Browse best practices

Alternatives to the animal report

In Rethinking Reports, page 2.1

Year after year, students are assigned an animal report, a factual report on a species of their choice. My son chose the Harpy Eagle for his third-grade animal report — and proceeded to re-submit that report with only slight modifications for years thereafter!...

By Melissa Thibault.

Alternatives to the famous person report

In Rethinking Reports, page 3.1

This "rethinking reports" series of articles provides alternative research assignments that challenge students to think critically about historical actors.

By David Walbert and Melissa Thibault.

Alternatives to the President Report

In Rethinking Reports, page 1.1

The "President Report" is a common assignment in social studies classes from second grade, where biography is first introduced, through high school U.S. History. You know what we mean: students are asked to pick a U.S. president and write a biographical...

By Melissa Thibault and David Walbert.

Believe it or not! Reporting on amazing animals

In Rethinking Reports, page 2.3

A visual and oral presentation of an "animal report" can engage students' interest and develop their artistic and visual literacy skills.

By Melissa Thibault.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification system developed in 1956 by education psychologist Benjamin Bloom to categorize intellectual skills and behavior important to learning. Bloom identified six cognitive levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,...

Format: article

By Heather Coffey.

Concept maps: an introduction

Using concept maps can help students make connections among subject areas. This article explains how teachers can use concept maps effectively and provides links to tools for creating them online.

Format: article

By Bobby Hobgood, Ed.D..

Consider the source

Information is everywhere — especially in the presence of the Internet. It's hard enough for adults to make sure that information is valid, but it's even harder for students to make that judgement. Here are some suggestions for helping students learn to recognize bad information when they see it.

Format: article

By Bobby Hobgood, Ed.D..

From documents to digitization

To design a research project using primary sources from the Web, you'll need to know what's out there and how to find it. This article explains what's available, why, and where.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Introduction: Rethinking reports

A little creativity can make research a rewarding learning experience for students and teachers alike.

By David Walbert and Melissa Thibault.

It's an ad!

How do marketers target kids — and how can we teach kids to know the difference between advertising and fact? These websites provide strategies to build critical thinking skills for media literate kids.

By Melissa Thibault.

Jump start your creativity: question yourself!

A short webliography of tools to help you ask good questions.

Format: article

By Bobby Hobgood, Ed.D..

Learning to look at art

Strategies for helping students develop visual literacy in looking at paintings and other forms of visual art.

Format: article

By Melissa Thibault.

The not-so-famous person report

In Rethinking Reports, page 3.2

Instead of teaching the history of the famous, use research in primary sources to teach students that the past and present were made by people like them.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Reading images: an introduction to visual literacy

Images are all around us, and the ability to interpret them meaningfully is a vital skill for students to learn.

Format: article

By Melissa Thibault and David Walbert.

Resources for looking at art

A guide to some of the best websites, activities, and print resources for building visual literacy through the study of art.

Format: article

By Melissa Thibault.

Resources for teaching with photographs

Websites, activities, books, and image collections for classroom use.

Format: article

By Melissa Thibault.

Rethinking Reports

Creative research-based assignments provide alternatives to the President Report, Animal Report, and Famous Person Report that ask students to think about old topics in new ways, work collaboratively, and develop products that support a variety of learning styles.

Format: series (multiple pages)

Resources on the web

From Now On; the educational technology journal

A collection of education technology articles and publications. Includes information on workshops related to curriculum, No Child Left Behind, technology planning, and staff development. (Learn more)

Format: website/general