Tools for Teaching

Teachers often email me asking for ways they can help their students organize thoughts during the reading process. I wrestled with the same challenge in my fourth grade class and when working one-on-one with older students in tutoring situations, and I continue to see the same issue (but on a different scale) with my present sixth graders.

My advice? Check out the resources at the Mosaic Email Group's Teaching Tools. If you're not entirely sure what you're looking for, or if you're simply interested in investigating what has worked successfully in other teachers' classrooms, this is a great place to start. You'll find dozens of assessments, lists, organizers, prompts, posters, and more in both Word and pdf format. While there, visit the main page to learn about the origins of the site and to join their email group. This is an excellent way to collaborate with like-minded professionals who are seeking to bring their professional practice to the next level.