to her classroom to try it out.

"It sounded all great when they talked us through it," Vega said, but when she got back to her classroom, and only had her notes for pointers, the whole endeavor became overwhelming. That didn't stop Vega from trying, but the first project she and her team teachers implemented didn't go at all how they'd planned.

'One of the most common things that's missing from what people call projects is that it's not intellectually challenging.' Bob Lenz, Executive Director of the Buck Institute

The team noticed the school's garden was dying and they thought it would be neat for students to design a new watering system. But the kids didn't care about the project at all. They just said, "use the hose." Vega wasn't entirely sure they even fully understood the problem, but she could tell they weren't engaged in solving it, so her team ended up dropping the project.

"I think it was eye-opening for us," Vega said. It was a clear example of why students need a voice in the design process, something Vega remembers from her training, but that somehow got glossed over when the teachers sat down to plan. "We need to have that conversation with our students first and ask them what problems we're having at Loma Verde. That way they have voice in that process," Vega said.

This first hiccup hasn't deterred Vega. When she's had success she can clearly see students are engaged with projects. She does wish she had more support as a way to check the things she's trying against best practices. She'd really like to have a project-based learning coach, but if she can't have that, she'd like tools to help her reflect on how to improve.

"I think teachers crave resources," Vega said. "Right now they feel like they don't have the tools, and we don't even know where to start."

There are a lot of teachers in the same position as Vega. Interest in project-based learning has exploded, and the practice can now be found in some form or another all over the United States. But while interest in projects is high, a deep understanding of what makes project work meaningful and impactful to students is less ubiquitous.

"People are calling a lot of things project-based learning that aren't necessarily high quality learning experiences for kids," said Bob Lenz, executive director of the Buck Institute for Education. That's a concern for many educators, like Lenz, who have worked on project-based learning for decades and know there's danger in an education trend that goes wild, but isn't implemented well.

"It could be just another wave of PBL that came and went," Lenz said. That's why the Buck Institute convened a broad range of teachers, education leaders, policy groups, foundation representatives, international stakeholders and others to design "A Framework For High Quality Project Based Learning."

To write this document, a core group of educators who have taught with projects for a long time wrote a draft and got feedback from the convened stakeholders. They made revisions and then put the new draft out for public comment. They got a few thousand comments within the U.S. and globally, which they used to revise once again. The third iteration went back to the steering committee for final sign-off and touch-ups.

"It wasn't too hard to find consensus, but some of the challenge was, 'are we describing what teachers are doing or are we describing what kids are doing?'" Lenz said. Ultimately, the steering group decided that there are plenty of existing materials focused on teachers, but few that describe what student learning looked like in a high quality project-based learning environment. Lenz hopes that by focusing on students, parents can also use the framework to hold schools accountable.

The framework is built around six basic elements that the framers believe must be present: intellectual challenge and accomplishment, authenticity, public product, collaboration, project management and reflection.

"One of the most common things that's missing from what people call projects is that it's not intellectually challenging," Lenz said. He acknowledges that progressive educators often criticize the Buck Institute for coaching teachers that projects should be standards-based, but Lenz said that's one way to make sure the projects aren't disconnected from content.

The Mission Project -- which until recently was common for fourth graders in California schools -- is a good example of "project" that doesn't hold up under this framework. Usually students learn a lot of history about how the missions in California came to be, and then as an afterthought they build a model mission. The "project" part could be completed by a parent or bought off the shelf. It has very little connection to the learning. This is what some educators call a "dessert project" -- it comes after the learning. And according to the new framework, it's not really project-based learning.

"The big ah-ha for a lot of teachers in our workshops is that projects can be about academic content," Lenz said. "It's often seen as something after kids have learned their academic content." But there are other misconceptions as well.

"A lot of new models are oriented, and have as part of their espoused design, that they want to use personalized learning and skill-based work so kids can do project-based learning," Lenz said. He's describing a strain of the "personalized learning" movement that uses online playlists to move students through content, but also tries to blend projects in as demonstrations of learning.

"I don't think they're very clear on what makes high quality PBL," Lenz said. That's where the authenticity and public product standards come into play. If the project doesn't mirror the ways people work in the real world then it isn't authentic, according to Lenz.

"When PBL is done really well the context engages kids and then teachers can apply the same strategies they might have used out of context to kids who are a little more engaged," Lenz said. He emphasized that teachers have to give students structure and support to get good outcomes, especially when students haven't experienced projects before.

"The process is what it should be all about," Lenz said. But in order to move beyond content, teachers have to be clear about teaching skills like setting goals and making action plans, and then teachers have to assess those skills as they would content. As with anything else in the classroom, project-based learning teachers can't assume kids already have the skills.
DEEPENING PROJECTS
Telannia Norfar teaches high school math at Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City -- where she was also a student. She's had a few careers before teaching, but since she entered the classroom 11 years ago she's been using project-based learning. Norfar is on the steering committee that worked to create the High Quality Project Based Learning Framework.

"With so many practitioners who have been in the project world -- and did it even when it wasn't popular in education -- for all of them to come together and come up with common language will be really helpful," Norfar said.

Norfar's district isn't big on project-based learning and for a long time she didn't have any colleagues who were interested in collaborating with her. But she has continued to use projects to teach the most important math concepts, the ones she really wants students to nail, for one simple reason -- she says it works.

"When I think of what is the magic sauce for me, it's the public audience or public product piece," Norfar said. "It happens every time, no matter what the project is, as long as it's outside our four walls, they do amazing stuff."

Norfar doesn't want to simplify the many important pieces of quality projects, but she also doesn't want interested teachers to feel so overwhelmed they never start trying. She finds a lot of her math projects by talking to people outside of education. In social situations, on airplanes, at networking events for other professions, she asks professionals how they actually use math in their work. She builds projects from there.

"You can start with your friends, especially if you didn't come from a family where everybody is a teacher," Norfar said. Many math teachers, she said, haven't used math in a profession; they were just good math students. To help students see relevance in math, and to empower them to make a difference with the knowledge they are gaining, Norfar wants them to use math in authentic ways.

Norfar has done financial planning projects, architectural design projects, aerospace engineering projects (inspired by a conversation about matrices with an engineer on a plane), and she's currently exploring a chemistry related project with a professor friend.

Norfar says every year it's the projects that change students' minds about their future in mathematics. She remembers one student in a pre-AP class who was struggling. As a class they worked on a project to design a new house for a family that was outgrowing theirs. The student's father worked in construction, and he helped her draw plans that were blueprint quality. "And it inspired her to become an architect," Norfar said.

One misperception Norfar sees among many colleagues who are skeptical of project-based learning is the belief that everything has to fit into a project. Norfar says she only spends time on projects for the standards that are most important. To decide, she used the book "Power Standards" to get at the heart of her content standards. She breaks out the six most important units and spends a month on each of them.

"It looks like we're covering a lot, but even inside of it we intentionally said we really need to introduce this to help them understand, but it's not the diehard thing," Norfar said. She's finally got an algebra teaching team interested in collaborating and it is intentionally spiraling back to the idea of the line, what it is and what it isn't, because it's a foundational algebraic idea.

"I could either pretend that I'm really getting through it or I could really care about a few things. And less is always more," Norfar said. A good example is vocabulary words like domain, range, independent, dependent, discrete and continuous. These words help students talk about the performance tasks Norfar gives them, but they aren't the "diehard thing."

Norfar admits that it has been a long journey to get to a place where she's comfortable owning her content in this way; and she's still improving. Right now, her focus is on improving how she works reflection into her classes. She says teaching with high quality projects means always believing you can improve.

"I would never say I've got this down. That's not possible. There's always room to grow," Norfar said. She's surprised sometimes about how resistant her colleagues are to change. "I'm like, 'the world changes, you have to change too,' " she said.

That's why as much as Norfar wants all projects to involve all six of the elements set out in the framework, on a practical level she just wants people to try something new. And she's worried that unless the value of project-based learning is assessed with more than just tests many educators will abandon it.

"I'm so concerned that we will be the next fad for education," Norfar said. "I'll be honest, I have some of the same test scores as the teacher next to me who does not do PBL." But she doesn't think the tests reveal the ways students are growing as people and thinkers when they're engaged in projects. She wishes there were other metrics for the type of growth she sees.

"My students are so much more prepared once they leave high school than the teacher next door who got the test results, but his kids don't know how to work together," she said.

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The Six Must-Have Elements Of High Quality Project-Based Learning

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Elizabeth Vega teaches pre-kindergarten at Loma Verde Elementary in Novato, California. Her school and district leaders want to do more project-based learning and have invested in getting teachers like Vega some training. That means she took one workshop on project-based learning, got excited about the possibilities, and then was sent back to her classroom to try it out.

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Executive Functioning 101

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https://untappedbrilliance.com/

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"Everyone takes a while to learn who they are, but you know who you are so, speak for yourself."

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Mensa for Kids' TED Connections are short, easy to use guides that help teachers, parents and youth use TED talks in a classroom or home setting.

Rather than a lesson plan format, they have a list of discussion questions, all at higher levels of thinking. We include a variety of levels of questions and extension opportunities so that the TED Connections can be used by students at a wide range of grade levels. Feel free to select those questions and activities that will work best for the student(s) you are working with.

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Mensa for Kids' TED Connections are short, easy to use guides that help teachers, parents and youth use TED talks in a classroom or home setting. Rather than a lesson plan format, they have a list of discussion questions, all at higher levels of thinking.

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Eight Ways to Cope When You're a Team of One - Thriving as a Lone Ranger

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Integrated Approaches to Preventing Antiocial Behavior Patterns Among School-Age Children and Youth

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Integrated Approaches to Preventing Antiocial Behavior Patterns Among School-Age Children and Youth

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10 Nonfiction Children’s Books That Humanize Mathematics

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Bibliotherapy, a therapeutic approach that uses literature to support good mental health, is a versatile and cost-effective treatment option often adapted or used to supplement other types of therapy. Proponents of the approach suggest mild to moderate symptoms of several mood-related conditions can be successfully treated with reading activities.

Both individual and group therapy may utilize this method, which is considered appropriate for children, adolescents, and adults. Mental health professionals may encourage those in therapy and those who are waiting for therapy to read for guidance or self-help, developmental purposes, to learn about mental health concerns, and for the therapeutic benefits of imaginative literature.

History and Development of Bibliotherapy

Storytelling, creative writing, and reading have long been recognized for their therapeutic potential. The use of literature as a healing method dates back to ancient Greece, when Grecian libraries were seen as sacred places with curative powers. In the early nineteenth century, physicians like Benjamin Rush and Minson Galt II began to use bibliotherapy as an intervention technique in rehabilitation and the treatment of mental health issues. During World Wars I and II, bibliotherapy was used to help returning soldiers deal with both physical and emotional concerns.

In a 1916 article published in The Atlantic Monthly, Samuel Carothers defined bibliotherapy as the process of using books to teach those receiving medical care about their conditions, and Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, published in 1941, officially recognized this modality as a form of mental health treatment. Bibliotherapy's use expanded further in the 1950s when Carolyn Shrodes developed a theoretical model based on the premise that people are greatly influenced by the characters they identify with in stories. The American Library Association issued an official definition in 1966, and in 1969, The Association of Poetry Therapy formed, establishing poetry therapy, a form of bibliotherapy, as a treatment modality. In the 1970s, librarian Rhea Rubin classified bibliotherapy into two categories: developmental (for educational settings) and therapeutic (for mental health settings). Her 1978 work, Using Bibliotherapy: A Guide to Theory and Practice, contributed greatly to developments in the field. In 1983, The International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy was established.

This page contains at least one affiliate link for the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which means GoodTherapy.org receives financial compensation if you make a purchase using an Amazon link.

Today, bibliotherapy is employed by educators, helping professionals, librarians, and even parents. Its versatility and adaptability make it an excellent supplement to self-improvement of all kinds.

How Is Bibliotherapy Used?

Developmental bibliotherapy, primarily used in educational settings, addresses typical childhood and adolescent concerns such as puberty, bodily functions, or developmental milestones. Educators or medical professionals may often encourage parents to use this approach with their children.

Therapeutic bibliotherapy takes many forms and can be used in conjunction with many different therapeutic frameworks. Reading has been shown to be able to help people understand the issues they are experiencing, amplify the effects of other treatment, normalize experiences with mental health concerns and care, and offer hope for positive change. Bibliotherapy can also expedite and intensify the therapeutic process by providing one potential format for therapeutic work outside of session.

The approach may be incorporated in one or more of the following ways:

Prescriptive bibliotherapy, which is also referred to as self-help, involves the use of specific reading materials and workbooks to address a variety of mental health concerns. Self-help may be conducted with or without the guidance of a therapist. A cognitive behavioral therapist teaching someone deep breathing and emotion regulation techniques may provide that person with a practice workbook to use at home, for example.

Books on Prescription is a program where reading materials targeting specific mental health needs are "prescribed" by mental health professionals, who might use resources such as the Bibliotherapy Education Project to find the appropriate books. Most libraries in the United States carry a set of books from the approved list for this purpose, often providing as a book list on their website. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburg is one such library. Their website also lists books for children, which cover topics like adoption, self-esteem, grief, divorce, and more.

Creative bibliotherapy utilizes imaginative literature-novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and biographies-to improve psychological well-being. Through the incorporation of carefully selected literary works, therapists can often guide people in treatment on a journey of self-discovery. This method is most beneficial when people are able to identify with a character, experience an emotional catharsis as a result of this identification, and then gain insight about their own life experiences. A therapist might use Our Gracie Aunt by Jacqueline Woodson, a story about a brother and sister who live with their aunt due to their mother's neglect, with a child who has experienced abuse to build interactive discussions and activities around the child's experience of the story.

Issues Treated with Bibliotherapy

While this method is not typically recommended instead of a more conventional form of therapy, it is frequently used by individuals in therapy and those who are waiting to receive therapy. In the U.K., where individuals seeking professional mental health treatment may wait up to six months, bibliotherapy is considered a first step in treatment for those who do not need immediate help.

Reading can benefit individuals of any age by increasing self-awareness, improving self-esteem, and aiding in the ability to face developmental crises. Studies show reading as a form of therapy to be useful in the treatment of depression, mild alcohol abuse, anxiety, eating disorders, and communication issues.

People in therapy for issues such as family-related challenges, posttraumatic stress, or grief might also benefit from the incorporation of books and reading activities into the approach being used. Books can be incorporated easily into any number of modalities, such as family systems therapy, play therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, among others.

Who Offers Bibliotherapy?

While many therapists include elements of bibliotherapy in their work with people in treatment, The International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy (IFBPT) has set official standards for the practice. Practitioners interested in becoming certified poetry therapists (an umbrella term encompassing the fields of bibliotherapy, poetry therapy, and journal therapy) can pursue training from the IFBPT to obtain credentials. Studies show reading as a form of therapy to be useful in the treatment of depression, mild alcohol abuse, anxiety, eating disorders, and communication issues.

Credentials offered include:

Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator (CAPF): These individuals typically have a bachelor's degree and some experience in psychology. They work primarily with individuals who are not experiencing mental health concerns, but they are trained to recognize when an individual is experiencing distress and may benefit from a referral to a mental health professional. They often work in schools or libraries but are often able to work in a mental health setting with the supervision of a qualified professional.

Certified Poetry Therapist (CPT), Registered Poetry Therapist (PTR): Individuals who wish to complete requirements for either of these certifications are required to have post-graduate mental health training. They are generally licensed to work on their own with people who are experiencing mental health concerns. They may also be medical doctors. A registered poetry therapist completes advanced coursework and study to obtain the "registered" credential.

​​Training involves workshops and courses, peer experience, and field work, which is completed under the guidance of a mentor/supervisor. It is not necessary for a poetry therapist to be proficient in creative writing. More information can be found on the IFBPT website.

Is Bibliotherapy Effective?

Most professionals agree reading is a productive activity that can promote good mental health, as reading has been shown to increase empathy, sharpen the mind, and impact behavior. One study found children who read the Harry Potter series were more accepting of certain minority groups, and psychologists from the New School for Social Research determined fiction improved a reader's overall ability to discern and interpret emotion in others.

Anecdotal research suggests bibliotherapy may offer significant benefit in the treatment of mental health issues, and its popularity among mental health professionals further implies positive results. Many therapists believe the inclusion of books in treatment increases participation in therapy and can decrease recovery time, providing more opportunity for insight and behavioral change while also allowing people to take more responsibility in their therapy work. Research on the efficacy of the method has shown it to be a helpful part of the treatment process for those experiencing depression, anxiety, and substance dependency.

Further research may yield more details regarding efficacy and benefits. Presently, bibliotherapy is believed to be one cost-effective and versatile option for the treatment of several mental health issues.
References:

1. Afolayan, J. A. (1992). Documentary perspective of bibliotherapy in education. Reading Horizons, 33(2). Retrieved from http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1498&context=reading_horizons

2. Anderson, H. (2015, January 6). Bibliotherapy: can you read yourself happy? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150106-can-you-read-yourself-happy

3. Bibliotherapy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/bibliotherapy

4. Hasty, P. (n.d.). Dynamic duo: combining bibliotherapy with play therapy techniques. Retrieved from http://www.lianalowenstein.com/article_bibliotherapy_edited.pdf

5. Helliker, K. (2007, July 31). Bibliotherapy: reading your way to mental health. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118583572352482728

6. History. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.poetrytherapy.org/history.html#the association for poetry therapy

7. Iaquinta, A., & Hipsky, S. (2006, July). Bibliotherapy for the inclusive classroom. Retrieved from http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Exceptional%20Learners/Inclusion/Teaching%20and%20Learning/hipsky_iaquinta.htm

8. Pehrsson, D. E. (2006, June). Benefits of utilizing bibliotherapy with play therapy. Play Therapy. Retrieved from http://bibliotherapy.ehs.cmich.edu/documents/APT%20bib%20Cover%20article.pdf

9. Shechtman, Z. (2009, June). Treating child and adolescent aggression through bibliotherapy. The Springer Series on Human Exceptionality, 21-37. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09745-9_2

10. Summary of Training Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ifbpt.org/obtaining-a-credential/getting-trained

11. McLaine, S. (n.d.). What is bibliotherapy? Retrieved from http://wordsthatheal.com.au/about

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Bibliotherapy, a therapeutic approach that uses literature to support good mental health, is a versatile and cost-effective treatment option often adapted or used to supplement other types of therapy. Proponents of the approach suggest mild to moderate symptoms of several mood-related conditions can be successfully treated with reading activities.

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Our K-12 curricula provide an understanding of diverse perspectives, strengthen critical thinking skills, challenge the development of emerging biases and build skills and motivation to take action against injustice.

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ADL's online bibliography of recommended children's and young adult books about bias, bullying, diversity and social justice.

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KidsHealth in the Classroom offers educators free health-related lesson plans for PreK through 12th grade. Each Teacher's Guide includes discussion questions, classroom activities and extensions, printable handouts, and quizzes and answer keys - all aligned to National Health Education Standards.