I continue my end-of-year “The Best…” lists…

The title of this “The Best…” list is pretty self-explanatory. What you’ll find here are blog posts and articles this year (some written by me, some by others) that were, in my opinion, the ones that offered the best practical advice and resources to teachers this year — suggestions that can help teachers become more effective in the classroom today or tomorrow. Some, however, might not appear on the surface to fit that criteria, but those, I think, might offer insights that could (should?) inform our teaching practice everyday.

For some, the headlines provide enough of an idea of the topic and I haven’t included any further description.

You might also be interested in:

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2012 — Part One

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2011

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers — 2010

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers — 2009

Here are my choices for The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice & Resources To Teachers In 2012– Part Two:

You might find my teacher advice column in Education Week Teacher and my monthly posts at The New York Times Learning Network useful.

The Best Online Tools For Using Photos In Lessons

Our Grading Guidelines

Have You Ever Had A Student Say “This Is Boring”? Here’s A Lesson On It I’m Trying Out Tomorrow

Video Addition To Marshmallow Lesson On Self-Control


“This is Your Brain On Reading”

New Organizational Tool I’m Using This Year: Double – Sided Notebooks

Evaluating Student Athletes

Eight Ways To Build An Audience For Your Blog

What Does A Broken Escalator Have To Do With A Lesson On Personal Responsibility?

“Instead of seeing students as Far Below Basic or Advanced, we see them as learners” (how we assess writing at our school)

The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset”

Follow-Up To My Lesson On “Grit”


What Worked For The Obama Campaign Can Work For Us & Our Students In The Classroom

Kate Kinsella is well-known for her research on helping students learn and use academic vocabulary. The California Department of Education has put a series of her videos and materials on their website.  The videos don’t at all capture her dynamism that you see in person, but downloadable “apply the concepts” materials are worth their weight in gold! And, they’re free.

The Best Ways To Use Interactive White Boards

Using The “Carrots, Eggs & Coffee” Story In Class

The Best Videos To Help Students Visualize Success

My article, Eight Things Skilled Teachers Think, Say, and Do, appeared in ASCD Educational Leadership.

Series Of Good Dan Pink Videos To Use With Students

Guest Post From Rick Wormeli: “Fair Isn’t Always Equal: $5 Bills on the Wall Technique”

There used to be a Bloom’s and Star Wars video on YouTube, but that was taken down awhile ago. I just discovered this other version that was created by “baldmisery” (if you’re reading this on an RSS Reader, you’ll have to click through to see it), which I’m adding to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom:

I have had quite a few class blogs over the years, and have now updated them on the Blogroll over on my sidebar. Here are the most recent ones (one or two might be a little old, but are still useful examples):

I found this nice and simple Bloom’s Taxonomy Poster on Pinterest via Carla Arena. Teacher Jennifer Jones created it. She seems to have a number of useful materials on her site, so I’d encourage you to check it out. I’ve added this chart to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom.

Feedback is welcome.

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You might also want to explore the 1000 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.