Student Guide Corner

I'm not sure where the practice to grade students on class participation originated. But it seems a common and accepted practice in many classrooms. For some students, it's a way to improve that 89% to an A-. Other students aren't so fortunate. Have you considered the reasons why students do not participate? It's not necessarily because they don't have an opinion or know the material. Instead, it could be due to fear of humiliation, social anxiety, need for more time to process and produce, expressive language issues, shyness. But is the "raise your hand, get called on by the teacher" the only way to participate in class discussions? Not in 2009. What are the options? In class options if you have a laptop or netbook cart, or are in a computer lab: EtherPad - synchronous collaborative word processing, the ability to use the TimeSlider tool allows students to see how the document evolved Wallwisher - synchronous collaborative "wall" creation - l...

Some parts of the country have an unexpected Snow Day. Do you need something to do? I encourage you to explore the redesigned " CAST: Learning Tools " resources. CAST continues to offer invaluable resources that make our jobs as educators easier. For the first time, they have created a resource targeted toward Science teachers called Science Writer. It is a free web-based writing tool that supports middle and high school students in the science report writing process using principles of Universal Design for Learning. Not a Science teacher? Then explore the other FREE Learning Tools which are appropriate for all grades. These tools include embedded prompts which guide students through the learning process. Once you have created an activity, such as when using the UDL Book Builder tool, it is available to all students from one school year to the next. Add these tools to your Educator Toolkit to reach all your students.