Joshua Block I believe strongly in ending the school year with meaning even though this is challenging in the midst of the messy last days of a school year. Final portfolios provide a path for students to process their learning from a year while creating a product unique to them and their learning experience. I wrote about the process […]Read Post ›
My 10th grade students recently completed proposals for museum exhibits about Colonialism. The Colonialism Unit is framed by three Essential Questions: In what different ways did colonialism affect both colonized and colonizer? How did people resist colonial rule? What different legacies did colonialism leave behind? Our unit began with the book Things Fall Apart. As […]Read Post ›
[Cross-posted on Edutopia] Recently, on a grim winter afternoon, a group of students got under my skin. According to one student, I wasn’t letting him speak enough in discussions. He was furious. His friend was supporting him by chiming in with snide comments. Someone else was loudly telling her tablemates what was wrong with the […]Read Post ›
[Cross-posted on Edutopia] Small comments from students can cause large shifts in my understanding of learners, curriculum, and classroom dynamics. The other day, I overheard a student speaking to a friend. His comment changed my perception of him as a learner. “I wish I could do this semester over,” he said with remorse. This student, […]Read Post ›
[Cross-posted on Edutopia. This is an updated version of the earlier post (Re)Creating Poets.] Photo Credit: Klaus Schoenwiese There are few experiences as powerful as bearing witness while students takes risks, push themselves beyond what they believed they were capable of, and publicly present and own their work. These experiences can happen when we challenge […]Read Post ›
Mr J Block 