Category: Classroom Application

Test Prep Reimagined: Brain-Based Strategies That Improve Student Performance

Author: Traci Hedetniemi | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application, Research | Tags: , , ,
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Sometimes, the challenge of taking a high-stakes test is less about the content itself and more about a student’s ability to access the content and manage the cognitive demands while doing so. Today, we will explore three research-supported strategies that help students strengthen and organize their long-term memory during test preparation and focus their limited … read more »

Teacher Appreciation Week: Reclaiming Time for What Matters Most

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: ,
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Teacher Appreciation Week is a chance to recognize the work you do every day. You plan, adjust, support, and respond—often with limited time and increasing demands. We know that true appreciation is more than a card in a mailbox; it’s about having the resources and the mental space to do what you love most: teaching. … read more »

Autism Acceptance Month and Beyond: 5 Classroom Shifts That Build Belonging

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , , ,
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As Autism Acceptance Month comes to a close, it’s a meaningful time to reflect—not just on awareness, but on what acceptance looks like in everyday classroom life. Awareness opens the door, but belonging is built through daily choices: the routines we establish, the language we use, and how we design learning environments to support neurodivergent … read more »

Great Poetry Reading Day: Helping Students Discover the Power of Poetry

Author: Erin Mulvany-Mankowski | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: ,
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April marks National Poetry Month, established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets to celebrate poetry’s significance in our lives. Poetry, one of humanity’s oldest art forms, preserves our stories and evolves alongside us. As a poetry enthusiast, I often hear from people who claim to “hate” poetry—and I always suggest they simply haven’t … read more »

Who Owns This Work? Exploring Intellectual Property with Students

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , , ,
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Students create and share content constantly. They post videos, remix music, design graphics, and reuse images they find online. In many cases, they never stop to ask an important question: Who owns this work? World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 provides a natural opportunity to explore that question together. The day highlights how creative … read more »

Turning the Page Together: How National Library Week Strengthens School Communities

Author: Darshell Silva | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , ,
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National Library Week is more than a date on the calendar—it’s an open invitation to build a culture of reading, curiosity, and community that lasts well beyond seven days. Sponsored annually by the American Library Association (ALA) and typically held during the second week of April, National Library Week overlaps with School Library Month. Each … read more »

Literacy as a Shared Responsibility: Supporting Reading Across Content Areas

Author: Erin Mulvany-Mankowski | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: ,
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“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” —Frederick Douglass Educators will agree that literacy (the ability to read and write) is the cornerstone of learning. Literacy opens the world and allows one to be a lifelong learner. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) summarizes it well: “Literacy empowers and … read more »

Every Suitcase Tells a Story: Teaching Immigration, Identity, and Belonging

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: ,
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If you’ve ever held a well-worn suitcase—one with scuffs, scratches, maybe even a frayed handle—you know it carries more than just belongings. Suitcases hold stories. Memories. Hope. And for millions of immigrants who arrived through Ellis Island after it opened on January 1, 1892, that suitcase represented the bridge between the lives they left behind … read more »

Stepping Into History: Thinking Routines and Margaret Peterson Haddix

Author: Ruth Okoye | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , , , , ,
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What if the best way to help students understand history — and the issues we’re still grappling with today — was to hand them a novel and ask them to try on someone else’s life? That’s exactly what Margaret Peterson Haddix had in mind when she wrote Uprising. In a video conversation about the book, … read more »

The Power of Two: Why Librarian-Teacher Collaboration is the Ultimate Classroom Hack

Author: Darshell Silva | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application, Library Media | Tags: , ,
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You’re staring at a new unit plan, trying to figure out how to weave in media literacy, find credible primary sources, and keep thirty different students engaged—all while hitting your state standards. It feels like a solo mountain climb. But here’s the thing: you aren’t alone on that mountain. Just down the hall—or perhaps right … read more »