The process is simple: Students choose a picture and tell a story in six words. I had so much fun doing the activity myself I decided to use it with both my young learners and my more mature learners. It worked beautifully! Six words doesn’t intimidate anyone, so even my weakest writers enjoyed thinking of their stories. Six words also creates an effective framework for activating some micro-grammar awareness—especially word order in sentences, and the need for pesky little words in English (like BE verbs and articles).

This post will attempt to give a very brief overview of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments, how they can be used to inform instruction and how to implement them in the classroom.

how you can apply Bloom's higher-order thinking skills in your classroom. This poster shows the segments of an orange with each segment relating to a thinking skill and some helpful verbs to serve as prompts.

For those of you who prefer it, we've also created a grayscale version of the poster. And if for some reason you're against "oranges" and prefer lists, you can just download the Blooming Verb List. You should be able to glue the template onto a 3" x 5" index card or colored card stock, making it easy to carry around.

For decades, Bloom's Taxonomy has helped teachers plan lessons and design instruction. When Benjamin Bloom and a team of educators first conceived the classification in the late 1940's, they probably never imagined the impact their work would have over 50 years later. While other theories and systems have come and gone, Bloom's taxonomy appears to have become the most commonly used standard in many educational settings. In the 1990's, Lorin Anderson and a group of psychologists updated the taxonomy in the hope that it would have more relevance for 21st century students and teachers, transforming the nouns to verbs and making some other seemingly small but significant changes. An interesting account of the history of Bloom's Taxonomy can be found here. The Blooming Butterfly poster was designed by the Learning Today product development team as a tribute to Bloom and Anderson and to the educators all over the world that continue to implement their vision. We hope that it will serve as a visual reminder for teachers as they continue to guide students to become better thinkers, just as Bloom imagined many years ago!

The tragic events in Japan have offered many teachable moments. From understanding nuclear reactors to earthquakes to tsunamis, there are countless lessons you can use in the classroom. Here are just a few.

Anda orang Malaysia? Flying overseas to study for the first time? This blog tells you just what to expect.

This blog is written primarily for first-time undergraduate students from Malaysia, regardless of their academic pursuits and funding, who are flying off to study in any of the following countries:New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia (and Europe etc.), Japan, South Korea and ChinaI am a Malaysian who has returned home after four years of studying in New Zealand. I was sponsored by a government agency. But nobody had told me the things I should expect before I arrived. I wish someone had written something like this when I was a student.

A to Z Teacher Stuff is a teacher-created site designed to help teachers find online resources more quickly and easily. Find lesson plans, thematic units, teacher tips, discussion forums for teachers, downloadable teaching materials & eBooks, printable worksheets and blacklines, emergent reader books, themes, and more.

As Facebook has become more and more popular—if it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world—its use in the field of education has expanded, too. In fact, more than 80% of college admissions officers report using Facebook as part of their recruiting process. Are admissions officers really looking at the Facebook profiles of prospective students? And if so, are they making admissions decisions based on these profiles? Below is an infographic that highlights the answers to these questions and more—which might surprise you.

I read a lot about the “new paradigm” that is occuring in education. There is a lot for us teachers and particularly those in leadership positions to think about. I really do hear some things repeated over and over again – that I just won’t buy into. I don’t believe the hype. These ideas seem so obvious and so clear that to me, they must be a lie. Reality is crooked and operates on her own principles – not the nice, clean kitchen cupboards we like to stack away our beliefs in. So in brief and to maybe get others thinking a little “outside the box” – here are 3 things that are being hyped in the educational world that I disagree with completely. (and a joke for each that I hope will support my argument or if not, at least give you a chuckle)

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

It is important to vary the activities in your lessons so that you cater for students with different learning styles. The following lesson-planning framework can help you do this.

I have been teaching quite a few students over the summer and was interested to see how they each approached the process of language learning. All of them worked hard and made progress and were delightful to teach and work with but analysing their preparedness and study methods gave me some insights into what sort of things seem to work well.  

Learning styles  

Student behaviour 

Some practical teaching ideas for the primary classroom