About | Explore | Sign In (or Join) Login
AfterSchool
Be part of the Discussion
ADVERTISEMENT

All Event Types
And Contains:
(57) Results
1
posts
184
views
What Are Students at the Oldest Public School in America Expected to Read? Books That Are at Grade Level Blog One of the best things about the Boston Latin School (BLS) summer reading list for rising freshmen is the special note for students who did not matriculate in the 7th or 8th grade. Those students are encouraged to make selections from a list of books that returning BLS students have already read. BLS sends a clear message that to be part of their learning community and to be able to contribute to classroom discussions, students must bring to their classrooms something of a common base of literary experience. While this catch-up list includes some examples of high quality realistic fi...

by JTD » AfterSchool •4/25/2013 Blog
1
posts
118
views
Tomorrow is Thomas Jefferson’s 270th Birthday -- Now There’s a Man Who Valued Building Knowledge Blog Most kids learn the history of Lewis & Clarks expedition as a story of adventure and cooperation between the explorers and Native Americans, notably their guide Sacajawea. How many go into any depth about the person and ideas behind the foray into wilderness? Between the time suck of test prep and the devaluing of knowledge building in public schools in the last several decades, its up to parents to supplement. Even older elementary school students are able to go beyond a story book level of understanding of what Lewis and Clarks trip meant in the political and economic context of th...

by JTD » AfterSchool •4/12/2013 Blog
1
posts
123
views
April is National Poetry Month – Celebrate with Some Creative Non-fiction for Kids Blog I hear and read a fair amount of grousing about the Common Core Standards non-fiction requirements, especially the fiction / non-fiction ratio for elementary school students. Theres plenty of creative non-fiction around though. How is expository prose about the water cycle not a narrative about the natural world? What is history but stories that happen to have happened (hmm, realistic stories that include character and the nature of humanity)? Luckily, one of my kids early elementary teachers who didnt have such a bias against non-fiction taught science with poetry, using a beautiful...

by JTD » AfterSchool •4/4/2013 Blog
1
posts
190
views
Take the Kids to Outer Space for Spring Break Blog If youre not heading out of town in search of warm weather, spring break can be a bit of a dice roll weather-wise. In many areas, you cant count on consistently appealing weather for outdoor activities. You might just jump start an interest in astronomy with a trip to a local observatory or planetarium. Many universities Physics departments have public stargazing and educational programs that give kids school-age and older a chance to look through a telescope. UT Austin maintains a partial list of public telescope programs. Go Astronomy lists planetariums both large and small. As ...

by JTD » AfterSchool •3/22/2013 Blog
2
posts
182
views
You Can’t Call Will Fitzhugh a Thomas Gradgrind for Caring About Content Blog Discussion Critics of school reform who take aim at the current overreliance on standardized testing often add a red herring attack on the idea of using the Common Core Standards as an outline of what students need to learn. These critics skills-based approach denies the necessity of building a significant knowledge base in order to develop critical thinking skills. Its easy enough for educators who are resistant to change to paint a caricature of supporters of the Common Core as people who advocate for drill and kill and dont value literature or the arts. This misrepresentation shrinks from h...

by JTD » AfterSchool •3/15/2013 Blog
1
posts
500
views
Parent / Teacher Conference Coming Up? Ask if Your Child Has a Writing Portfolio Blog After my older child finished elementary school, I was surprised one day when she brought home a huge folder of in-class writing assessments conducted over a four year period. I never had seen this work. To the best of my knowledge, this folder follows students from classroom to classroom throughout elementary school. In theory, this kind of portfolio could serve as something akin to a medical chart. I wonder what percentage of teachers have or make the time to review their incoming students portfolios. I wish I had known about their existence as I could have used it as a tool to kee...

by JTD » AfterSchool •3/5/2013 Blog
1
posts
263
views
Engage the Kids in STEM with a Valentine Treat from the Bad Astronomy Guy Blog Valentines Day isnt just for chocolate. Show the kids this astonomical eye candy compiled by Phil Plait, creator and host of the Bad Astronomy website. The pictures are fascinating, and Plaits commentary is a great combination of informative and amusing. A National Science Teachers Association reviewer recommends Plaits book for high school students, but his approachable prose will draw many curious middle schoolers into further exploration of the physical sciences and invite them to think critically about scientific myths, hoaxes, and legends.

by JTD » AfterSchool •2/14/2013 Blog
2
posts
324
views
$35 for the iPod-Sized Raspberry Pi Computer Gets Kids Programming Blog Discussion $35 for hardware and a free Scratch software download from the MIT Media Lab can transform kids from software consumers to programming hobbyists. Faculty at the University of Cambridges Computer Science Department were concerned that incoming students lacked the programming knowledge of previous classes of students had gained by messing around with writing simple programs on cheap computers like the Commodore 64. Advances in home computing had enabled most kids to merely consume, rather than harness, computing power. So they started the Raspberry Pi Foundation to design an afforda...

by JTD » AfterSchool •2/5/2013 Blog
1
posts
286
views
Salman Khan Takes on the Unanswered Question of the film Les Miserables: Revolution? What Revolution? Blog If teens go see the movie version of Les Mis (or is it Les Miz?), dont expect to them to attain much knowledge of French history. As David Denby points out, the Victor Hugo novel, stripped of its social detail and reduced to its melodramatic elements, no longer makes much sense. He rightly goes on to write, Sentimentality in art is corrosive because it rewards us for imprecise perceptions and meaningless hatreds. Salman Khan puts Les Miserables into historical context for those students who might not have any background from their coursework and invites students to investigate fur...

by JTD » AfterSchool •1/29/2013 Blog
1
posts
186
views
Even the Obamas Afterschool in English Language Arts Blog I have no doubt that Sasha and Malia Obama are experiencing top-quality schooling at Sidwell Friends. A small blurb in a NY Times inauguration feature has me wondering if the Obamas are feeling the need to supplement their daughters reading assignments. The article mentions an interview with student journalists that Mrs. Obama attended last week. In the interview, Mrs. Obama shared that Malia and her parents are currently making a project of reading classic American novels together, from Catcher in the Rye to Tender is the Night. Unfortunately, the reading lists for the Upper Scho...

by JTD » AfterSchool •1/22/2013 Blog
« more »

ADVERTISEMENT