Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

An award-winning English and Social Studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif., Larry Ferlazzo is the author of Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Challenges, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, and Building Parent Engagement In Schools.

Teaching Opinion 'Writing Helps Grow Readers'
Assigning students to write about what they are reading and asking them to compose in various formats are among the tips seven educators offer in their discussion of the role of writing in reading instruction.
Larry Ferlazzo, January 7, 2020
20 min read
Curriculum Opinion Author Interview: 'Culturally Responsive Education in the Classroom'
Adeyemi Stembridge talks about his new book, "Culturally Responsive Education In The Classroom: An Equity Framework for Pedagogy, including explaining the difference between "equity" and "equality."
Larry Ferlazzo, January 6, 2020
8 min read
Image of a student writing in a notebook.
Jardul/iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy Opinion 'Writing Directly Benefits Students' Reading Skills'
Five experienced educators discuss how writing instruction can support the development of reading skills for students throughout K-12.
Larry Ferlazzo, January 5, 2020
18 min read
Education Opinion Educators: Would You Like to Contribute to This Blog?
Blogger Larry Ferlazzo invites educators to contribute responses to future questions appearing on Classroom Q&A, the 10th anniversary of the blog aimed at making them--and their students--successful.
Larry Ferlazzo, January 2, 2020
1 min read
Teaching Opinion Elements of an Effective Math Lesson
Teachers explain how creative math lessons can spring from students' surrounding environments and culture such as the cost of the Thanksgiving meal and the search for "math selfies."
Larry Ferlazzo, December 30, 2019
12 min read
Teaching Opinion Eight Educators Share Their Best Math Lessons
Math educators share their favorite lessons, including taking students for a walk around a fenced-in field, investigating student-loan costs, and working alongside a language arts teacher.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 29, 2019
20 min read
Education Opinion What Was Your Best Math Lesson?
The new question-of-the-week is: What has been the best math lesson you have taught and why do you think it was so good?
Larry Ferlazzo, December 26, 2019
1 min read
Teaching Opinion We Need to Help 'Students Recognize the Brilliance They Already Have'
Ten educators wrap up a five-part series on ways to look for the positive, instead of the negative, in students, so they can change their own mindsets about the children's abilities as well as their students'.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 26, 2019
27 min read
Education Opinion Most Popular Classroom Q&A Posts of the Year
The most-read posts appearing in Classroom Q&A over the past year cover a wide range of topics, including ways to kill students' love of reading, math-teaching mistakes, and principals' challenges.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 23, 2019
1 min read
Teaching Opinion Look at 'What's Strong, Not What's Wrong' With Our Students
Ten educators explore how to emphasize student "assets" instead of their "deficits" in order to help students better engage in their education and improve their academic outcomes.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 22, 2019
25 min read
Teaching Opinion Focusing on What Our Students Are Doing Instead of What They're Not ...
Elizabeth Stein, Beth Kobett, Ed.D., Carol Pelletier Radford, Dr. Noah Prince, Michael Hart, Ph.D, Jenny Edwards, and Keisha Rembert offer their answers to the question, "How do we highlight student assets?"
Larry Ferlazzo, December 18, 2019
22 min read
Teaching Opinion The Importance of Focusing on Students' Assets
Lisa Westman, Salome Thomas El, T.J. Vari, Joseph Jones, Amber Chandler, Michelle Shory, Ed.S., Irina V. McGrath, Ph.D., Rita Platt, Cheryl Mizerny, and Adria Klein, Ph.D., contribute commentaries on the importance of emphasizing student strengths.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 16, 2019
25 min read
Teaching Opinion We Must 'See Our Students as Asset-Filled Beings'
Adeyemi Stembridge, Ph.D., Dr. Larry J. Walker, Carmen Nguyen, Julie Jee, Shawna Coppola, Kevin Parr, and Andrew Sharos share ideas on how we can focus on the assets, instead of the "deficits," of our students.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 15, 2019
23 min read
Education Opinion What Can Teachers Do to Highlight Student Assets & Not Their Deficits?
The new question-of-the-week is: What can teachers do to help highlight student assets and not their deficits? In other words, what can teachers do to help create that mindset for themselves when they look at students?
Larry Ferlazzo, December 12, 2019
1 min read