Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Reading stamina matters. Prior to the pandemic, nearly two-thirds of students in the US were not at or above grade reading level for grade 4,8, and 12 (NAEP). If that isn't bad enough, UNESCO found that more than half of children and adolescents were not even learning worldwide. Furthermore, in September 2020, UNICEF reported that 1 billion children worldwide aren't learning at all. With these big picture stats and stories coming from the classroom, teachers need advice on helping students develop reading stamina. In episode 769 and this blog post, we're going to dig into reading stamina , why it is important, and practical ways we can help our students progress with reading stamina. My goal is to create a useful resource that teachers everywhere can use to get started with building reading stamina. Today's guest is Lisa Hollihan Allen. Sponsor: Today’s sponsor,  Literal  is an app to help students in grades 6-12 engage with reading. The books literally are broken...

Acceleration research can teach us how to accelerate learning. Dr. Douglas Fisher, co-author of the best-selling book Rebound, Grades K-12: A Playbook for Rebuilding Agency, Accelerating Learning Recovery, and Rethinking Schools . Instead of learning loss, Dr. Fisher is advocating how we can accelerate learning. He reflects on what we have learned and how we can move forward together as we work to emerge (hopefully) from the pandemic. Show Notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e768 Today’s episode is sponsored by  Tract . Tract will empower your students to develop 21st-Century Ready skills through project-based peer-to-peer learning. For a limited time, you can pilot Tract’s on-demand project-based classes and clubs free in your classroom. I am a project-based learning classroom and have joined the pilot. Request free access today at teach.tract.app with the access code COOLCATTEACHER. If you have students aged 8 or older, you’ll want to bring students into this self-directed...

"Really, we have to write?" say some students. No more! If you're working to engage your student in writing that is engaging and exciting, Dr. Sarah Levine from Stanford University has some practical ideas for you and your students. In this episode, you'll learn ways to engage students in writing using digital media. You'll also learn about an incredible idea " audio gifts " which you could use to support writing and gift giving for the upcoming holiday season. She also gives us the language for how to help students strengthen their writing with strong verbs and concrete language as they create their audio gifts. Sponsor: Defined Learning has engaging project-based lessons for your students., Take a look at the PBL tools & resources on Defined Learning with an online library of engaging hands-on projects, inspiring career-focused videos, research resources & more to help you create deeper learning opportunities for your students. Listeners of t...

Digital portfolios are an essential part of the modern student's creation process. In this show Tisha Poncio shares her tips on digital portfolios and classroom teaching. Learn how to plan ahead to allow for project based learning and digital portfolios and best practices for implementing them in the classroom. Transcript posted on the show page: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e766 Today’s episode is sponsored by Tract . Tract will empower your students to develop 21st-Century Ready skills through project-based peer-to peer learning. For a limited time you can pilot Tract’s on-demand project-based classes and clubs free in your classroom. I am a project based learning classroom and have joined the pilot. Request free access today at teach.tract.app with the access code COOLCATTEACHER. If you have students aged 8 or older, you’ll want to bring students into this self-directed project based platform that will rock your classroom and their world.  Try out Tract today! Tisha Poncio...

Thomas Arnett from the Christensen Institute Shares What the Insitute has learned from administrators and teachers about best practices for teaching during the pandemic. https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e765 Sponsor:  Screencastify . This year, I introduced the free screencasting tool, Screencastify, the first week of school to all of my students so they could record screencasts.   Screencastify isn’t just a screen recorder. You can record, edit, and submit to students quickly as they can to you. The new version of Screencastify has analytics so you can know who is watching and when and more. Head over to  screencastify.com  today. Thomas Arnett - Bio as Submitted Thomas Arnett is a senior research fellow for the Clayton Christensen Institute. His work focuses on using the Theory of Disruptive Innovation to study innovative instructional models and their potential to scale student-centered learning in K–12 education. Thomas began his work in education as a m...

These are challenging times, but what if you're trying to find some normalcy amidst the challenges? Today's guest, Michelle Blanchet, co-author of the Startup Teacher Playbook talks about a method she teaches teachers to help determine the specific issues of concern so that improvements can be made and the teacher can have a sense of forward progress. Social Emotional Learning isn't just for students, this episode focuses on teachers. https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e764 Today’s sponsor is NaliniKIDS , creator of  wordworkouts.org , a fantastic free SEL resource that will bring reflection and movement to your classroom. At wordworkouts.org you can select a word as the focus to help students get in the right mindset for a day of learning while making connections between academics and daily life. Wordworkouts.org is great for morning meetings, brain breaks, class transitions or advisory and is a wonderful relationship-building tool for your classroom community. Michelle Bla...

Tiffany Wycoff, the co-author of the bestselling book, Blended Learning in Action , talks about the state of blended learning today. She shares how some teachers are battling blended learning burnout but that it is necessary for learning today and how we move forward. https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e763 Sponsor: Screencastify . This year, I introduced the free screencasting tool, Screencastify, the first week of school to all of my students so they could record screencasts.   Screencastify isn’t just a screen recorder. You can record, edit, and submit to students quickly as they can to you. The new version of Screencastify has analytics so you can know who is watching and when and more. Head over to screencastify.com today. Tiffany Wycoff - Bio as Submitted After spending many years in the classroom teaching and several as a school principal, Tiffany co-founded LINC and now serves as Chief Operating Officer at LINC. She is the co-author of the bestselling book, Blended Le...