Madison Metropolitan School District used these quotes and images during their We Want to Do More Than Survive Book Study with educators from across the district.

This article examines the reading comprehension strategy known as making connections. It involves linking what is being read (the text) to what is already known (schema, or background knowledge). The author provides links to four online resources that will help readers use the strategy in K-5 science and literacy classrooms. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which integrates science and literacy instruction.

In this episode of NJEA’s Classroom Close-up, Fort Lee’s School No. 1 is using music to extend concentration among general and special education students in kindergarten through second grade. In addition, working one-on-one using dials to analyze a student’s response to various genres of music, educators are studying the impact the music has on a student’s ability to focus, which will help to improve and enhance student learning.

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.

Exemplary professional development publications in the areas of general instruction, science education, and literacy instruction in the elementary grades are described in each issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. This free, online magazine is structured around the seven essential principles of climate literacy and emphasizes integrating science and literacy skills in grades K-5.

The Professional Development Template for EL Students was created for the CESA #1 EL OER Project. Providing professional development is essential when working with and meeting to needs of EL students. Educators are able to personalize this professional development template to meet the needs of their staff and ELs. This template discusses characteristics of an EL student, the language acquisition theory, the WIDA CanDo Descriptors, language learning plans, and how to scaffold lessons.

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that believes “change is good”. “Kai” means change and “zen” means good. In business settings, Kaizen is also a strategic tool that brings about continuous improvement, in terms of increased productivity, superior quality, lower costs, efficient processes, increased safety and better customer experience. The word “Continuous” is worth remembering here as Kaizen is a never-ending improvement process. In this professional development activity, the Bonduel School District will be introduced to a quick and easy way to incorporate kaizen continuous improvement strategies into the education setting.

School librarian Marcia Mardis describes what the library can offer to teachers and students who want to produce a focused, engaging, and effective science fair. This article appears in the free online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which explores the seven essential principles of the climate sciences for K-grade 5 classrooms.

In this activity students will investigate four different ways fossils are made in sedimentary rock: impression, trace, preserved, and mineral replacement (petrification) fossils.

An educator describes the process we go through when shifting our thinking towards one of shared commitment to learners and learning.

 Purpose:This resource guides leadership teams into self-assessing their instructional leadership.Description:Based on evidence, teams rate instructional leadership practices in 10 aspects:  Vision, Practices, Evaluation, Professional Development, Feedback, Data, Cultural Responsiveness, Coaching, and Technology.  A summary provides opportunities to analyze findings and determine future actions for improvement planning.

Learn a simple organizational tool that can be used while working in The Learning Center. This tool can help customize the resources used within a LAP module. Whether your students have access to the Learning Center or it is used more as a filing cabinet to house LAPs, let Tammy Cyrus show you how she uses this organizational tool to simplify the planning process for a course

The UDL Modules were developed to support educators across Wisconsin in building background knowledge of Universal Design for Learning. Each module was designed with the intent of learning about UDL by experiencing UDL. At the end of each module is a Try-it for learners to apply their learning to their context.

In their WISELearn grant application, Bonduel School District wrote, “The teachers at Bonduel Middle/High School will create units to address our deficits in our curriculum and increase student learning for college and career readiness, including creating a new junior level English class. Our first step will be to look at our current curriculum and decide where we have gaps. Although we have worked to align our curriculum to the Common Core standards, we believe there are gaps which have led to lower test scores. We also would like to better align our curriculum in grades 7-12.” In order to meet their grant goals, teachers will be trained in the EQuIP rubric to assess the level of alignment and rigor in existing units. Then teachers will use the rubric to review and revise current units for English 9 and 10, embedding Open Educational Resources which were determined to be high quality instructional materials by EdReports to fill in gaps in the curriculum. In addition, teachers will be reviewing published high quality instructional materials from EdReports as they undergo materials adoption for grades 7, 8 and 11.

This professional development was done in preparation for implementation of the Units of Study for Reading at St. Croix Central (K-8).  We met once a month to discuss pertinent chapters in A Guide to the Reading Workshop (Primary Grades, Intermediate Grades, Middle School Grades) by Lucy Calkins.  In order to build teacher knowledge and demonstrate parts of a reading workshop, we gave teachers time to read and time to share/collaborate.  The collaboration time gave us insight into how to tailor the Teachers College visit more to what we needed at St. Croix Central.

How do you do it? Plan lessons, attend meetings, manage the classroom, grade papers, meet with administrators and parents? The list could go on and on. Teachers with 0 – 3 years will want to watch this webinar hosted by Lori Hairston (WA) for great ideas to manage the classroom, plan lessons, and teach a dynamic subject like business, finance and marketing.

NOTE: To access the NEW MBA Learning Center, visit mba.instructure.org. To access the NEW State's Connection, visit mbastatesconnection.mbaresearch.org

This is an article that I used to open a professional development session on word study. It was a great way to get teachers engaged and thinking about the upcoming learning.