Online exit slips are an effective way to get feedback from students, do checks for understanding and even accept suggestions or constructive criticism.

For many people, civics is synonymous with social studies. But the UFT's teacher working group on civics education feel strongly that the lessons of civics are applicable in every classroom.

Do you want to help your students explore their interests and extend their learning beyond a scripted curriculum? Consider trying inquiry-based investigations in your early childhood classroom.

As technology has developed, so have methods for using technology to learn a language. These programs aren’t meant as a replacement for in-class language instruction, but they can be effective supports to extend and continue learning both in and out of the classroom.

In my 3rd-grade classroom, my students use thinking maps — which are not graphic organizers! — to represent their ideas. Each type of thinking map connects a basic cognitive skill with a visual representation.


“Every student should have access to the library and the opportunity to go there,” says says Michael Dodes, a school librarian who now works as a library operations and instructional coordinator in the DOE’s Office of Library Services. “It’s all about creating a space where students can read, explore information and work with each other.”