Due to COVID-19, schools across Ontario have closed. Teachers have been offered limited direction as to how their time should best be spent. The four suggestions offered here will aid educators in streamlining their time away from the building, with the aim of suiting educator and student needs both in-class and online. Education workers following … Continue reading Ontario Teachers: Suggestions for your Time Away from the Classroom
Everybody has that memory, the one where a teacher made a difference in their life. Some people will never forget that teacher’s name, nor what that teacher did for them. Others can scarcely recall the teacher’s face, but the impact they made will last a lifetime, perhaps longer. Over quiet drinks on a night away … Continue reading The ONE teacher: Successful strategies for the teachers who are remembered
The Six Secrets of Change presents a road map explaining how to increase engagement and mobilize action in any organization. Written by Michael Fullan, the ideas put forward directly relate to the Ontario Public School System. The book greets the reader with a phrase that carries them through the entire text: “Learning is not doing; … Continue reading The Six Secrets of Change by Michael Fullan – A Book Synthesis
Did you know that Ontario College of Teachers members have access to thousands of free eBooks delivered right to their door, or ready for instant download through their web browser? This helpful guide, including visual gifs, will have you accessing your professional texts in no time!
Teachers are often interested in inquiry based learning as they have heard that it is a great way to engage their students, and create intrinsic learning opportunities.However, while many teachers know it's an important strategy, they have had little exposure to it. Because of this, I am often asked what Inquiry Based Learning, and Differentiated … Continue reading Inquiry Based Learning: A Practical Introduction for Teachers and Education Workers
When writing the OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test) there are a number of unspoken requirements for success. This article will teach you the specific things you need to accomplish to succeed in the OSSLT.Remember, that while there may be a number of multiple-choice and short writing pieces on the OSSLT, Ontario students often find … Continue reading Understanding and Succeeding on the OSSLT Major Writing Pieces
WARM evaluations are evaluations that build upon the tenets of Universal Design for Learning, taking four key concepts into consideration during their design and implementation: Welcome student voice, Assessment opportunities, Repetition of skills, Marks into grades
Downloadable, high-resolution printable posters for each of the ten key literacy skills: Determining Importance, Summarizing, Visualizing, Predicting, Inferring, Comparing, Connecting, Questioning, Annotating, and Synthesizing.
The COAT Method is a form of lesson planning that implements Universal Design to ensure students are provided opportunities to be: Crafting, On their feet, Actively listening, and Talking to each other.
The first Literacy Skill that students need is Determining Importance. This one skill will prepare them for everything that follows. Without it, they will be unable to focus their thoughts and ideas. We have to teach students to identify key details. We need to teach students how to identify the main idea, and how to … Continue reading Focusing on Literacy Skills: Determining Importance
