Students and voters alike have been encountering fake news since long before the 2016 election.

Structured teaching, an intervention for students with special needs, includes the physical organization of the classroom, individualized schedules, work/activity systems and visual organization of materials. There are elements of structured teaching from which all students — not just those with special needs — can benefit.

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. 

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.