The Shift

All Are Welcome Here! Quick, Cultural Connections to Content Instruction for Diverse Learners

All Are Welcome Here! Quick, Cultural Connections to Content Instruction for Diverse Learners

Action Research, Featured Articles, The Shift November 6, 2016 at 9:44 am Comments are Disabled

John Wolfe with Rita Platt “Culturally responsive teaching” or “culturally relevant instructional practices” are hot topics in ESL teaching. We value this and applaud the many […]

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CBM3D: Using CBMs for Quick Assessment of Progress in English Language Development

CBM3D: Using CBMs for Quick Assessment of Progress in English Language Development

Action Research, Featured Articles, The Shift, The Toolbox October 22, 2016 at 7:00 pm Comments are Disabled

By Rita Platt & John Wolfe Today in almost every elementary school in America, teachers are required (or at least highly encouraged) to use curriculum based […]

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CBMs with a Twist: Reading is About More Than the Speed

CBMs with a Twist: Reading is About More Than the Speed

By Rita Platt Today in almost every elementary school in every state in America, teachers are required (or at least highly encouraged) to use curriculum […]

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Caring Classrooms: Setting Expectations and Rules Together!

Caring Classrooms: Setting Expectations and Rules Together!

Action Research, Featured Articles, The Shift, The Toolbox, Uncategorized July 12, 2015 at 2:42 pm Comments are Disabled

By Stacey Belisle A Saint C.A.R.E.S.! That’s what we say at Saint Croix Falls Elementary School. C.A.R.E.S. stands for Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self […]

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High/Low Books to Engage Reluctant Readers from 4th Grade Through High School

High/Low Books to Engage Reluctant Readers from 4th Grade Through High School

By Rita Platt If we want reluctant readers to read we have to give them books they want to read. That means helping them find […]

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Teachers, It’s Time to Rethink How You Communicate with Parents

Teachers, It’s Time to Rethink How You Communicate with Parents

By Rita Platt Guess what? That weekly newsletter you send home? I don’t read it. I’m truly sorry.  I’m a teacher too. I know how […]

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Out of the Peaceable Kingdom: The Three Roles of the ESL Teacher

Out of the Peaceable Kingdom: The Three Roles of the ESL Teacher

The Edge of Education, The Shift, The Toolbox January 18, 2015 at 6:32 pm 1 comment

By John Wolfe and Rita Platt Not too many years ago, the ESL classroom was a space apart. It often served as a warm refuge […]

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Education Reform: Politics Trumps Reason

Education Reform: Politics Trumps Reason

Featured Articles, The Shift January 17, 2015 at 1:19 pm Comments are Disabled

By Rita Platt & John Wolfe  The arguments over educational reform have always been loud. But, recently, we feel they have risen to the “mad-man with an […]

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Ode on a Boring Inservice

Ode on a Boring Inservice

Featured Articles, The Shift, Uncategorized August 25, 2014 at 10:13 pm Comments are Disabled

Low Song By John Wolfe   (Composed and Revised during the October 5, 2010 Managing Projects& Setting Priorities Staff Training Session, 10:00 to 11:30)   […]

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Don’t EVER Say That Again! Our List of the Worst Buzz Words in Education

Don’t EVER Say That Again! Our List of the Worst Buzz Words in Education

Featured Articles, The Shift August 24, 2014 at 6:56 pm 5 comments

By John Wolfe and Rita Platt We HATE some of the latest buzz-words in education. Don’t get us wrong, we love teaching and learning. We […]

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