How to find culturally appropriate reading materials for English Learners
How to find culturally appropriate reading materials for English Learners
December 13, 2018
Categories:
Reading
As educators, it’s our responsibility to ensure that every student has access to engaging, relevant texts. However, with today’s changing student demographics, finding culturally appropriate texts can be a real challenge—especially when it comes to meeting the unique needs of [...]
MTSS vs. RTI vs. PBIS—What’s the difference?
MTSS vs. RTI vs. PBIS—What’s the difference?
November 18, 2018
RTI, MTSS, and PBIS can be confusing, especially because these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. There’s a lot of overlap, but they refer to different approaches to identifying and addressing students’ needs. Use this blog as a cheat [...]
Scary-good book ideas for students this Halloween
Scary-good book ideas for students this Halloween
October 25, 2018
Categories:
Reading
Trick-or-treating, costume parties, and carving pumpkins. Halloween is a great time to take in the best of fall and curl up with a good read as the temperatures start to drop outside. At Renaissance, we have more than 2.8 billion [...]
Social-emotional learning and mental health: What’s the difference, and why does it matter?
Social-emotional learning and mental health: What’s the difference, and why does it matter?
October 18, 2018
Categories:
Assessment,
Education Strategies,
Uncategorized
We all know that when we educate students in social-emotional learning (SEL), they do better academically and are far less likely to engage in risky behaviors. They are also more likely to achieve success in their careers and families [...]
Predicting performance on high-stakes tests: Why, how, and what’s next
Predicting performance on high-stakes tests: Why, how, and what’s next
October 11, 2018
Categories:
Assessment
You may have heard that Star Assessments can accurately predict student performance on your state’s summative or high-stakes test, as well as measure student progress toward ACT and SAT college and career readiness benchmarks. But [...]
Spark a passion for reading: 15 ways to motivate daily reading practice
Spark a passion for reading: 15 ways to motivate daily reading practice
October 4, 2018
Categories:
Reading
A little bit of reading goes a long way. By reading around 15 minutes per day between grades 1 and 12, a student will have read more than 5 million words by the time they graduate high school. Increase reading [...]
The art and science of goal setting
The art and science of goal setting
September 20, 2018
Categories:
Assessment
My family has recently embraced RV camping, and we rarely set out without having a specific destination in mind. For some people, serendipitous wanderings can be a good way to explore the landscape in a leisurely manner, provided they do [...]
Building reading comprehension through questions, inquiry, and sketchnotes
Building reading comprehension through questions, inquiry, and sketchnotes
September 13, 2018
Categories:
Reading
To comprehend or not to comprehend—that is the question. To comprehend illustrates a strong connection between reader and text, a connection that can only be made if students truly understand the words that are jumping off the page at them.
Tips for building connections with students
Tips for building connections with students
August 30, 2018
The smell of fresh, crisp notebooks. Nervous butterflies. Classroom bulletin boards that rival Pinterest. As schools nationwide welcome students back from summer vacation, administrators, teachers, and others are waiting to meet their new students. While the first couple weeks can [...]
