Christina Samuels & Marva Hinton

Another common mistake when working with English-learners is to interpret and translate all content in a student's native language without properly assessing the student to know how proficient he or she is in their native language. Research has shown that English-language learners acquire social language relatively quickly and are able to communicate quite effectively with their peers; however, when it comes to applying academic language, specifically in the four domains of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking, many students are still wrestling with the intricacies of the English language. Instead, some teachers blame the student's lack of classroom success on the student by sharing that he or she lacks motivation or "grit," not acknowledging that the onus is on the teacher to provide instructional support to assist the student in learning the English language and to increase his or her English-language proficiency level. Teachers should not provide students with content materials in their native language without first taking the following into consideration: the student's level of proficiency in his or her native language, prior schooling, if the student is a newcomer, and how they will support the student in his or her native language and in learning English.

" Deborah Gatrell is a national-board-certified teacher, the Social Studies Department chair, and a mentor to new teachers at Hunter High School in Utah's Granite school district. When presenting new content or managing lab work, Nearpod gives me the option for teacher-paced or student-paced lessons with quick activities to gauge student progress. As student absences continue to climb, you will feel less like you are teaching two groups of students if your lessons are designed ahead of time to work for remote (absent) learners. Best Ways to Begin the School Year Best Ways to End the School Year Using Tech in the Classroom

That could mean teaching some groups of students two days each week in the classroom, while they spend the rest of the time doing asynchronous online work. This is my 14th year as a full-time teacher, and the hybrid model has me feeling like a first-year educator all over again. Here are some of the Do's and Don'ts that may help others who, like me, struggle with trying to balance it all in the hybrid teaching model: Do: Take the time to get to know your students and to build community. Best Ways to Begin the School Year Best Ways to End the School Year Using Tech in the Classroom

Any classroom can work to develop democratic skills" Jennifer Hitchcock teaches AP Government and Politics for Virginia's Fairfax County public schools, at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and the district's Online Campus. There are academic resources to help innovate in civics learning from places like the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG), the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE), and a huge network of leaders found in places like the Center for Civic Education. And the response to "leave politics out of the classroom" is "politics are already present in my classroom, regardless of what I teach. While that civics teacher down the hall is doing a great job (or maybe you are the civics teacher!), it is equally important for students to see that the civics classroom is not the only classroom honing skills of a democratic citizenry.