Teaching Strategies Library

Small Changes That Make a Big Difference in Group Work

Small Changes That Make a Big Difference in Group Work

Even though cooperative learning is supported by research, so many teachers struggle with it and ...
Authentic Small Group Discussions with the Real Talk Strategy

Authentic Small Group Discussions with the Real Talk Strategy

Real Talk is a small group discussion strategy for teachers who are ready to try ...
Ethics of AI Project

Ethics of AI Project

AI is here and everyone is paying attention, including our students. Maybe they’re wondering how ...
10 Ways to Give a Better Lecture

10 Ways to Give a Better Lecture

Mostly due to overuse and poor execution, lecturing has come to be frowned upon in ...
Collaborative Project Ideas

Collaborative Project Ideas

Working together to solve problems and create new things is a vital part of life, ...
Hexagonal Thinking Actvities

Hexagonal Thinking Actvities

Hexagonal thinking is a simple method that yields big critical thinking results. Kids take a ...
Exit Tickets

Exit Tickets

Exit tickets collect feedback on students' understanding at the end of a class and provide ...
Worst Presentation Ever!

Worst Presentation Ever!

Giving an effective presentation is not easy, especially for students. Here is a fun way ...
How to Talk to Students About Cheating

How to Talk to Students About Cheating

Although some behaviors are pretty much universally identified as cheating (e.g., copying exam answers), students ...
#oneword2022

#oneword2022

What is your ONE WORD for 2022? This creative assigment is a great way to ...
Matt Thomas' EL Video Archives

Matt Thomas’ EL Video Archives

Here you will find all the video workshops created by our very own Matt Thomas ...
Station Rotations

Station Rotations

The Station Rotations Model is essentially the secondary version of Learning Centers, which are commonly ...
Nearpod 101 (It's Not Just for Distance Learning!)

Nearpod 101 (It’s Not Just for Distance Learning!)

The premium version of Nearpod is now FREE for PUHSD teachers! If you've never heard ...
How to Use Podcasts in the Classroom

How to Use Podcasts in the Classroom

Educational podcasting has been growing in popularity in recent years. Students can listen to a ...
Icebreakers & Community Builders

Icebreakers & Community Builders

Taking time to build community, nurture relationships, and support students’ social-emotional needs first will lay ...
Thin Slides EduProtocol

Thin Slides EduProtocol

In this EduProtocol, students are provided a word and asked to create a slide with ...
Frayer-a-Thing EduProtocol

Frayer-a-Thing EduProtocol

In the Frayer EduProtocol, students use a collaborative slide deck to define target vocabulary and ...
Iron Chef EduProtocol

Iron Chef EduProtocol

The Iron Chef EduProtocol, modeled after the Iron Chef Cooking show, is a modernized version ...
Cyber Sandwich EduProtocol

Cyber Sandwich EduProtocol

The Cyber Sandwich EduProtocol is a lesson frame in which students work in pairs or ...
Thinking Routines for the Online Classroom

Thinking Routines for the Online Classroom

Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education has created a collection of Core Thinking ...
Virtual Station Rotation Lessons

Virtual Station Rotation Lessons

Instead of rotating physically like they would in a typical classroom, virtual station rotations have ...
6 Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2021

6 Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2021

The six tech tools described in this post are from Cult of Pedagogy's 2021 Teacher's ...
Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online

Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online

With 100% of our instruction being online, it is more crucial and more difficult than ...
10 Ways to Stay Motivated as You Work on Student Motivation

10 Ways to Stay Motivated as You Work on Student Motivation

As we're working to increase our students' motivation, how do we not become demotivated ourselves?  ...
4 Ted Talks to Teach Executive Functioning Skills

4 Ted Talks to Teach Executive Functioning Skills

Executive functioning skills are key for our students to find success in the classroom and ...
Building a Better Breakout Room

Building a Better Breakout Room

Google Meet now gives you the ability to put students into smaller meetings, or breakout ...
Creative Ways to Use Jamboard

Creative Ways to Use Jamboard

Jamboard is Google's digital whiteboard that gives students a place to brainstorm and work collaboratively ...
Silent Discussions

Silent Discussions

Silent Discussions are a discussion warm-up activity that modifies easily to the online environment. Using ...
Engage-Explore-Explain Choice Boards

Engage-Explore-Explain Choice Boards

A choice board is a graphic organizer that allows students to choose different ways to ...
Choose Your Own Adventure Project

Choose Your Own Adventure Project

This creative "choose your own adventure" learning experience gives students lots of voice and choice ...
Digital Bulletin Boards & Gallery Walks

Digital Bulletin Boards & Gallery Walks

You don't have to give up Gallery Walks just because we're teaching online. Use this ...
Intro to Eduprotocols

Intro to Eduprotocols

EduProtocols are instructional lesson frames that are designed to engage students in online learning through ...
Interactive Quizzes

Interactive Quizzes

Learn how to create interactive quizzes using Google Slides. Template included ...
Interactive Choice Boards

Interactive Choice Boards

Choice boards are a form of differentiated learning that gives students a menu or choice ...
Digital Interactive Notebooks

Digital Interactive Notebooks

DINBs are virtual binders that students use to organize their class notes and activities, and to interact ...
Hyperdocs

Hyperdocs

HyperDocs are interactive lesson plans that use Google Docs or Slides to provide access for ...
Virtual Icebreakers & Google Meet Games

Virtual Icebreakers & Google Meet Games

Features an editable slide deck with yes/no, would you rather, and open-ended questions, and a ...
Bitmoji Virtual Classrooms

Bitmoji Virtual Classrooms

Learn how to use Google Slides to create a virtual bitmoji classroom. Includes a tutorial ...
Templates for Organizing Weekly Content

Templates for Organizing Weekly Content

This is a collection of Google Slides templates for organizing weekly lesson plans. Students click ...
Meet the Teacher Templates

Meet the Teacher Templates

This is a Google Slides template for introducing yourself to students. Topics include a quick ...
Meet-the-Student Templates

Meet-the-Student Templates

Give your students a creative way to introduce themselves. Here you'll find templates for virtual ...
Distance Learning Expectations

Distance Learning Expectations

There are 3 option in this post for communicating distance learning expectations: a Disney themed ...
Syllabus Templates

Syllabus Templates

This is an editable Google Slides template for making a digital version of your syllabus, ...
Article of the Week

Article of the Week

Part of the reason students struggle with reading is because they lack prior knowledge and ...
E-Books

E-Books

You’ve reached the end of a unit or year, and you want students to demonstrate ...
Curation Assignments

Curation Assignments

When it’s time to plan the learning experiences that would have our students operating on ...
Crumple & Shoot

Crumple & Shoot

This high-energy, low-tech game can be used in any subject area and is perfect for ...
How to Teach Collaboration

How to Teach Collaboration

Before launching into literature circles, fishbowl discussions, Socratic Seminars, or any other small group pedagogy, ...
Make it Stick

Make it Stick

Procrastinate - Cram - Test - Forget. This is how most kids get through school ...
Word Splash Worksheet

Word Splash Worksheet

A word splash presents several new (and perhaps unfamiliar) vocabulary words and phrases randomly across ...
Close Reading Bookmarks

Close Reading Bookmarks

This simple tool is an excellent way to help students keep track of evidence as ...
Turn & Talk Sentence Frames

Turn & Talk Sentence Frames

Every 12-15 minutes, students should be given a short amount of time to consolidate their ...
Send-a-Question

Send-a-Question

This strategy promotes team building and concept review as well as explorations that are more ...
Problem-Solving Carousel

Problem-Solving Carousel

Each station has a different multi-step problem written on a large whiteboard or piece of ...
Value Lines - Where do I Stand?

Value Lines – Where do I Stand?

This strategy is a blend of Bend the Line and Philosophical Chairs that has been ...
Note-Taking: Research Round-Up

Note-Taking: Research Round-Up

We all have our own half-baked ideas about what makes one note-taking approach better than ...
Two No-Prep Strategies to Crowdsource Student Learning in Your Classroom

Two No-Prep Strategies to Crowdsource Student Learning in Your Classroom

In this post are two strategies you can use in your classroom that engage students ...
"Two Things": A Quick, No-Quiz Retrieval Strategy

“Two Things”: A Quick, No-Quiz Retrieval Strategy

How can we use retrieval practice to break up our lessons, quickly and easily, without ...
Brain Dumps: A Small Strategy with a Big Impact

Brain Dumps: A Small Strategy with a Big Impact

Here’s a small strategy that makes a big impact on student learning – based on ...
5 Ways to Turn a Worksheet into a Collaborative Critical Thinking Activity

5 Ways to Turn a Worksheet into a Collaborative Critical Thinking Activity

Here are 5 no prep ways you can turn just about any lower level thinking ...
Make It Stick: 4 Powerful Teaching Strategies Based on the Science of Learning

Make It Stick: 4 Powerful Teaching Strategies Based on the Science of Learning

Over the past few decades, cognitive scientists have been trying to pinpoint exactly which activities ...
How to Build a Better Slideshow

How to Build a Better Slideshow

Far too many PowerPoints and other slideshow presentations (by students AND teachers) are suffering from ...
Tech Tools for Mind Mapping

Tech Tools for Mind Mapping

Graphic organizers, or “mind maps,” make thinking visual, organizing concepts in a way that shows ...
10 Review Activities for Any Unit

10 Review Activities for Any Unit

It's easy for review to get a little mundane, quickly going back over everything through ...
SOAPSTone Analysis: Essay Planning

SOAPSTone Analysis: Essay Planning

Good composition, whether written, spoken, or drawn, is carefully planned. This composition has integral parts ...
Forced Choice Partners (Would You Rather...?)

Forced Choice Partners (Would You Rather…?)

This activity can be used as an icebreaker or as a way to move students ...
Infographics Project

Infographics Project

A good infographic can distill a concept so clearly. Take a hugely complex issue and ...
Discussion Warm-Ups

Discussion Warm-Ups

Most students just don't respond well to walking into class and kicking off a discussion ...
Exit Ticket Sorting Bins

Exit Ticket Sorting Bins

Having students self-sort their exit tickets according to their confidence level with the knowledge or ...
Teacher Clarity

Teacher Clarity

Teacher clarity is a measure of the clarity of communication between teachers and students in ...
Getting Started with Genius Hour

Getting Started with Genius Hour

Do you find yourself searching for that one project that would truly engage your students? ...
Sketchnoting

Sketchnoting

Sketchnotes are like one-pagers that you create on the fly, making your choices rapidly as ...
One-Pagers for the Art-Phobic

One-Pagers for the Art-Phobic

One-pagers are becoming increasingly popular as a way to help students process what they have ...
Pop-Up Debates

Pop-Up Debates

Pop-up Debate is a method for managing and facilitating in-class debates; it is easily modifiable ...
Is That Higher-Order Task Really Higher-Order?

Is That Higher-Order Task Really Higher-Order?

It’s kind of a given that most teachers want their students to be doing rigorous, ...
Wicked Problems & Impossible Projects: 33 Questions at DOK Level 4

Wicked Problems & Impossible Projects: 33 Questions at DOK Level 4

Wicked problems and impossible projects are complicated by nature because of the many components, factors, ...
DOK Ceilings

DOK Ceilings

This visual, designed by Erik Francis of Maverick Education, is intended for teachers to use ...
DOK is NOT a Wheel!

DOK is NOT a Wheel!

Depth of Knowledge. It’s a concept we in education have heard a lot about since ...
What Does DOK Level 4 Look Like?

What Does DOK Level 4 Look Like?

Curricular elements assigned to this level demand extended and integrated use of higher order thinking ...
What Does DOK Level 3 Look Like?

What Does DOK Level 3 Look Like?

Tasks and classroom discourse falling into this category demand the use of planning, reasoning, and ...
What Does DOK Level 2 Look Like?

What Does DOK Level 2 Look Like?

Level 2 includes the engagement of mental processing beyond recalling, reproducing, or locating an answer ...
What Does DOK Level 1 Look Like?

What Does DOK Level 1 Look Like?

Curricular elements that fall into this category involve basic tasks that require students to recall ...
History of Higher Order Thinking Tools

History of Higher Order Thinking Tools

Cognitive Rigor: Blending the Strengths of Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge to Enhance ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Classroom Walk-Through Tool)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Classroom Walk-Through Tool)

Looking for rigot walk-through tool: teacher and student roles ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (CTE)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (CTE)

Hess’s Interpretation Applying Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Bloom’s Cognitive Process Dimensions in Career and Technical ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (World Language)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (World Language)

Applying Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Bloom’s Cognitive Process Dimensions in World Language ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Health/PE)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Health/PE)

Applying (Hess’s Interpretation of) Depth of Knowledge to Porter’s Cognitive Demand Categories in Health and ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Fine Arts)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Fine Arts)

Applying (Hess’ Interpretation of) Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Artistic Practices ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Social Studies)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Social Studies)

Applying Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Bloom’s Cognitive Process Dimensions in Social Studies ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Writing/Speaking)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Writing/Speaking)

Applying Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Bloom’s Cognitive Process Dimensions in Writing/Speaking ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Math/Science)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Math/Science)

Applying Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Bloom’s Cognitive Process Dimensions in Math and Science ...
Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Reading)

Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix (Reading)

Applying Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge Levels to Bloom’s Cognitive Process Dimensions in Reading ...
What's It Really About Carousel

What’s It Really About Carousel

"What's It Really About?" Carousel What It Is This activity is similar to the Debate Team ...
A Better Table Summary

A Better Table Summary

This activity allows students to process the most essential elements of the day’s lesson. They ...
List, Group, Label

List, Group, Label

List, Group, Label is an excellent way to have students collaboratively “spill their brains” onto ...
1, 2, 3 O'Clock

1, 2, 3 O’Clock

This wrap-up technique allows you to quickly review three important questions by having students respond ...
A-Z Sentence Summary

A-Z Sentence Summary

In this activity, students use alphabet refrigerator magnets to create a Chalkboard Splash review. At ...
Three-Sentence Wrap Up

Three-Sentence Wrap Up

By asking students for Three-Sentence Wrap-Ups, you eliminate their tendency to add every peripheral item ...
The Biggest Aha Bar Graph

The Biggest Aha Bar Graph

The Biggest Aha Bar Graph allows you to capture what students feel are their most ...
The Biggest Aha Quick-Write

The Biggest Aha Quick-Write

The Biggest Aha Quick-Write is a quick, versatile activity that can provide closure to almost ...
One Word Summary

One Word Summary

One-Word Summaries to allow students to summarize the essence of the content presented that day ...
IQ Cards (Insight & Question)

IQ Cards (Insight & Question)

IQ Cards allow all students to share two things: an insight (I) and a question ...
Debate Team Carousel

Debate Team Carousel

Debate Team Carousel is an activity in which students debate a position from various angles ...
Pause, Star, Rank

Pause, Star, Rank

This activity allows students to review their notes while the concepts are still fresh in ...
Lecture T-Chart

Lecture T-Chart

A Lecture T-Chart can be very useful to students by allowing them to review their ...
Picture Notes

Picture Notes

Picture Notes can provide an excellent way for students to stop and process what they ...
Confer, Compare, and Clarify

Confer, Compare, and Clarify

This activity allows students to read each other’s notes, make comparisons, and add their own ...
The Ripple

The Ripple

In the traditional question-and-answer approach, a teacher poses a question to the class as a ...
Feature Walk

Feature Walk

The Feature Walk allows students to get out of their seats and work in small ...
Bounce Cards

Bounce Cards

Bounce cards are a way to help students who struggle to get academic conversations started ...
Appointment Agendas

Appointment Agendas

This is a fun way to get students out of their seats and interacting with ...
Categorizing & Sorting

Categorizing & Sorting

Categorizing and sorting can be used to help students understand a wide variety of unique ...
Networking Sessions

Networking Sessions

A Networking Session is a simple mix-it-up activity that allows students to talk to others ...
Three 3's in a Row

Three 3’s in a Row

Three 3’s in a Row is like Bingo, in which students interact with peers and ...
Hold-Ups

Hold-Ups

Hold-Ups are interaction-based activities that use response cards. In these activities, students interactively reflect on a ...
Thumbs Up/Down Vote

Thumbs Up/Down Vote

Thumbs Up/Down Vote is another one of those quick techniques that many teachers use frequently ...
Ranking

Ranking

Ranking is an activity that requires your students to analyze components of the concepts that ...
Similes

Similes

Similes compare two unrelated things. For example, a simile using the topic of TPTs might ...
Thumps Up When Ready & Processing Cards

Thumps Up When Ready & Processing Cards

Allowing students to take even a brief moment to process their reflections to a prompt ...
Chalkboard Splash

Chalkboard Splash

Chalkboard Splashes provide a quick way to debrief students’ responses, Quick-Draws, or abbreviated Quick-Writes.  ...
Quick-Draw Gallery Walk

Quick-Draw Gallery Walk

Quick-Draws are opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding of an abstract term or concept ...
Quick-Draws

Quick-Draws

Quick-Draws are opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding of an abstract term or concept ...
Quick-Writes

Quick-Writes

A Quick-Write is a brief activity that can be inserted at almost any point within ...
RallyCoach

RallyCoach

Partners take turns providing ideas/ answers or solving problems orally or in writing. Variations include ...
RallyTable

RallyTable

Partners take turns providing ideas/ answers or solving problems orally or in writing. Variations include ...
Stand Up - Hand Up - Pair Up

Stand Up – Hand Up – Pair Up

Students stand up, put their hands up, and quickly find a partner with whom to ...
Timed Pair Share

Timed Pair Share

In pairs, students share with a partner for a predetermined time while their partner listens ...
Three-Step Interview

Three-Step Interview

Students interview their partner and then each share with teammates what they learned ...
Telephone

Telephone

One student per team leaves the room during instruction. When students return, teammates provide instruction ...
Stand-N-Share

Stand-N-Share

Teams check off or add each idea as it is shared by other teams, sitting ...
Talking Chips

Talking Chips

Teammates place talking chips in the center of the table to make sure everyone contributes ...
Spend-a-Buck

Spend-a-Buck

To make a team decision, teammates use play moneyand "spend a buck" to vote on ...
Showdown

Showdown

Teams have a set of question cards stacked facedown in the center of the table ...
RoundTable

RoundTable

In teams, students take turns generating written responses, solving problems, or making a contribution to ...
RallyRobin

RallyRobin

Partners take turns providing ideas/ answers or solving problems orally or in writing. Variations include ...
Quiz-Quiz-Trade

Quiz-Quiz-Trade

Students quiz a partner, get quizzed by a partner, and then trade cards to repeat ...
Pairs Compare

Pairs Compare

Pairs generate a list of possible ideas or answers. Pairs compare their answers with another ...
10-24-7 Note Review Strategy

10-24-7 Note Review Strategy

Offers a schedule for student interaction with notes 10 minutes, 24 hours, and 7 days ...
Model Cornell Notes

Model Cornell Notes

EQ: How do students use Cornell notes to record, revise, question, review, and summarize new ...
Promoting Rigor with Higher Level Prompts

Promoting Rigor with Higher Level Prompts

Provides verbs and teacher prompts for each level of thinking ...
One Stray

One Stray

One teammate strays from his or her team to a new team to share or ...
Mix-Pair-Share

Mix-Pair-Share

The class mixes until the teacher calls "pair." Students find a new partner to discuss ...
Mix-Freeze-Group

Mix-Freeze-Group

Students rapidly "mix" around the room, "freeze" in their tracks, and frantically "group" to avoid ...
Match Mine

Match Mine

Partners on opposite sides of a barrier communicate with precision, attempting to match the other's ...
Jot Thoughts

Jot Thoughts

Teammates cover the table, writing ideas on slips of paper ...
Inner-Outer Circle

Inner-Outer Circle

Students rotate in concentric circles to face new partners for sharing, quizzing, or problem-solving ...
Flashcard Game

Flashcard Game

Partners proceed through three rounds as they quiz each pther with flashcards, mastering the content ...
Find-the-Fiction

Find-the-Fiction

Students write three statements and read them to teammates. Teammates try to find which of ...
Find Someone Who

Find Someone Who

Students circulate through the classroom, forming and reforming pairs, trying to find "someone who knows" ...
Fan-N-Pick

Fan-N-Pick

Teammates play a card game to respond to questions. Roles rotate with each new question ...
Gallery Walk/Carousel Feedback

Gallery Walk/Carousel Feedback

Teams rotate from project to project to leave feedback for other teams ...
Student-Authored Textbooks

Student-Authored Textbooks

Student-Authored Textbooks What if instead of approaching vocabulary as something they had to learn each ...
Vocab Magic Spells

Vocab Magic Spells

Vocab Magic Spells Like the Tattoo Design activity, I think magic spell vocabulary has the potential to ...
Vocab Post-It Stations

Vocab Post-It Stations

Vocab Post-It Stations Stations are a great way for you to get your kids up ...
Vocab Tattoo Design

Vocab Tattoo Design

If you’re really struggling to get kids interested in the power of words, try an ...
Vocab Review Games

Vocab Review Games

Online Review Games By now, Kahoot and Quizlet are much loved tools for the teachers of a gamer generation ...
Vocab Word Wall Posters

Vocab Word Wall Posters

Vocab Word Wall Posters Have you heard of a word wall? Basically you put vocabulary ...
Vocab Postcards

Vocab Postcards

Vocab Postcards I've got a weakness for buying postcards, but I've turned it into a ...
Vocab Video Journals

Vocab Video Journals

Vocab Video Journals You know how you sometimes stumble upon AMAZING Youtube videos and you ...
Vocab One-Pagers

Vocab One-Pagers

Vocab One-Pagers Another great way to get students thinking carefully about their words is to ...