Guess what?! We’ve reached the inevitable phonics chapter in Classrooms That Work! We all knew it had to come; the chapter all about what the book itself has had enough of. Of course, the book has not been telling us phonics is useless in itself; it’s been telling us that the way in which so… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 5
Tag: curriculum
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 4
Hello again! We’re onto chapter four in Classrooms That Work and it’s another good one! This one is all about children’s writing and thinking. Like reading, it focuses on thinking while writing to improve not only students’ writing but also their reading skills. The chapter notes that the best thing we can do as teachers… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 4
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 3
In the last two chapters of Classrooms That Work, we've discussed what doesn't work and strategies to garner kids' enthusiasm for reading. This chapter discusses comprehension and how to teach students to actually think about what they're reading. Sure enough, I see very often that kids have had phonics drilled into them and know letter… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 3
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 2
Chapter Two in Classrooms That Work is all about reading and writing. Titled Reading and Writing Real “Things”, one of the first sentences which struck me was: “[c]hildren who are successful at becoming literate view reading and writing as authentic activities from which they get information and pleasure, and by which they communicate with others.”… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 2
Teaching Roald Dahl’s “The Witches”
What's everyone's favourite Roald Dahl book? It's hard, I know, because they're all perfection on a page. I've spent years reading and re-reading and teaching all of his novels and short stories and have finally decided that "The Witches" is my favourite. It's especially fun to teach and read aloud just to do the voice… Continue reading Teaching Roald Dahl’s “The Witches”
KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 1
We recently underwent a huge remodel of our school library and had to get rid of bunch of resources that were being under-utilized. It was bittersweet as our library no longer has some excellent books, but teachers also got to take their pick of what they wanted to keep for themselves and I made out… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Classrooms That Work Ch. 1
The Hunger Games in the Classroom
I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for the first time about five years ago when I assigned it to a group of students for a group study project. I ended up falling in love with the book myself and recently decided to re-read it on account of the soon-to-be-released film and the fact… Continue reading The Hunger Games in the Classroom
Ten Films to Use as Primary Texts
Teachers tend to show films simply to accompany primary texts in the classroom. In English we'll show To Kill a Mockingbird as we read the novel, in Social Studies we show films like Passchendaele to accompany our lecture on the historic event. In Chemistry we'll show those amazing James Bond knock-off films to teach chemical… Continue reading Ten Films to Use as Primary Texts
Ten Ways to Incorporate Humour in the Classroom
I find the best way to get students involved, retain their attention, and ensure that they recall curriculum is to make lessons interesting and meaningful to them. Overall, the easiest way to do this is to utilize humour in the classroom. Some of the best comedic gems to use in the classroom can be found… Continue reading Ten Ways to Incorporate Humour in the Classroom
KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 4
In the last chapter of Becoming a Better Teacher, it discussed curriculum design and went through steps to help teachers implement a functional curriculum in their classrooms. This chapter is all about assessment. This is close to my heart as I have always been opposed to teachers teaching to end of year or unit exams rather… Continue reading KIAT Book Club: Becoming a Better Teacher Ch. 4
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