Instructional Resource Links

Planning

  • Frameworks: The 6+1 Traits of Writing (Ruth Culham / Education Northwest)
    Recognizing and fostering characteristics of good writing (Perkins & Reese, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 43-47).
  • Frameworks: Expeditionary Learning (Expeditionary Learning / EL Schools)
    Five core practices for effective teaching, learning, and leading in schools (Perkins & Reese, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 43-47).
  • FrameworksProject Zero - Teaching for Understanding (Harvard Graduate School of Ed.)
    Pedagogical framework emphasizing deep, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences for students (Perkins & Reese, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 43-47).
    Complementary frameworks from Project Zero: Visible ThinkingCultures of Thinking, and Artful Thinking - also complementary to the Understanding by Design framework below.  See also the Making Learning Visible section of the Project Zero site for recent research.
  • Frameworks: Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe)
    A pedagogical framework emphasizing deep, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences for students (Perkins & Reese, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 43-47).
  • General Lesson Planning: Common Core Blog
    Online resources to successfully implement Common Core standards.
  • General Lesson Planning: EduCore
    ASCD resource for instructing Common Core standards.
  • General Lesson Planning: OpenEd
    Resources to enhance the lesson planning process.  Create playlists for students, colleagues, and families; create custom Common Core-aligned assessments.
  • General Lesson Planning: Project ReimaginED
    Collaborate with other K-12 professionals to develop aligned lesson plans.
  • General Lesson Planning: SAS Curriculum Pathways
    Free resource for middle/high schools that contains materials aligned to standards-based instruction across the content areas.
  • General Lesson Planning: TED-Ed
    "…curated educational videos and easily create customized lessons around them."  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (October, 2014, p. 9).
  • Socratic Seminar Planning: Paideia Active Learning
    Text-based Socratic seminar planning resources.  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (November, 2014, pp. 11-16).
  • Technology Resources: APPitic
    Up-to-date repository of "App Lists for Education."
  • Technology Resources: Common Sense Education: Graphite
    Updated list of apps/resources.

Instruction

  • Best Practice: Marzano's Nine Instructional Strategies
  • Flipped Classroom: Animoto
    Create slideshows/media with accompanying music.
  • Flipped Classroom: Educreations
    Create tutorials for the purposes of reteaching and/or assessment prep.
  • Flipped Classroom: Explain Everything
    Import documents/multimedia and manipulate/annotate said documents/multimedia.
  • Flipped Classroom: Khan Academy
    Hugely popular flipped classroom resource.  Tagline: "You Can Learn Anything."
  • Flipped Classroom: Replay
    Create slideshows/media with accompanying music.
  • Flipped Classroom: Seesaw
    Create digital journals and share work with others.
  • Flipped Classroom: Shadow Puppet App
    Create videos, slideshows, and presentations.
  • Flipped Classroom: Snagit
    My preferred screen casting software - reasonable price, intuitive system for creating custom screen casts for classroom instruction, meetings, etc.  Free trial version available.
  • Flipped Classroom: Subtext
    Highlight and annotate text from multiple sources - students may then do the same to the teacher's notes/highlights.
  • Instructional Reflection: Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol Rubric
    Measure and reflect upon various aspects of inquiry-based instruction.
  • Instructional Tools: Accountable Talk
    University of Pittsburgh Institute for Learning - free sourcebook available for the Accountable Talk classroom discussion model.
  • Instructional Tools: ALL-ED
    "…a network of research-based learning routines, with related supportive materials…" (Bondie, Gaughran, & Zusho, 2014)
  • Instructional Tools: Bloom's Taxonomy - Questions
  • Instructional Tools: Classroom Discussion - The "Spider Web" Method
    Supporting Reference: Educational Leadership (November, 2014, pp. 78-81).
  • Instructional Tools: CommonCore.com
    Resources for integrating Common Core standards into teacher instruction.  Sponsored by Triumph Learning.
  • Instructional Tools: Edivate / Teaching Strategy of the Week
    One video per week released free of charge aligned to Common Core instruction.
  • Instructional Tools: Marzano Research - Classroom Tools
    Create a free account and enjoy access to resources - games, vocabulary tools, and more.
  • Instructional Tools (Technology): Padlet
    Shared space for brainstorming and other applications.
  • Instructional Tools (Technology): Thesis Builder
    Tool for students to generate/build thesis statements, content outlines, etc.

Assessment

  • Common Assessments: Mastery Connect
    Promising resources at the "free" level of membership.  Examples of Common Core-aligned assessments.  Provides access to "…a network of educators who have contributed assessments for their content areas and grade levels." (DuFour, 2014).  Supporting Reference: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 30-35).
  • Formative Assessment: Discussion Rubric - "Spider Web" Method
    Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (November, 2014, pp. 78-81).
  • Formative Assessment (Technology / Flipped Classroom):
    • Socrative
    • Poll Everywhere
    • Google Forms
  • Formative Assessment (Technology / Flipped Classroom): Kahoot
    Online, game-based response system (formative assessment / review).

Professionalism / PD

  • Collaboration: The Center for Teaching Quality
    Free access to the collaborator, where teachers can "expand their personal learning networks by working with others who face similar challenges (DuFour, 2014).  Supporting Reference: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 30-35).
  • Collaboration: The College Board's AP Virtual Community
    Collaborative resource for teachers of AP courses (DuFour, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 30-35).
  • Communication: Remind
    App that provides the ability to send texts or voicemails in a safe and secure way to students and parents.
  • PD: Edcamp Events
    Web resource detailing Edcamp events near your location (Swanson, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 36-40).
  • PLCs: The Teaching Channel
    Videos of lessons in various grade levels and content areas - ideal for teams of teachers to utilize in order to analyze instructional methods (DuFour, 2014).  Supporting Resource: Educational Leadership (May, 2014, pp. 30-35).

Other/General Interest (Staff)