In my pre-K classroom, I strive to strengthen my students’ nonverbal communication skills because understanding facial expressions and gestures allows for communication to be fluid, natural and meaningful. For English language learners, these skills are just as important as listening, speaking, reading and writing English when it comes to acquiring English language skills. 

When locating materials to use in the classroom, high-quality resources are a must. Many well-known and respected organizations have fully digitized their collections of primary sources and made them available free of charge, so they’re a great place to start.

As we think about gearing up for a new school year, here are a few tips to help us navigate the busy, sometimes overwhelming job of managing a classroom.

Although there is an emphasis now on teaching informational texts, making space in the curriculum for poetry can benefit students. Poetry allows both thought and silence on the page and has myriad forms. Especially for students who are not always eager readers, the range of poetry presents a compelling entry point.

The adoption of the Common Core Learning Standards provides social studies teachers with an opportunity to rethink day-to-day practices that have the potential to dramatically transform how students read, write and think about the subject.