The Edcite Blog

The Common Core #10yearchallenge: Only 1 State to Continue Using PARCC Test

February 16, 2019 Guest

With Instagram’s latest #10yearchallenge and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signing executive orders to abandon the PARCC test, I found it only fitting to do a Common Core version of the challenge.

So, let’s travel down education’s memory lane to 2009 with the state-led effort (48 states, two territories, and the District of Columbia) to design and implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Per the Common Core State Standards Initiative website, “State school chiefs and governors recognized the value of consistent, real-world learning goals and launched this effort to ensure all students, regardless of where they live, are graduating high school prepared for college, career, and life.”

How to Cultivate a Culture of Reading

February 14, 2019 Guest

At any moment of the day, a variety of stimuli are vying for our students’ attention. Video games. Instagram. Snapchat. Twitter. Texting. Facetime. The list goes on and on. Thus, in order for a kid to choose a book over all the other competing options, we must cultivate a culture of reading. Reading must be equally as “cool” as Fortnite. Period. Here are three tips for cultivating a culture of reading in your classrooms and schools.

Black History Month Resources on Edcite

February 13, 2019 edciteteam

As classrooms celebrate Black History Month throughout the month of February, we wanted to share a collection of assignments created by teachers in our community.

The Top TED Talks for Educators

February 7, 2019 Guest

Teaching is hard! As teachers we work with young people whose bodies are changing and causing them feelings that are difficult to understand. Their minds are curious and questioning, including questions like, “Why is this important to learn? Will I use this? Why do I have to come to school?” Teachers are constantly juggling investing students in the learning, managing classroom behavior, creating a positive classroom culture, and teaching the content to kids with different abilities.

An ELA Teacher’s Dream Come True: Thousands of Copyrighted Works Entered the Public Domain

February 4, 2019 Guest

As English language arts teachers know best, teaching students to read is multi-faceted and incredibly complex. One of the best professional development (PD) experiences I have had was Close Reading led by Doug Lemov and the Teach Like a Champion team. At this PD they emphasized and re-emphasized the importance of text selection when teaching students to read. Specifically, they shared what they have coined, “The 5 Plagues of the Developing Reader” and the need for teachers to choose texts that target these five plagues. By exposing students to the five plagues in a setting where the teacher and peers can dialogue and analyze the texts together, we are then teaching students how to comprehend and analyze complex texts on their own

Creating a Climate of Joy in Spite of the Polar Vortex ❄️

January 31, 2019 Guest

As the polar vortex is creating record lows and cities are experiencing the harshest cold in years, be certain your classroom climate doesn’t mirror this event. Instead, create or infuse a climate of JOY in your classroom as we head into the spring. Think back to a lesson you were taught in school that you still remember. What did the teacher do to make it stick?

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