Teacher Resources, Engaging High School Students

Engaging Students in Academic Work

Teacher Resources

Engaging HS Students

This page houses resources for high school teachers looking for ways to engage their students in academic work. Under each section you will find links to helpful short articles and useful tools, such as lessons and lesson planning ideas.

~ Assessment that Motivates

~ Building Relationships with Students

~ Connecting Academic Work to Students’ Future Work Lives

~ Connecting Academic Work to Students’ Interests

~ Project Based Learning

~ Problem Solving

~ Framing Learning with Essential Questions

~ Collaborative Small Group Activities

Subject-Specific

Websites for Real World Math Problems and Activities for Students.

Resources for Using Science News Articles in the Classroom.

Resources for Engaging Instruction in History and Government.

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Curriculum

Assessment that Motivates

These resources help teachers consider alternative grading and assessment practices that are likely to increase student motivation and success.

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Short Articles

Good Failures
Thomas Hoerr, Good Failures. Educational Leadership, September 2013

Preventing 1000 Failures
Doug Reeves, Preventing 1000 Failures.  Educational Leadership, November 2006

Taking the Grading Conversation Public
Doug Reeves, Taking the Grading Conversation Public. Educational Leadership, November 2011

The Case Against Percentage Grades
Thomas Guskey, The Case Against Percentage Grades. Educational Leadership, September 2013

The Case Against the Zero
Doug Reeves, The Case Against the Zero. Phi Delta Kappan, December 2004.

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Assessment and Progress Monitoring Tools

Authentic Assessment Ideas

Progress Monitoring Tool for Writing Skills

Progress Monitoring Tool for Math Skills

Teacher Feedback to Student Form

General Progress Monitoring Tools

Unit Plan with Learning Goals and Progress Monitoring Tool

Example Bill of Rights Unit Plan with Learning Goals

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Using “I Can” Objective Statements for Student Learning

I Can Statements Tutorial, Sophia

Using “I Can” Statements, Authentic Education

I Can Statements for Secondary Language Arts

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Examples of Unit Roadmaps for Math

Roadmap to Algebra

Roadmap to Geometry

Building Relationships with Students

These resources provide ideas for building the kind of relationships with students that can make a difference in student motivation and learning.

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Activities

English First Day Activity

Math First Day Activity

History First Day Activity

Science First Day Activity

20 in 20

Positive Greetings at the Door

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Short Articles

Thomas Mawhinney & Laura L. Sagan, The Power of Personal Relationships, Phi Delta Kappan, February 2007

Laura Mirsky, The Power of the Circle, Educational Leadership, June 2014

Connecting Academic Work to Students’ Future Work Lives

These resources provide ideas for making classroom work more relevant to the work students will do after their schooling.

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Short Articles

Ian Jukes & Ted McCain, New Visions for Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century

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Teaching Problem Solving

The Four Ds of Problem Solving

Student Planning Sheets for 4 Ds

Authentic Assessment Ideas

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Posters that Help Students See Relevance of Course Content

Reading Great Literature, v1

Reading Great Literature, v2

Using My Writing Skills Now

What Kinds of Things Will I Have to Write in the Real World

What Would I Want to Know About History

Why Study World History

Why Study Biology?

Reasons to Learn Chemistry

Connecting Academic Work to Students’ Cultural Experiences/Interests

These resources provide ideas for making classroom work more interesting and engaging to students.

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Posters that Help Students See Relevance of Course Content

Reading Great Literature, v1

Reading Great Literature, v2

Using My Writing Skills Now

What Kinds of Things Will I Have to Write in the Real World

What Would I Want to Know About History

Why Study World History

Why Study Biology?

Reasons to Learn Chemistry

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Videos

Ned’s Gr8 8
Short Video about a teenager’s perspective on how to engage students.

Project Based Learning

These resources provide ideas for using project-based learning.

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Short Articles

John Larmer & John M. Mergendoller, Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning, Educational Leadership, September 2010

Brigid Barron & Linda Darling-Hammond, Teaching for Meaningful Learning

Cynthia Dawn Martelli & Patricia Watson, Project-Based Learning, Voices from the Middle, March 2016

Nadia Behizadeh, Enacting Problem-Posing Education through Project-Based Learning, The English Journal, November 2014

David Reeves, Using Project Based Learning in Physical Education

Jaime Coyne, Tori Hollas, & Jalene P. Potter, Jumping In: Redefining Teaching and Learning in Physical Education Through Project-Based Learning, Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, January 2016

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Helpful Resources

PBLWorks (Buck Institute for Education)

Project Based Learning, Edutopia

Tools for Project Based Learning, Common Sense Education

Problem Solving

These resources provide ideas for giving students opportunities for authentic problem solving in different subject areas.

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Short Articles

Ian Jukes & Ted McCain, New Visions for Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century

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Helpful Resources

The Four Ds of Problem Solving

Student Planning Sheets for 4 Ds

Authentic Assessment Ideas

Dan Meyer’s Blog

Mathalicious

Authentic Problem Solving in Math Presentation

Authentic Problem Solving in Math Handout

Rich Mathematical Tasks and Groups

Roadmap to Algebra

Roadmap to Geometry

Framing Learning with Essential Questions

These resources help teachers frame learning objectives in engaging ways that help students see how what they are learning is related to the big and meaning questions in life.

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Articles

Jay McTigue & Grant Wiggins, What Makes a Question Essential?

Grant Wiggins & Jay McTigue, Put Understanding First, Educational Leadership, May 2008

Doug Lillydahl, Questioning Questioning: Essential Questions in English Classrooms, The English Journal, July 2015

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Examples of Good Essential Questions

A Giant List of Really Good Essential Questions

A List of Over 100 Awesome Essential Questions Examples by Subject

Collaborative Small Group Activities

These resources include several creative ideas for small group learning activities.

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Resources

Six Hats Critical Reading Activity

Collaborative Writing Exercise Directions and Role Cards

Instructions for “Save the Last Word for Me” Activity

Description of “Jigsaw” Learning Activity (individuals or teams become experts to share learning with others)

Instructions for “Block Party” Activity (text-based pre-reading activity)

Instructions for “Broken Squares” Activity (team-building activity)

Instructions for Silent Discussion Small Group Activity

Instructions for Small Group Discussion Using Four “A”s Text Protocol

Gretchen Buher as told to David Walbert, Making Small Groups Work

Alan Shapiro, Engaging Your Class Through Groupwork

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC TEACHER RESOURCES

These resources provide ideas for making classroom work more relevant to the work students will do after their schooling.

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Math

WEBSITES FOR REAL-WORLD MATH PROBLEMS AND ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

~ Mathalicious

~ Youcubed

~ Robert Kaplinsky

~ Mathematics Assessment Project

~ Yummy Math

~ PBS Learning Media

~ Developing Mathematical Reasoning – Word Problems

~ Dan Meyer’s Three-Act Math Tasks

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Science

RESOURCES FOR FINDING SCIENCE NEWS ARTICLES

~ Lead Sampling of Drinking Water article (from professional development session)

~ New York Times article about “Article Days” – using science articles in classroom

~ Science News for Students

~ Ideas for how to use the site and its articles in the classroom
~ Organized by topic for easy use
~ Articles can be easily printed for classroom use if computers not available

~ Newsela

~ Free registration gives access to some content (other content requires subscription)

~ New York Times

~ Resources for teaching science and math using NYT content

~ Learning Science Math

~ Learning STEM

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