In past posts, I’ve mentioned using “Socratic Dialogue” with my students. Sometimes this is referred to as “Socratic Method”, “Socratic Seminar”, or “Socratic Circles.” You can learn more about this teaching technique here and in my post on “Socratic Questions.” I recently ran across an excellent post on the Langwitches blog called, “Socratic Seminar and … Read more
In our district, most 5th grade GT students read the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry. This amazing piece of dystopian literature spawns endless discussions about topics from the meaning of freedom to the potential consequences of genetic engineering. I have read this book with a group of students every year for 14 years, and … Read more
Respondo is a new tool brought to you by the creator of The Differentiator, Ian at http://www.byrdseed.com. As Ian describes on the Respondo page, he is still working on this tool, and welcomes any suggestions. However, from what I can see, it is a great way to incorporate creative thinking into responses to literature. It … Read more
I found out about this site on KB Connected right before the holidays. Karen’s site recommends to “use it to introduce: Historical figures, characters from a book, famous scientists, figures in pop culture etc.” I tried it out myself, and was impressed, so I showed it to my nine-year old daughter – who became obsessed with it! … Read more
S.C.O.R.E. Cyberguides is a site that was produced by Schools of California Online Resources for Education. It is based on California’s Language Arts curriculum, and offers a multitude of literature units at levels from K-12. The units include teacher and student resources. They could be used as supplemental materials, or as jumping off points for … Read more