Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here.

You might also be interested in The Best Articles (& Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice & Resources To Teachers In 2016 – Part Two and The Best Resources On Class Instruction In 2017 – Part Two.

Here are this week’s picks:

How to Create a Gradeless Math Classroom in a School That Requires Grades is from Mr. Burnett. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Grading Practices.

Here are some interesting thoughts on the KWL chart from Crawling Out Of The Classroom. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of Prior Knowledge (& How To Activate It).

Argument Essay with Opposing Arguments and Rebuttals is from English Advantage. I’m adding it to The Best Online Resources For Helping Students Learn To Write Persuasive Essays.

RETRIEVAL PRACTICE IS THE PERFECT TOOL TO ‘WIN BACK THE MARGINS’ is from Doug Lemov. It makes a good point about using any available opportunity for using retrieval practice with students. Unfortunately, some of the examples shown in the videos don’t seem to me to maximize “whole class processing” (as my former principal Ted Appel calls it) – the idea that all students are thinking and showing their thinking. That’s why I use warm-ups, as well as mini-whiteboards, as superior moments for this kind of activity. This is also probably a good time to point out that some teachers will say they are already using retrieval practice by doing assessments like chapter tests. But, in reality, retrieval practice for learning means constantly creating low-stakes opportunities – like warm-ups and using mini-whiteboards. I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Learning About Retrieval Practice.

Here’s another piece from Doug Lemov, this time on “formative writing.”  He points out how a teacher used this prompt:

“How might Alice Walker’s experiences sharecropping have influenced her writing?”

The use of the word “might” helped students feel more comfortable about writing and less worried about being wrong.

I’m adding this info to Best Posts On Writing Instruction.

Is It Time To Go Back To Basics With Writing Instruction? is from MindShift. I’m adding it to the same list.

I’m adding this tweet to The Best Resources For Teaching About The Black Panther Movie: