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.


To help my students grow as writers and community members, I teach the art of letter writing to my 2nd-graders.

“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.”

Life in a classroom can be chaotic, stressful and unpredictable. I try to set up clear expectations for my pre-K students about how to handle stressful moments.

Measure how Alaska’s glaciers have receded. See how a New York City block has changed since 1930. Trace Marco Polo’s journey through Asia. Google Earth is a powerful online tool that enables you to integrate mapping into nearly every subject you teach.

PS 446 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, has found that "looping," a model that keeps a teacher with the same group of students for more than one grade, allows educators to become grounding, guiding forces in their students’ lives.

When a teacher can find innovative and creative ways to approach mundane subjects, it can truly get a student’s creative juices flowing. Wooden blocks helped build a Regents Prep program that does just that.

Explicitly teaching typing skills has gone out of fashion along with the typewriter, but the need to type fluently is still very much in demand. There are some excellent typing programs online that you can access with your class.

Students do better in school when learning engages both their minds and their hearts. This dual approach is known as service learning — a teaching method that develops students’ skills and knowledge as they apply classroom lessons to meet real community needs.