The new common core standards for mathematics demand that students (and teachers!) exhibit deeper conceptual understanding. That's music to the ears of education professor John Tapper, who says teachers have overemphasized teaching procedures--and getting right answers. In his new book, "Solving for Why," he makes a powerful case for moving beyond…

Math games bring out kids' natural love of numbers. Yet in the waning days of school, students can't wait for that final bell to ring. Each summer, most students lose about two months of mathematical computation skills. So how do teachers keep their students focused on math up till the end? Before sending them off for the summer, get them hooked…

Kids learn by doing, which, experts agree, is the only real way to teach citizenship. This article presents election-year activities that stress action. These activities will show students what it means to be a good citizen. (Contains 6 online resources.)

This article presents an interview with Lyn Huston, who teaches in a one-room schoolhouse--Duckwater School--in Duckwater, Nevada. The school, which has a class of only 15 students, is set on a plot of land between alfalfa farms, an Indian reservation, and a 20,500-acre wilderness area. Huston discusses the challenges that exist when teaching in a…

The end of the school year is in sight, but it's not too late to help lower-level readers catch up. Experts across the country were asked about the most common obstacles to reading success--and effective ways to over-come them. Their insights and tips can help a teacher make a real difference before summer begins.

Despite students' interest in informational text, it has played second fiddle in literacy instruction for years. Now, though, nonfiction is getting its turn in the spotlight. The Common Core State Standards require that students become thoughtful consumers of complex, informative texts--taking them beyond the realm of dry textbooks and…

By the time March comes around, students are anticipating spring break and warmer weather--not to mention the rapidly approaching end of the school year. To keep teachers sane during this March Madness, the author provides tips on how they can cope with the bad behaviors of their students. She also suggests that a school-wide behavior policy, such…

Not too long ago, on a visit to two sixth-grade classrooms, the author saw very clearly the challenge teachers have before them when they try to differentiate reading. In both classrooms, 11-year-olds who read like fourth graders shared tables with classmates who read like the average ninth grader--a five-year span. How teachers approach this…

It is easy for intermediate students to get the wrong ideas about the purpose of reading. Educators pay so much attention to decoding and fluency in the early years that children sometimes come to believe that flawless and rapid word recognition is the point. As texts get more demanding or unfamiliar, some of the "good readers" in classes begin to…

Some high achievers are not as easy to engage. Sometimes motivating high achievers is "a matter of being more sensitive to what they are interested in," says Don Ambrose, a professor of education at Rider University in New Jersey. But too often classrooms are not set up for that kind of sensitivity. Research shows that schools are…

Rafe Esquith has taught for 23 years at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School in Los Angeles. In a neighborhood plagued by gangs, guns, and drugs, his is a special classroom known as Room 56. Within its walls, children living in poverty play Vivaldi concertos, perform unabridged plays by Shakespeare, and go on to attend top universities. In 2003,…

When you think ADHD, do you think boy? You're not alone. Boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, even though they're no more likely to have it. Too many young girls are not getting the help they need. That's why teachers are so important. When it comes to learning disabilities, teachers are right there on the front line.…

For many teachers, the storybook shelf is not the first place that they go to when they start to plan a math lesson. But children's books can be a great math teaching tool. They spark students' imaginations in ways that exercises in textbooks or workbooks often don't. In this article, the author shares three possible lessons based on favorite…

This article presents several activities and teaching ideas shared by teachers. One teacher shared how an Egyptian mummy-making activity can be a great hands-on learning through time. Another teacher shared how a bowl filled with popcorn kernels has made it easy for her to get the attention of her students.

This article presents several winning activities for students in the classroom. These activities include: (1) making Abraham Lincoln costumes; (2) creating frosty scenes from torn-paper collage for a grammar activity; (3) listening to Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech; (4) hosting an architectural challenge for a kindergarten class;…