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At its core, the six-word memoir teaches us to be concise but also introspective.

If people like Voltaire (9), Newton (10) and Diderot (11) only had six words, how would they describe their accomplishments?

The Common Core standards don’t just suggest novel technology use as a way to “engage students,” but rather requires learners to make complex decisions about how, when, and why to use technology–something educators must do as well.

With the Common Core, such use is now a matter of law.

1) A Great Teacher Will Always Be There- If you are not in your classroom, you are not teaching. Yes, teachers must take days off occasionally, but do not make it a habit. If you are feeling a little sick, unless it is serious, show up! A sick regular teacher is ten times better for his or her students than a healthy sub is. Regular attendance is a must. Be proud to have a perfect attendance record.

Anticipation guides ask students to express an opinion about ideas before they encounter them in a text or unit of study.  Completing anticipation guides prepares students to recognize and connect to these themes as they surface in their learning.  Reviewing anticipation guides at the end of a lesson or unit is one way to help students reflect on how learning new material may have influenced their opinions, perhaps by reinforcing previously held beliefs or by causing ideas to shift. 

Character ChartsGraphic organizers, like the sample below, can be used to help students organize information about major and minor characters in a text.  Completed character charts are useful tools for writing essays and studying for tests. They are often used to record information about literacy characters, but can also be adapted to record information about historical figures.

Document Analysis TemplatesAnalyzing historical documents requires students to identify the purpose, message and audience of a text. Document Analysis Forms are graphic organizers that guide students through a process of identifying important background information about a document (e.g. author/creator, date created, place, format, etc.) and using this data to determine the bias or perspective of a text.

Adding Fun

One of the biggest problems at the core of education is motivation.

How do we motivate students, teachers, parents, and everyone else to get excited about learning?

An Internet-enabled device for every teacher and student in the country. Universal broadband access for homes and schools. Those, along with an embrace of cloud computing, openly-licensed educational materials and open source technologies are part of the new education technology recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education.

An Internet-enabled device for every teacher and student in the country. Universal broadband access for homes and schools. Those, along with an embrace of cloud computing, openly-licensed educational materials and open source technologies are part of the new education technology recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education.

The 124-page document lays out an ambitious agenda for transforming teaching and learning through technology. Much of the plan emphasizes "21st century learning," and competencies that, according to the Department of Education, include critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and multimedia communication.