Teacher Update: March 13, 2014: March 13, 2014

Weekly news and resources for teacher leaders, March 13, 2014. View as web page.

PD WEBINAR Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 4 to 5 p.m ET

Boosting Authentic Literacy Through Common-Core Instructional Shifts

In this special webinar, teaching expert Mike Schmoker will discuss the three instructional shifts inherent in the common standards and demonstrate how teachers across subject areas can use them to reshape literacy lessons. Schmoker will also address what he sees as potential pitfalls of the common standards—areas that could easily divert educators' attention from the "essence of authentic literacy."

Part of our PD Webinar Series, Deeper Literacy: New Insights and Strategies for Teachers. Read more.

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NEW DIRECTIONS IN ASSESSMENT

English teacher Nancy Barile uses 'Bowling for Columbine,' a documentary by Michael Moore, in her film course.

Teachers May Need to Deepen Assessment Practices for Common Core

As teachers transition to common standards, experts say they may need to take on more of a "teacher-researcher" role in the classroom. Read more.

• STORY PACKAGE: New Directions in Assessment

FIRST PERSON

Teacher Home Visits: The Importance of Sharing a Meal

Elementary school teacher Emily Kilgore discovered that getting to know a student's family helped spark her sense of purpose. Read more.

(Teacher)

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Free download from Education Week: Using Assessment to Measure Student Learning and Growth
See how classroom-based assessments are changing the way student growth is measured.

MORE STORIES

CTQ COLLABORATORY

Changing a School's Culture, From the Ground Up
(Teacher)

Study Links Teacher 'Grit' With Effectiveness, Retention
(Inside School Research)

Teachers Learn to Judge Formative-Testing Tools
(Education Week)

Teach For America Targets Retention, Longer Preparation
(Education Week)

Report Highlights Resources for Teaching Civil Rights Movement
(Teaching Now)

When Teachers Read Mean Tweets by Their Students
(Teaching Now)

Traveling STEM Fair Draws In Teachers and Students
(Teaching Now)

Testing Skeptics Aim to Build Support for Opt-Out Strategy
(Education Week)

AFT Says It Will No Longer Accept Gates Funding
(Teacher Beat)

Essay-Grading Software Seen as Time-Saving Tool
(Education Week)

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			How are schools killing the love of reading? In Readicide Kelly Gallagher describes four damaging instructional practices, and offers suggestions on how teachers can cultivate lifelong readers. Click here to read Chapter 1: The Elephant in the Room.

TEACHING CHANNEL VIDEO

Table for 22: A Real-World Geometry Project

Middle school teacher Suney Park demonstrates how she backtracks to build students' content knowledge before teaching new information on area and perimeter. Her lesson, designed to meet the common standards, aims to get students to apply knowledge of area and perimeter to solve real-world problems . (14 min) Read more.

(Teacher)

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TEACHER BLOGS

Reducing Attrition in Urban Schools 'By Listening to Our Teachers'
(Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo)

Turning China Terrorist Attack Into Lesson on Love
(Lessons From China)

Chicago Teacher Explains the Infamous Viral PD Video
(Living in Dialogue)

Who Should Evaluate Teachers?
(Teacher in a Strange Land)

Clarifying the Role of School Board Members
(Learning Forward's PD Watch)

Unlearning Learned Helplessness
(Coach G's Teaching Tips)

UPCOMING EVENTS

CHAT - Tuesday, March 18, 2014 2 p.m.–3 p.m. ET

Digital Advances Reshaping Formative Assessment

Educational technology is reshaping formative assessment. But what impact are those changes having on teaching and student learning? Assessment expert Margaret Heritage and high school principal Alice DeWittie discuss the promises and realities of technology-enabled formative assessment. Sign up here to receive an email reminder for this chat.