8th Grade Science teacher Peter Hill from King Middle School in Maine shares a quick strategy tool and strategy he refers to as "word cloud". The "word cloud" is generated by a computer program that takes words from an article and generates a "cloud" with different sizes of words with the size emphasizing the frequency of the word. Mr. Hill uses this as a quick pre-reading activity to increase curiosity and engagement and to have students anticipate what the article or essay is about and what the main idea is. Teachers might also consider a twist to this idea and have student groups create their own word cloud after reading a selected text.11

Team teachers, Jason David and Emma Katznelson, bring the Declaration of Independence to life in an engaging lesson that examines the historical document and helps students to construct meaning based on its historical context and underlying themes.To open the lesson, Emma reads a fictitious break up letter that she later reveals is signed by the thirteen original colonies. The letter both engages students and reveals the underlying theme in the Declaration of Independence. Students' prior knowledge is assessed through a journal writing activity and discussion before Jason leads students in an overview of the historical context in which the document was written. To delve deeper into the actual document, students then read and annotate a portion of the Declaration focusing on four themes: social contract, the right to revolution, popular sovereignty and natural rights. This work provides the basis for the subsequent classroom discussion facilitated by teacher questions but almost entirely directed by students. These supports and structures allow students to understand a complex document thematically and linguistically, forming their own understanding and teaching one another. In closing, students are asked to form thoughts about what it means to be an American and how their understanding of the Declaration of Independence influences these thoughts.

Motivated by the need to integrate curricular needs in K-5 classrooms and as a result of technology budget cuts, Pleasanton Elementary School students use a variety of free software applications to produce digital media projects that address reading, writing, collaboration and technology skills. In this way, learning becomes more meaningful and relevant for students.Using free programs and Apple software included on their computers, students choose to produce a life story, poem, tutorial or personal narrative in iMovie. In this video, students collaborate with one another and explain how they have created their movies. Final projects are then uploaded into students' digital portfolios.

Lesson Objective: Maximize instruction by adding content into your transitions
Length: 5 min
Questions to Consider: What is the class's daily routine for learning the word of the day? Why does Ms. Noonan have students "sit like a scholar" and wait before she says the word of the day? How does the "Grab Bag Quiz" help with classroom management as students move back to their desks?

Madeline Noonan starts every class day with a morning meeting. Students use vocabulary to describe how they're feeling, practice speaking in front of peers, and gain trust by sharing a little about themselves. A daily "greeting" adds a bit of fun.

Take a quick visit to Madeline Noonan's classroom. See how class culture is built throughout her day and is integrated with content instruction. You can watch more about Ms. Noonan's class in the other four videos.

As new teachers Saray Felix and Alex Torres embark on their first year of teaching, they get help from instructional coaches. Through feedback from their coaches, Saray and Alex are able to reflect on their teaching practice. Both Saray and Alex are enthusiastic about starting teaching, but confront challenges around classroom management, isolation, and exhaustion. Saray and Alex incorporate feedback from their coaches to focus on challenging and supporting students. As the year progresses, Saray and Alex learn to focus on both what needs to be improved and what is working.

Ms. Vreeland is a new teacher working to improve the management of her classroom. She shares a video of her class with management expert Jackie Ancess. Mrs. V takes what shes learned and tries it out in her class. Watch the before and after.

7th Grade Math Teacher Chris McCloud from the School of the Future in New York gives us a new idea on how to call on students and ensure participation. McCloud tapes 1 playing card on each student desk and has the same set of playing cards in his hand. Throughout a lesson, Chris flips a card to determine which students is going to answer a question. If students cannot answer the question, he does'nt allow them to say "I don't know." Instead, he requires the student to share where they are stuck and flips the next card to see if someone can help the student who is stuck.

This lesson involves students in solving a riddle related to multiplying fractions by fractions. Students are presented a riddle and are given think time by themselves to analyze models and try to solve the problem. After some individual think time, students interact with each other to explain their ideas and critique the ideas of others.

The resource involves a video of the lesson in action, a fully written lesson plan, and a handout for students to use to view the models and explain their reasoning.

Students create a folder to track themes throughout a text. The folder contains pockets for students to collect text evidence for each theme identified. The teacher can use this for formative and summative assessments. Students can determine which themes are prevalent and use these to write a literary analysis.

A teacher uses peer feedback as a formative assessment in writing for kindergartners. They learn about areas of improvement within their writing from their peers and go back and make the revisions.

Mary Dwyer, a 5th Grade English Language Arts teacher at Nicholas Oreko School in New Jersey, explains how to add excitement to the class during a not-so-exciting lesson. She explains that ŇhooksÓ and short breaks provide students with a physical release that then helps them get back to the mental focus needed.Some of Ms. Dwyers tips and tricks include simply standing up and taking deep breaths and having students give a drum roll on their desks.

A teacher records suggestions and comments on writing assignments as a podcast that students can access anytime and replay as needed. This allows for timely formative feedback.

Lila Gray instills her own love of poetry in her students by encouraging them to write original works and finding poems that express who they are. Her weekly open mic sessions create a perfect venue for building confidence and helping students find their voice while still hitting core standards and learning lifelong skills.

This video demonstrates how one teacher uses word and inference walls in the classroom to preview a reading selection. Students learn vocabulary and preview the text's content through these activities. This lesson specifically ties into the teaching of The Outsiders, but it could be applied to any content area.

In this lesson on the Gulf of Tonkin incident by teacher Valerie Ziegler, students practice sourcing documents and placing them in context of other historical events.  The lesson is accompanied by supporting downloadable materials and a video example.

Percussionist Steven Angel has developed an innovative program that uses rhythm to help struggling students improve their reading fluency and comprehension. Deceptively simple -- a facilitator taps out a basic rhythm while students read aloud -- the method relaxes students, helps them focus, and is effective in after-school intervention programs as well as traditional classrooms.

Using continual feedback and a problem solving process, high school computer programming students design educational video games for a class of fifth grade students. Their programming teacher, Ben Chun, leads students through a process that begins with interviewing the students and involves constant feedback and revision to ultimately create a video game that is both fun and educational. Striving to model a real world situation as closely as possible, Mr. Chun requires students to interview both students and the teacher regarding learning objectives and standards, interests and video games they are already playing to create a design that is personalized and appropriate for students. As they go through the week long process, students work in teams of three to brainstorm ideas and assign roles involving programming, art and project management. All students are involved in the actual design process and end up producing games that are both responsive to students needs and engaging. At one point during the design process, the fifth grade class visited the school to provide feedback for prototypes so that final refinement and improvements could be made.

Through Jim Sill's three TV and video classes, high school students learn a variety of video production skills. In the Introduction to Video Production class, students work on cross-curricular projects. They learn how to use equipment, write and edit scripts, and collaborate to produce videos. In the TV broadcasting class, students produce a news show that is watched across the school. In the Advanced Video Production class, students work with companies and non-profits in the community to produce videos. Through all of Jim's classes, students learn real-world skills as they collaborate to create innovative videos.