Impementing Nonfiction in the Classroom

Here is a great link with some good teaching ideas for using nonfiction and mini-units of inquiry.  In my mind, I see it as a possible center.

 

As the Common Core is implemented across the country, teachers are going to be thinking a lot about nonfiction. We love Wonderopolis as a tool for injecting nonfiction reading and writing into the school day.  This free resource has a clever, simple design, plus intriguing topics that can't help but spark kids' interest:

 

http://wonderopolis.org/

 

 

From the Choice Literacy Archives, Andrea Smith explains how she has made Wonderopolis an integral part of her intermediate classroom:

 

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1417.cfm

High school uses homeroom for academic planning, courtesy of ASCD Smart Brief

• Something to think about!  Congrats, Maine!
• High school uses homeroom for academic planning
  A high school in Maine will transform homeroom classes into a block of time in which students will receive help with academic planning. Officials said they want to increase the focus on academics. "What we would like to do is to get our staff on a day-to-day basis more actively involved with helping our students guide themselves through four years," Robert Stevens, principal, said. SeacoastOnline (Portsmouth, N.H.) (tiered subscription model) (9/6)     

Ten skills every student should learn - Courtesy of eSchoolNews

Here is a great article on what ten skills all students need.  Not too surprisingly, literacy is at the top of the list:)

Enjoy:)

Ten skills every student should learn

Resourcefulness, accountability, critical thinking, and communicating effectively—and with respect—were among the key skills cited by readers as most important

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor

Technology News for Today's K-20 EducatorJoin the conversatio

"The most important thing we can teach our children is how to learn on their own," said one reader.

What students should learn in school is at the forefront of the education reform debates taking place across the U.S. and elsewhere.
Ed-tech stakeholders for years have been touting the need for students to learn so-called “21st century skills” such as problem solving, critical thinking, and media literacy to prepare for the new global, digital economy, while others are calling for students to have strong math and science skills.
All of these skills are important—but what do educators and other school stakeholders think are the most important skills?

For the rest of the story:

Ten skills every student should learn