What We Pay Attention to Grows

January 26, 2021 Categories: Positive Language / Teacher Language / The Language of Learning
In March of 2020, just before widespread quarantine, I serendipitously attended a silent meditation retreat in the mountains of Tennessee. It was my first real introduction to the teachings of meditation. Throughout the weekend, I learned to set the cognitive stage for my meditation practice by recalling a very specific positive event. More importantly, while Read More »
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DEC
13
2019

Stop and Think: Teaching Students to Reflect

As educators, we all want to help our students develop valuable life-long skills, including the ability to think critically about their own work, truly know themselves and their learning styles, reflect on…
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NOV
12
2019

Strengthening Students’ Speaking and Listening Skills

Having productive conversations requires students to listen deeply, reflect on what is said, express ideas clearly, sustain attention, ask insightful questions, debate respectfully, and develop comprehension of information taken in. These essential…
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APR
03
2019

Challenge Is a Part of Learning

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass This famous quote, printed on bright pink cardstock and posted above the whiteboard of a third grade classroom, stood out during…
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FEB
08
2018

Teaching Students to Speak Confidently

“As their teachers, we hold in our hearts our own hopes and dreams for [our students]. We want them to engage in academic rigor and to be ideamongers who contribute to classroom…
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APR
07
2014

The Hot Seat

Are you looking for interactive learning structures that will help your students gain a deeper understanding of content while also developing and practicing higher level thinking skills? The Hot Seat is a…
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MAR
04
2014

The Language of Learning (Foreword)

Students enter our school doors with a vision of themselves as learners, filled with hopes and dreams for learning. That's what I firmly believe. With them, they bring an innate curiosity and…
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JAN
03
2014

Asking Strategic Questions

Adapted from the new book The Language of Learning: Teaching Students Core Thinking, Listening, & Speaking Skills 
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NOV
17
2010

Seeing It All Come Together

While reading Mike Anderson’s series of posts about strategies for keeping students active and engaged, I kept thinking about a second grade classroom I visited recently. I was lucky enough to watch…
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