Bookshelf: Books and Documents
Science Alive 1-2
The inspiration for the creation of Science Alive began when I was teaching in a first and second grade classroom. One of the years I taught, the children had quite a bit of spare time, so we would have impromptu classes on the digestive system or whatever else I happened to field a question about. It didn’t take me long to begin recognizing that the children seemed to retain this style of learning almost better than what they considered work. I wished at that point to have a science curriculum that started out based more on input than output.
However, I didn’t really begin to do anything about this dream until I began to teach the Living Threads curriculum for history class. Then the lightbulb moment hit. I could use similar methods to teach science.
Since this curriculum is designed for multiple grades at the same time, you can guiltlessly hold a class that is amazingly distracting because they are all supposed to be involved. The curriculum is designed for grades one through three, with grade one skipping out on tests. They all take the same levels together and alternate levels for variety of learning. For example, the first-year grades one through three take level 1-2 together, the next year level 2-1. If you use this for three grades, first and third grade are a repeat level. The level is made to be taught three days a week for a 45-minute period for ½ of the term.
This curriculum is designed for the children to be paired up into partner teams. Generally, it works best to put an older child with a younger child for coaching purposes.
When teaching this class, there are a few basic structures I use to instill information. The first is constant review of facts you want them to have for life. There are a few extra pieces of information for the fast learners and for interest’s sake, but by and large, study the tests to know what they should master.
Use the experiments. If you have any that are bigger and more exciting to illustrate the point, use them. Practice the experiments before having class.
Vary the flashcard drill as inspiration hits. Let them practice together in pairs. Use your creativity.
Feel free to add or chop up lessons as needed. There are several books mentioned in this curriculum. While you may not have the exact book mentioned, the library often has good resources that will work just as well or better.
Enjoy teaching the amazing world of science!
Science Alive 2-1
The inspiration for the creation of Science Alive began when I was teaching in a first and second grade classroom. One of the years I taught, the children had quite a bit of spare time, so we would have impromptu classes on the digestive system or whatever else I happened to field a question about. It didn’t take me long to begin recognizing that the children seemed to retain this style of learning almost better than what they considered work. I wished at that point to have a science curriculum that started out based more on input than output.
However, I didn’t really begin to do anything about this dream until I began to teach the Living Threads curriculum for history class. Then the lightbulb moment hit. I could use similar methods to teach science.
Since this curriculum is designed for multiple grades at the same time, you can guiltlessly hold a class that is amazingly distracting because they are all supposed to be involved. The curriculum is designed for grades one through three, with grade one skipping out on tests. They all take the same levels together and alternate levels for variety of learning. For example, the first-year grades one through three take level 1-2 together, the next year level 2-1. If you use this for three grades, first and third grade are a repeat level. The level is made to be taught three days a week for a 45-minute period for ½ of the term.
This curriculum is designed for the children to be paired up into partner teams. Generally, it works best to put an older child with a younger child for coaching purposes.
When teaching this class, there are a few basic structures I use to instill information. The first is constant review of facts you want them to have for life. There are a few extra pieces of information for the fast learners and for interest’s sake, but by and large, study the tests to know what they should master.
Use the experiments. If you have any that are bigger and more exciting to illustrate the point, use them. Practice the experiments before having class.
Vary the flashcard drill as inspiration hits. Let them practice together in pairs. Use your creativity.
Feel free to add or chop up lessons as needed. There are several books mentioned in this curriculum. While you may not have the exact book mentioned, the library often has good resources that will work just as well or better.
Enjoy teaching the amazing world of science!
Jesus: Greater Than Moses (A Christmas Program)
This hour-long whole-school Christmas program uses dramatic recitation of Scripture, songs, and simple actions (mostly still poses) to illustrate how the life of Moses foreshadowed the life and work of Jesus. It can easily be adapted to schools of nearly any size.
Example livestream from Pilgrim Christian School: https://youtube.com/live/KfCZwHG2f1AZwHG2f1A
Maintaining Student Engagement
Part of your job as a teacher is to not only present material, but to present it in such a way that it makes your students want to learn it.
Find ways to give your students tactile learning experiences, where they can interact physically with the learning material.
Consider students’ individual interests, talents, personalities, and motivation levels when planning instruction.
When choosing a learning activity, aim for one that involves students in a meaningful way. Avoid busy work or tedious activities for no greater purpose than filling time.
Student disengagement or behavior problems are sometimes the result of activities not being learner-friendly. Put work into creating interesting learning experiences that draw on students’ natural curiosity.
An overwhelmed child is usually an unengaged child. Be aware of the range of learning abilities in your classroom and be willing to differentiate activities as needed for students who struggle.
Tactics to keep students engaged:
Varying voice tone
Using humor
Varying the intensity of the lesson
Clarifying the purpose of the lesson
Asking questions
Brainstorming together
Having students work in pairs/groups
Assigning manageable independent tasks
Sharing personal examples
Doing role-play
Using visual aids
Keep students moving physically
Involve all students in answering questions by using small whiteboards or scrap pieces of paper. Instead of only hearing from the smart, confident students, this allows everyone to engage with the material and gives you as the teacher an opportunity to call on shy, hesitant students when you can already see they have answered correctly.
Don’t try to compete with distractions. At times, you may need to remove the distraction before moving on with the lesson (for example, a bee is flying around the classroom). Other times, you may need to pause for a moment and experience the moment together (for example, the first snow of the season is falling outside the windows).
Sources
Effective Instruction in the Classroom - The Dock for Learning
Tips for Improving Classroom Engagement - The Dock for Learning
Using PowerPoints
Programs such as PowerPoint, Keynote, LibreOffice and Prezi help teachers to emphasize important points and use visuals in their lessons. Their use is an art well-worth mastering.
If you need training in the mechanics of using presentation software, go to the library and get one of those “for dummies” books. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to PowerPoint is one such example. Training videos can be found online as well.
Remember that efforts to attract attention too easily distract attention. While most presentation software gives you the ability to add flashing, buzzing, excessive color, and movement, don’t overuse these features.
Presentations should focus the audience’s attention on each piece of information. Rather than cramming as much as you can onto every slide, devote each slide to a single idea, and remove everything that might distract from that idea.
Font size should be at least 28 pt. If the text is too small to read, it loses all value.
Avoid slides filled with too much text. The words on the screen should emphasize what you’re talking about, not be a replacement for or exact copy of the words you’re saying.
The following websites offer more practical tips on how to create effective visual presentations:
Sources
Classroom Management
Rules and guidelines are essential to keep your classroom functioning smoothly and to provide security for the students and structure for the class.
Establish early on with your students why rules are important. Discuss the rules so the students know what they are and what they mean. Give examples and scenarios to help in explaining the rules.
Rules Vs. Expectations
Differentiate between rules and expectations.
Rules are general and overarching. You will want to have around 3-6 stated classroom rules—they are the essentials of how you will expect your students to behave. They may include things like “Listen when others are talking,” “Be respectful,” or “Obey the teacher.”
Rules are intentionally general to encompass a wide range of behaviors.
State rules in the positive. For example, “Speak only with permission,” not “No talking without raising your hand.”
When rules are broken, there should be consequences of some sort.
Expectations are more specific and granular than rules—they are simply the normal way in which you do things in your classroom. A smoothly functioning classroom will have dozens of expectations in place, such as, “This is how we pass out papers,” “This is what we do if we need to go to the bathroom,” or “This is what we do if we have a question.”
As a teacher, you should determine your expectations before school starts so that you can communicate them clearly to the students. This takes time and effort but will pay off in the long run.
Model expectations to students, or ask them to show you the right way to do something (after the expectation has been clearly established). Students should see, feel, and understand what is expected of them.
If a student breaks an expectation, it is generally better to have them practice doing the behavior the right way instead of enforcing a punishment.
Implementing Rules Consistently
Rules and expectations are only as good as the teacher who implements them. What one teacher finds works for them may not fit with another teacher’s personality or preferences.
For repeated rule-breaking, consequences should be cumulative. The first offense may mean a warning. The next offense merits abc, and the third offence xyz, with each consequence level being stiffer. (The consequence sequence can start over at various intervals depending on the age of the student. It may be daily for younger students or weekly or quarterly for older students).
Be clear. Know in your own mind what the rules means. Know what you want your classroom to be. Think about the types of behavior you don’t want to see and decide how you will deal with them when they arise.
Be consistent. Students will tend to push against boundaries to discover whether the boundaries hold or not. If you as the teacher uphold rules infrequently, it will lead to more bad behavior. If you hold a line consistently, students will cooperate. Children crave security, and a consistent teacher sends the message that they are dependable and students can trust them.
The Goals of Good Classroom Management
Your goal in creating rules is to create an environment where learning is the reason for doing school. If there is disorder and distraction, students cannot learn.
Your aim is for the student to take responsibility for their own actions.
Pursue the child’s heart, not just right actions. Chronic behavioral issues do not come without a reason—unstable home environments, struggling academically, attention-seeking, impulsivity, peer pressure, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, etc. Look diligently to find underlying causes.
Keep the “why” of discipline in front of you. The goal of classroom management is not to create a herd of robots who perfectly do what they’re told without a moment’s hesitation. The goal is to be part of forming people with soft hearts that are turned towards the Father.
Developing Procedures
Some areas to consider in building classroom procedures:
Student desks—how will you arrange the desks? Traditional rows? All facing forward?
Specific arrangement of desk contents—How will students learn to organize desk contents? How often will they be asked to tidy their desks?
Morning routines—what 3-5 things do you want students to do every morning when they arrive?
Restroom plan—When will students use the restroom? May they go during class time? What behavior do you expect in the restrooms?
Moving around the classroom—Are students allowed to get up and move around the classroom whenever they want? How will they know when are/aren’t appropriate times?
Moving around the building—Do you expect students to walk in the building? Are they allowed to talk while in the hallways?
Water-drinking plan—When will students get drinks? May they get up for a drink during class time? Are water bottles allowed by their desks?
Leaving and entering the room—Will they line up before exiting/entering the classroom? What is your recess equipment plan?
Lining up—How will they line up? Who goes first? Who holds the door?
Hand/finger signals—Will students be required to raise hands to speak? Will you have signals for asking permission to leave their desk, sharpen a pencil, get a tissue, go to the restroom, etc.?
Handing in books and papers—Where will students hand in their work? When? How? Plan and label locations.
Lunch time—Where will they eat? What is your hand-washing plan? What about microwave usage?
Pencils—When will the sharpener be used and by whom? How will you make sure there are enough sharp pencils on hand?
Free time—What will faster students do when they finish their work? What if they rush through work to have free time?
Sources
Expectations and Order by Arlen Birt Expectations and Order - The Dock for Learning
Setting the Tone: Clarity, Consistency, Composure by Carolyn Martin Setting the Tone: Clarity, Consistency, Composure - The Dock for Learning
Help for Beginners and the Experienced by Betty Yoder Help for Beginners and the Experienced - The Dock for Learning
Some Advice on Classroom Management by Meghan Brubaker Some Advice on Classroom Management - The Dock for Learning
Correcting or Disciplining Students
General Considerations
When it comes to discipline, remember that the specific consequences you give are not as important as the way you present your plan, the matter-of-fact way you handle infractions, and the consistency with which you enforce your plan.
Remember “little problems, little solutions.” If you deal with things while they are small, you will find that smaller consequences can still be effective. If you struggle to find the courage to talk to a student early on, you often miss the opportunity to stop a habit before it gets worse and worse and spreads to other students.
Effective discipline fits into the following categories:
Clear and consistent—predictable and uniformly applied
Developmentally appropriate—suits the student’s age and temperament
Growth-promoting—fosters self-discipline and encourages students to reflect on their actions
Teaches skills—imparts social and life skills
Prompt but not hasty—addresses issues quickly but thoughtfully
Logical—the punishment fits the crime, as much as possible
Respectful—don’t embarrass students in front of their peers
Keep the “why” of discipline in front of you. The goal of enforcing rules is not to create a herd of robots who perfectly do what they’re told without a moment’s hesitation. The goal is to be part of forming people with soft hearts that are turned towards the Father.
Beware of letting emotionally unstable students become scapegoats who unfairly bear blame in situations where other factors are at play. For example, a student may have an outburst that was triggered by another student’s subtle provocation or stress due to overwhelm. Investigate causes rather than solely punishing behavior.
Addressing Misbehavior
When addressing misbehavior, have the student tell you what he did wrong. Beginning with, “Can you tell me what happened?” leads a child to confession or wrong (a nice way of saying, “So what did you do?”) That question can be followed by, “And why is that a problem?” This usually leads to talking about which rule/concept was violated.
Asking an erring child the question, “Why did you do it?” rarely brings good results.
If two disgruntled students sit in front of you, your approach will need to be a bit different. Asking “Can you tell me what happened?” usually leads to accusations and blaming. Instead, it often works well to say, “I want each of you to tell me what you did wrong. For right now you may not talk about what he did, only what you did.” This places the onus on each child to take responsibility for their own actions.
As much as possible, frame consequences in terms of the student’s choices. You want to prevent a you-versus-them mentality from developing, and one of the best ways to do that is to make it clear to your students that they are being punished because of their own choices.
Involving students in their own process of growth will look different depending on what age of students you are teaching, but in general, it’s a good goal to keep in front of you when punishment is necessary. “This needs to change, and you have the power to do that,” is a wonderful phrase to encourage students to take ownership for their own actions.
Monitor your feedback to ensure that you are not always negative or critical of children with behavior challenges. The child should not be receiving the teacher’s attention and help only when he is off-task or breaking a rule. Balance your correction with praise.
Be specific in your correction. “You need to behave!” is not good feedback. Instead, give students actionable feedback. Make sure they know what action you are talking about and make sure they know exactly what is expected of them instead.
Methods of Correction
There can be a power in making the entire class re-do a procedure or practice an appropriate behavior, even if it was just one or two students who didn’t comply. This teaches students that their actions affect everyone. This also creates positive peer pressure that works to your benefit. For example, “Let’s recite that chart again with everyone helping,” or “We were too noisy as we walked down the hall just now. Let’s go back to our classroom and try that again.”
Have a “ladder” of consequences. When a child misbehaves, start at the bottom rung of the ladder, which is a simple and unobtrusive consequence, such as simple eye contact and a slight shake of the head. If the student continues to misbehave, move “up the ladder” to more and more serious consequences. Frequency of infraction and how long you’ve been working on that particular behavior will dictate the speed at which you climb the ladder.
Sources
Help for Beginners and the Experienced by Betty Yoder Help for Beginners and the Experienced - The Dock for Learning
Some Advice on Classroom Management by Meghan Brubaker Some Advice on Classroom Management - The Dock for Learning
Small Problems, Small Solutions: Dealing with Issues before They Overwhelm You by Anthony Hurst and Joseph Shantz Small Problems, Small Solutions: Dealing with Issues before They Overwhelm You - The Dock for Learning
Tools for Classroom Management by Arlene Birt Tools for Classroom Management - The Dock for Learning
An Open Letter to First-Year Teachers by Meghan Brubaker An Open Letter to First-Year Teachers - The Dock for Learning
Effective Discipline: Grades 1-3 by Lise Gaines Effective Discipline: Grades 1-3 - The Dock for Learning
Peaceful Classrooms: What Are the Ingredients and Why Do They Matter? By Sheldon Kauffman Peaceful Classrooms: What Are The Ingredients and Why Do They Matter? - The Dock for Learning
Teaching Math
Reasons Why Teaching Math Is Important
Math is essential for practical life skills, such as budgeting, building, cooking, and any job requiring precise calculations.
Math fosters orderly thinking, logical problem-solving, and careful work habits.
Math reflects God’s character, showcasing His order, precision, consistency, and dependability. It is described as the “blueprint of the universe” and the “language of the universe,” revealing God’s glory through its patterns and structures.
Studying math allows students to “think God’s thoughts after Him” (Johannes Kepler).
Math is not neutral; it is a subject that can draw students’ minds to God’s attributes and foster a biblical worldview.
General Guidelines and Teaching Tips
Students should be given the opportunity to engage with real problems that require significant effort but are within their ability to solve.
Guide your students in rejecting fixed notions of “smartness.” There is no such thing as a “math person.” Instead, foster a growth mindset, encouraging students to remember that anyone can learn math with the right explanation and enough effort. Reframe “math is hard” as “math is challenging.”
Struggle is valuable for building neural connections. Let students struggle briefly with problems, but don’t let them struggle alone for so long that they get overwhelmed.
Normalize mistakes as learning opportunities, not failures. You can highlight “good mistakes” for discussion, avoiding shame and focusing on why errors occur rather than demanding corrections of all wrong answers.
Prioritize skills like logical thinking and conceptual understanding over speed in calculations. Focus on process and understanding, not quickly-gained correct answers.
Teach the concept before the skill. You will use repetitive practice to automate skills, but ensure conceptual understanding first.
Students often complain that “math is useless.” Whenever possible, use real-world examples to help combat this mindset. Also, emphasize that math develops the mind, fostering discipline and problem-solving. Those things prepare students for life, even if specific equations are never directly applied.
Group work can be a powerful tool for high-achieving and low-achieving students alike. Low achievers can benefit from hearing concepts being explained in a slightly different way, and high achievers strengthen their own understanding by helping those who are struggling.
Consider allowing students to do their calculations on graph paper, particularly for lengthy processes like long division. The grid helps keep numbers in a straight line both horizontally and vertically. This can improve accuracy dramatically for some students.
Elementary
Spend time and energy instilling strong number sense into young students. This often comes through lots of hands-on work with manipulatives as well as intentional focus on teaching the concepts of basic math. Only teaching rote memorization of facts with no deeper understanding of the concepts sets students up with a shaky mathematical foundation.
Use visuals and stories to help concepts stick. Incorporating imagination helps learning stick for young students.
Putting a particular focus on the following topics can help students obtain foundational skills that will be needed for higher-level math:
Long division
Fractions (especially multiplying and dividing fractions)
Decimals and percentages
Place value
Junior High and High School
In the upper grades, math fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills rather than basic concepts. Emphasize that the purpose of learning math is to foster deeper-level thinking skills, handle complexity, and equip students to serve in God’s kingdom.
Require students to show all steps for multi-step problems. While mental arithmetic is useful, solving multi-step problems mentally builds a fragile foundation that collapses with complexity.
To manage workload, focus on checking key problems, not every one.
Teach standard notation (e.g. variables in alphabetical order with coefficients first) for consistency across curricula and readability in advanced math.
Award partial credit for correct processes in algebra, as the process is key.
Recommended Resources for Various Topics
Methods to learn addition and subtraction:
Methods to learn multiplication and division:
How to use manipulatives in Math-U-See: The Math They See, the Math They Use: Demonstrating Concepts with Math Manipulatives - The Dock for Learning
Math drill sheets for addition and subtraction: Math Drill Sheets - The Dock for Learning
Math drill sheets for multiplication: Challenge Math - The Dock for Learning
Tricks for teaching a variety of math concepts, such as rounding, fractions, percentages, etc.: Math Tricks - The Dock for Learning
Games for math fact review: Games For Math Fact Review - The Dock for Learning
A tool for teaching basic algebra: Tipping the Scales to Teach Basic Algebra - The Dock for Learning
A system for students struggling with algebra equations: Equation Town - The Dock for Learning
Open-ended but solvable challenge questions: Open-Ended Math - The Dock for Learning
A way to teach powers of the square root of -1: Powers of the Square Root of -1 - The Dock for Learning
Tips on teaching math to girls: Girls and Math: How Going beyond the Rules Helps Students Engage with Math - The Dock for Learning
Sources
Open-Ended Math by John Mark Kuhns Open-Ended Math - The Dock for Learning
What Math Is Important? By Conrad Shank What Math is Important? - The Dock for Learning
Why Teach Math? By John Swartz Why Teach Math? - The Dock for Learning
Making Math Come Alive by John Mark Kuhns Making Math Come Alive (John Mark Kuhns) - The Dock for Learning
Upper Grades Math by Nathan Yoder Upper Grades Math - The Dock for Learning
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
Teaching Literature
Reasons Why Teaching Literature Is Important
Through literature, students gain experiences that are wider than just their own history or experiences in life. They are exposed to other worldviews, cultures, and perspectives.
Stories often help students understand things they know at a head level, but come to feel more deeply by experiencing it in a story. This begins to actually change their values and decisions. Literature fosters wisdom.
Helping the students engage with a literary work can impact how they live their lives from that day forward. (Good literature will influence a student’s attitudes, thinking, or understanding in some way, even if they don’t always remember later that they’ve read it).
When you discuss literary pieces, it gives you opportunities to deal with things of substance that make life what it is, opens doors for discussion, develops the skills in students to talk about what they’re thinking, and helps students learn from each other’s insights.
Teaching literature helps to develops students’ critical thinking skills, which is part of building thoughtful Christians and kingdom citizens.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Use questions to explore stories. This leads students to discover the truth for themselves (instead of you simply telling them what you think the meaning of the text is).
Some students struggle to understand what they’re reading. Teaching them the following tools may be helpful:
Think aloud
Model for your students how you can have an internal dialogue while reading a text. Project the first page of a story or a difficult section of a textbook. Read the text aloud, stopping often to share your thoughts. Point to the words in the text that trigger your thinking. Ask questions. Connect information from one concept to the next.
Mark the text
If a student has a personal workbook, the marking can be done directly in the book; if the student is using a shared textbook, the marking can be done on sticky notes and placed in the text.
Have students mark main ideas, background knowledge, or questions they have about the text.
Utilize pre-reading activities, which prepare students for what they are going to encounter in the text and get them interested in the story before they even start reading. Pre-reading activities may include:
Vocabulary—make sure that students are equipped to understand unfamiliar words or concepts.
Brainstorming—very quickly allow students to interact with a question that introduces the theme of the story.
Hooks—give a question that has no answer, share a personal anecdote, show a picture prompt, use an object that is related to the story, predict what may happen in the story based on the title, etc.
Graphic organizer—use something like a KWL chart (letting students fill in what they already Know about a subject and what they Wonder about. After reading, they can fill in what they have Learned about the story). Bubble maps or Venn diagrams work well also.
When it comes to vocabulary, be aware that there is a lot of academic-specific vocabulary that students will only interact with in the classroom. In addition, there will be a vast span in the known vocabulary of your students based on their language exposure up to this point. It is the responsibility of the teacher to address these discrepancies so that every child can understand what they’re reading.
Use literature class as an opportunity to develop the following skills:
Summarizing
Identifying the main idea
Inferring (reading between the lines)
Distinguishing fact from opinion
Applying wisdom principals to life
Narrating (retelling the story from memory)
Use a variety of oral reading methods to maintain engagement:
Round robin—students read assigned portions in order, going around the room
Pulling sticks—randomly select readers using popsicle sticks with names
Chain reading—set a timer (e.g. 45 seconds) for each reader
Readers’ theater—assign dialogue or narration roles
Fill-in-the-word—teacher reads, students chime in with specific words
Popcorn reading—students read one sentence each
Group/pair reading—small groups read together
Encourage deeper discussion through book clubs, literature workshops, Socratic seminars, etc., where students must prepare and study on their own before engaging with the content as a class
Recommended Resources
Ideas for literature class: Ideas for Teaching Literature - The Dock for Learning
High school book clubs: Guidelines for Book Clubs - The Dock for Learning
Detailed definition of poetry: What Is Poetry? - The Dock for Learning
Responding to literature assignment: Responding to Literature - The Dock for Learning
Template for a literature workshop: Literature Workshop Template - The Dock for Learning
Study guide for works of literature: Study Guide for Works of Literature - The Dock for Learning
Tips for improving reading comprehension: How to Read: Improving Reading Comprehension - The Dock for Learning
List of suggested online resources: Reading/Language Online Resources - The Dock for Learning
Poetry response prompt: Poetry Point & Ponder - The Dock for Learning
Strategies for increasing and developing vocabulary:
Sources
Why and How Do You Teach Literature? By Kendall Myers Why and How Do You Teach Literature? - The Dock for Learning
To Understand and Do: Teaching Literature for Life Change by Jonas Sauder To Understand and Do: Teaching Literature for Life Change - The Dock for Learning
Understanding Reading by Karen Birt Understanding Reading - The Dock for Learning
Pre-Reading 101: Strategies to Get Your Students Ready for the Story by Sharon Yoder Pre-Reading 101: Strategies to Get Your Students Ready for the Story - The Dock for Learning
Teaching English and Grammar
Reasons Why Teaching English and Grammar Is Important
Language is powerful—it can be both a tool and a weapon. It is important that we use tools proficiently and use weapons responsibly.
Using correct grammar improves both verbal and written communication, which are essential life skills and kingdom-building assets. Some examples of these life skills include the following:
Proficient Bible reading
Ability to communicate in relationships
Church-building (clear, effective communication with fellow members)
Outreach (such as ESL teaching abroad)
Committee work (ability to write clear minutes or reports)
Various studies show that understanding grammar boosts a student’s reading comprehension.
Understanding the grammar of one’s native language is essential in learning a second or third language. Studying English thoroughly gives a huge gift to students with a future in mission work and Bible translation.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
If your students are struggling to enjoy grammar class, examine whether you are modeling enthusiasm for the subject. A teacher who shows passion and energy for the subject at hand makes that enthusiasm infectious (even if you are struggling to always feel it).
Think of teaching English like a jigsaw puzzle, where various topics you teach are different pieces of the puzzle. As students get older, they acquire more pieces of the puzzle and need help to fit those pieces together. When students receive a “new piece,” they need to be shown how it fits into the big picture, or the piece is likely to get lost.
Make sure your knowledge extends past your students’ knowledge, as you cannot teach effectively from the edge of the cliff of your knowledge. Consider personally working through the books for the next two grades beyond the one you teach to give you a better understanding.
Mix hands-on activities with lecturing. Be intentional about engaging different learning styles, such as audio or movement.
Incorporate games and other activities such as the following:
Read a story and have students raise their hands when they hear a certain part of speech
Do mad libs
Make teams and do competitions
Play an ongoing “penny, please” game for grammar usage at school
Let students identify parts of speech in a funny or interesting paragraph
Make up sentences about the students in your classroom or things that happened at school to use for diagramming or finding parts of speech.
Flowcharts can be an incredibly valuable tool in grammar class. They are a powerful visual that boost comprehension and retention and prevent students from getting stuck.
Acronyms, mnemonics, or other creative mental pictures help students to remember concepts.
Recommended Resources
Grammar songs for the elementary classroom:
A recommendation for a grammar curriculum: A Better Grasp of Grammar Use (Curriculum Review) - The Dock for Learning
Games and activities for grammar class:
Verb tenses handout: Verb Tenses Handout - The Dock for Learning
Pronouns lesson hook: Pronouns Lesson Hook - The Dock for Learning
Tips for diagramming: Diagramming Sentences: Strategies for Learning Sentence Structure - The Dock for Learning
Steps to identify verb tense: Five Questions to Ask a Verb: Straightforward Steps to Identify Verb Tense - The Dock for Learning
Research Papers
Timing is important. The first two quarters of the year aren’t a good time to begin research papers because students may not yet be proficient in related skills. The last quarter may not be a good time either as students may have spring fever and lower motivation in general. The third quarter is often the best choice.
For younger students just learning how to write a research paper, it can be helpful to limit their topic options. Perhaps you will give the class three different topics to choose from, and you will provide the same sources to each student. Or perhaps you will give a topic theme based off a book series available to you such as “historical figures” or “countries,” requiring each student to choose a topic that has a corresponding book. These limitations allow you to have a better grasp of the source material each student is pulling from and give guidance to the whole class or to a small group of students all at the same time. You can even complete some parts of the process, such as bibliography entries, together as a group.
Tackle research papers in small chunks. Make each step due fairly soon, give a grade on each step, and keep your students accountable. Below are examples of schedules you could follow:
Provide folders for students to keep all their materials organized (and not lost in their desk or locker).
Correctly citing sources is often one of the least-understood parts of writing a research paper. The following article will guide you in helping your students write properly-cited research papers: Writing a Research Paper, Part 3: Citing Sources and Plagiarism - The Dock for Learning
A good grading rubric is a necessity for research papers. You can also show it to your students so that they know exactly what is expected of them.
Guidelines on using and creating rubrics can be found here: Grading with Rubrics in the English Classroom - The Dock for Learning
For more guidance in facilitating the process of writing research papers, these helpful articles detail the process:
How to Write a Research Paper, Part 1: Assigning a Research Paper - The Dock for Learning
Writing a Research Paper, Part 2: Intermediate Assignments - The Dock for Learning
A comprehensive guide for both the teacher and student: Research Paper Binder - The Dock for Learning
Other helpful resources:
A working bibliography template: Working Bibliography Template for Research Papers - The Dock for Learning
Topic selection ideas: Research Paper Topics - The Dock for Learning
Sources
The Necessity (and Fun) of Grammar, Part 1 by Karen Birt The Necessity (and Fun) of Grammar, Part 1 - The Dock for Learning
English Class (Or Any Class) Can Be Fun! By Karen Birt English Class (Or Any Class) Can Be Fun! - The Dock for Learning
Ideas on Teaching Grammar by Kendall Myers Ideas on Teaching Grammar - The Dock for Learning
Finding Pieces of the Puzzle: Connecting Concepts for Grammar Mastery by Steward Ebersole Finding Pieces of the Puzzle: Connecting Concepts for Grammar Mastery - The Dock for Learning
Five Helpful Practices for English Class by Deana Swanson Five Helpful Practices for English Class - The Dock for Learning
Guiding Students Through the Process of Writing Research Papers by Deana Swanson Guiding Students Through the Process of Writing Research Papers - The Dock for Learning
Why Teach English? By Kendall Myers Why Teach English? - The Dock for Learning
The English Language Session 3 by Verlin Garber The English Language: Session 3 - The Dock for Learning
Teaching Writing
Reasons Why Teaching Writing Is Important
Writing is a powerful way to record and share God’s goodness, truth, and beauty. Writing gives students skills to articulate their faith in powerful ways.
God values the written word and the telling of stories—this is shown all throughout Scripture.
Writing helps students understand truth. When they can explain something through writing, they will truly understand it. Whether it’s a deep theological concept or a retelling of something learned in history class, the act of writing forces students to develop a deeper understanding of a topic.
Our world is broken, and it desperately needs skilled writers to speak into the brokenness with a message of hope. In order for this to happen, we need to build writing skills in our students to enable them to share life and light through their words.
An age of technology and AI threatens originality, creativity, and imagination. Creative writing classes give students opportunities to exercise their imaginations at school.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Emphasize flow over perfection when students are writing rough drafts. The goal of a first draft is output, and stopping to fix grammar or spelling works against that goal. If students are unsure of how to spell words, emphasize that phonetic spelling is perfectly acceptable.
Consider that intense editing of grammar and spelling should not be the norm. There are already entire class periods every day dedicated to those skills. In writing class, students should be allowed to focus on the skill of writing. Require students to read back over what they’ve written to make sure it says what they wanted it to say and catch the obvious errors. However, they should not need to feel the need to edit and rewrite most pieces, especially not at the expense of creative writing experiences.
Suggestions for helping struggling writers:
Fold a paper in halves or thirds—this can eliminate the overwhelming feeling of a big blank page.
Guide your students in brainstorming activities before they write. This means they don’t need to complete the demanding tasks of idea generation and writing simultaneously.
Showing students an example of the type of writing you’d like them to produce can provide a model for the less creative.
Play instrumental music while students are writing. Studies have shown that for many people, background music is effective in focusing their creative energy.
Ask students questions about what they are writing to help them better visualize what they are trying to describe. Some students may benefit from drawing a picture first, then describing what they have drawn.
Read this article for more suggestions and more details about the above suggestions: Do the Write Thing, Part 4: Engaging with Reluctant Writers - The Dock for Learning
Make writing time a priority. When writing is ordinary and routine, students learn to anticipate the class and mentally prepare themselves for it.
Remember that writing is personal. Each person has their own style and unique ability. Encourage the best in each student but allow them their own expression.
Don’t overgrade writing assignments. Focus your feedback with a mixture of encouragement (noting places that are written well) and suggestions for improvement (“try this . . .”) Be sure to give feedback on the actual writing, not just mechanics like grammar and spelling.
When grading is necessary, a rubric is an invaluable tool for assessing writing assignments which are, by nature, subjective. For guidance in creating and using rubrics, check out these resources:
Recommended Resources: Lower grades
Advice on how to structure a writing class: Do the Write Thing, Part 3: How to Structure a Writing Lesson - The Dock for Learning
Writing prompts, activities, and assignment ideas:
Examples of brainstorming activities and revision guides:
Integrating writing into all subjects:
Journaling:
A writing curriculum review: A Review for Creative Writing Curriculum - The Dock for Learning
Recommended Resources: Upper grades
Advice on teaching how to write poetry: Don't Make These Ten Mistakes in Your Poetry - The Dock for Learning
A guide for writing biography: Writing Biography - The Dock for Learning
Personal engagement with writing process: Who Are You-As a Writer? - The Dock for Learning
Writing assignments as a response to literature: Developing Writing Assignments Based on Reading - The Dock for Learning
Integrating writing into all subjects:
Sources
Why Teach Writing by Andrew Yoder Why Teach Writing? - The Dock for Learning
Building Writing Skills by James Martin Building Writing Skills - The Dock for Learning
Creative Writing by Ed Bontrager Creative Writing - The Dock for Learning
Do the Write Thing Part 1: Why Writing Matters by Meghan Brubaker Do the Write Thing, Part I: Why Writing Matters - The Dock for Learning
Creating Enthusiasm for Writing by Carolyn Martin Creating Enthusiasm for Writing - The Dock for Learning
Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary
Reasons Why Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary Is Important
Words are living, powerful, and important. Learning to use them correctly honors that gravity.
A word reflects the essence of a thing. Understanding the vocabulary we use is vital to comprehending and communicating.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Studies have shown the importance of learning vocabulary words in context. Giving a list of words and definitions and focusing on memorization is the least effective manner of learning new vocabulary. Consider the following tips to teach vocab more effectively:
Have students write individual sentences for each vocabulary word (sentences must show the definition of the word in context)
Have students make synonym lists for each of the words.
Illustrate words instead of copying definitions. Students could make flashcards with a picture on one side and the word on the other.
Have students report whenever they hear a vocabulary word being used outside of the classroom environment, such as at church, on the radio, or in adult conversations. The student needs to explain the context/conversation in which the word was used. This could be paired with some sort of prize or motivational system.
Ensure that students are interacting with spelling words in a variety of ways, not simply writing out the list each day. Provide a combination of written and oral activities to help them practice.
Most times, by high school, formal spelling programs have stopped. Instead, students could keep a spelling notebook or stack of notecards on which they keep track of their own misspelled words throughout their daily schoolwork.
Recommended Resources
Spelling practice games:
Games for practicing vocabulary words: Teaching Vocabulary in High School - The Dock for Learning
A review of a spelling curriculum: Words Their Way - The Dock for Learning
Giving students strategies to expand their vocabularies independently: Giving Our Students Strategies to Expand their Vocabulary - The Dock for Learning
Sources
Improving Word Usage by Jonas Sauder Improving Word Usage (Jonas Sauder) - The Dock for Learning
Increasing the Vocabulary of our Scholars by Kendra Martin Increasing the Vocabulary of Our Scholars - The Dock for Learning
Teaching Vocabulary in High School by Karen Birt Teaching Vocabulary in High School - The Dock for Learning
Does Spelling Count? By Karen Birt Does Spelling Count? - The Dock for Learning
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
Teaching Science
Reasons Why Teaching Science Is Important
Science cultivates wonder, and a posture of wonder is a very Christ-like posture.
Nature declares God’s glory, and science class is a chance to explore those declarations.
God has commanded us to care for the earth and to love and serve our neighbors. Learning about the earth is part of caring for it well. On the other hand, ignorance about the way the physical world works can be harmful.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Do not expect to inspire wonder in your students if you do not first engage in the preparation it requires to thrill yourself in what you’re teaching.
Beware of giving explanations too quickly. Instead, ask students “Why?” and let them puzzle over the answers before you explain things in detail.
Don’t shy away from doing experiments—students learn so much more when they see actual things being done rather than just reading it in the book (though reading it in the book is important, too). Make experiments easier for yourself by planning ahead. Before school starts, get a bin and collect everything that you will need to do the experiments, or at least look a few days ahead and get the supplies that will be needed.
Science sketchbooks are a wonderful teaching tool. Give each student a blank sketchbook with no lines. As you are going over the lesson, encourage students to draw (using colored pencils) and label the main points of what you are studying that day. Tell your students what to draw and model it for them on the board.
Go on nature walks. You can use this time to find examples of what you have been studying in science.
Consider assigning text reading as homework. This allows you to maximize class time for exploration and demonstrations.
It’s okay to admit when the full understanding of something is beyond your grasp—in fact, knowledge limits highlight God’s expansiveness. You can tell students, “I know it works, here’s what I grasp.”
Recommended Resources
Below you will find some general, multi-use application resources. However, the Dock contains hundreds of science resources shared by teachers, such as worksheets, study guides, tests, and more. Go to https://thedockforlearning.org/ and search for your specific theme or science curriculum—you may find that another teacher has shared something that can be useful to you.
An overview of the history of science and the modern scientific method: The Method of Science - The Dock for Learning
How to use experiments to draw students to wonder and worship: Wonder through Science - The Dock for Learning
Suggested resources for teaching science in first and second grade: Suggested Resources for Teaching Science in Grades 1 and 2 - The Dock for Learning
Chemistry lab safety guidelines: Chemistry Lab Safety Guidelines - The Dock for Learning
Advice on foraging and edible plants: Tasting the Seasons - The Dock for Learning
Sources
Top Five Practices for Science Class by Deana Swanson Top Five Practices for Science Class - The Dock for Learning
Wonder through Science by Steven Brubaker Wonder through Science - The Dock for Learning
Science by the Textbook by Jesse Hurst Science by the Textbook - The Dock for Learning
Why Teach Science? by James Goering Why Teach Science? - The Dock for Learning
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk
Teaching Civics and Economics
Reasons Why Teaching Civics and Economics Is Important
Humanistic and materialistic values are subtly displayed in messages all throughout daily life. The goal is to disciple youth to recognize and counter this “invisible” saturation.
Anabaptists have a unique culture of strength from which to approach these subjects (e.g. prioritizing community over self and the two-kingdoms theology).
Giving students knowledge about these topics enables them to:
Pray and respect from an informed position
Determine their responsibilities relating to the law
Better understand current social problems and tensions
Develop critical thinking skills
Make informed financial decisions (personally and on a business level someday)
Understand how the past informs the future
Develop a calling of their duty to their community, nation, and humanity as a whole
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Instead of focusing only on rote facts, let your underlying push be to transmit truth across generations, using history and culture as identity markers. Make it your goal to instill Anabaptist identity without fostering egotism.
To keep a two-kingdom concept in mind while teaching civics, consider teaching rights and responsibilities through the lens of being “responsible aliens.”
Recommended Resources
Principles for personal economics: Principles For Personal Economics - The Dock for Learning
Economic standards and concepts: Economic Standards and Concepts - The Dock for Learning
Classroom economic system activity: Classroom Economic System - The Dock for Learning
Advice for navigating election-related conversations: Navigating Election Years in the Christian School Classroom - The Dock for Learning
Christian perspective on law and politics:
Biblical perspective of church and state:
Teacher version: Biblical Perspective Of Church and State - The Dock for Learning
Student version: Biblical Perspective Of Church And State Handout - The Dock for Learning
Overview of Canadian parliament: Canadian Parliament - The Dock for Learning
Crash course in economics: Economics Crash Course - The Dock for Learning
Sources
Helping Students Think as Anabaptists through Teaching History, Geography, and Civics by Pete Peters Helping Students Think as Anabaptists Through Teaching History, Geography, and Civics - The Dock for Learning
Living Out Our Faith in Economics and Civics by Arlyn Nisly Living Out Our Faith in Economics and Civics - The Dock for Learning
Why Should We Teach Government? By various authors Why Should We Teach Government? - The Dock for Learning
Teaching History
Reasons Why Teaching History Is Important
The purpose of teaching history is to help students understand the world so they can more effectively serve God in it.
History is messy and many ugly things have happened. History class is a chance to dive into that messiness and see how God is working to redeem this broken world.
History class is a chance to teach students foundational truths about the world and about people, such as the following:
People are created in God’s image. They are intelligent, creative, and resourceful, and can be brave and compassionate. Humanity can do great things.
People and the world are fallen. Sin has corrupted humanity. People are idolatrous, vain, foolish, selfish, and stubborn. Sin has broken the relationship between humanity and the universe.
People act in their best interests as they perceive them. People do not act randomly; rather, they act according to their desires. However, human desires are corrupt and short-sighted, tending to lead to misery.
People set themselves in opposition to those they perceive as different, leading to war, genocide, and exploitation.
Very few of history’s conflicts involve the good guys vs. the bad guys. We have a natural tendency to look for narratives of good vs. evil, but it’s usually the bad guys vs. the other bad guys, and sometimes the bad guys vs. the worse guys.
God is redeeming the world through Jesus. God’s grace has been at work throughout all of history, and He promises to redeem the world fully one day. We can teach history with hope.
History class is a chance to explore topics like God’s sovereignty and His hand at work in world events.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Keep the purpose of teaching history in front of you (to help students understand the world so they can serve God more effectively). Don’t worry about getting students to memorize every bold term in the history textbook. Instead, teach them how the world got to be the way it is. This teaching will include many of those bold terms, but they must be part of the story and not substitutes for the story.
It’s important not to bend history to fit into a narrative you are trying to teach your students. Sometimes people tend to learn what they feel like learning from history. Instead, it takes a lot of work to teach the skill of seeing what the past has left to us and drawing conclusions from that instead of imposing conclusions on it.
Suggestions for making history more engaging for your students:
Show actual pictures. Use drawings when pictures are not available.
Put the students into the scenario being studied. Guide them in using their imaginations to do this.
Embrace project-based, hands-on, and discovery-driven learning.
Use mnemonics to memorize facts.
Use primary sources when possible.
Beware of subtle messaging that may be present in history textbooks, even Christian ones. Christian nationalism, just war theory, and America-centric statements need to be addressed as contrary to the way of Jesus.
Strong history teaching requires preparation beyond facts. It’s important to also emphasize the following:
Cohesive worldview—a right view of God as sovereign and redemptive, a right view of this world as fallen, and a right view of humans as unique in God’s eyes but fallen and imperfect.
Development of skills—history class should offer the building of text-reading, geography, and research skills.
Storytelling—history should be seen and taught as a broader story, not an isolated telling of certain events.
Recommended Resources
Below you will find some general, multi-use application resources. However, the Dock contains hundreds of history resources shared by teachers, such as worksheets, powerpoints, study guides, tests, and more. Go to https://thedockforlearning.org/ and search for your specific curriculum or time period—you may find that another teacher has shared something that can be useful to you.
Online Resources for Pennsylvania History: Online Resources for Pennsylvania History - The Dock for Learning
World History Culmination Project: World History Culmination Project - The Dock for Learning
Historical Figures Ethics Debate Activity: Historical Figures Ethics Debate Activity - The Dock for Learning
Family Tree History Project: Family Tree History Project - The Dock for Learning
Ideas for Teaching World History: Teaching World History Ideas - The Dock for Learning
Sources
To Better Serve God with His People: Teaching Church History by Peter Goertzen To Better Serve God with His People: Teaching Church History - The Dock for Learning
Teaching History Beyond Names and Dates by Peter Goertzen Teaching History Beyond Names and Dates - The Dock for Learning
Finding Their Place in the World: Teaching History with a Redemptive Perspective by Austin Shenk Finding Their Place in the World: Teaching History with a Redemptive Perspective - The Dock for Learning
Building a Framework for Making Sense of History by Peter Goertzen Building a Framework for Making Sense of History - The Dock for Learning
Five Go-to Practices to Energize Your History Class by Deana Swanson Five Go-to Practices to Energize Your History Class - The Dock for Learning
Who Are We? The Role of History Books and Teachers by Patrick Heatwole Who Are We? The Influence of History Books and Teachers - The Dock for Learning
Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash
Teaching Music
Reasons Why Teaching Music Is Important
Music is something eternal, something worth putting time and energy into. There aren’t many things that all age groups in a community can do together, but music is one of them.
Music is essential in the kingdom of God, not optional. It connects to God’s heart, drives out darkness, speaks truth, and draws us to worship.
Songs impact us and stick with us. They shape our loves and desires. They are powerful influences in our lives.
Singing is a joyful, embodied experience—a way to love God with the whole self.
General Advice and Teaching Tips
Teach students to sing with their tongues up against their bottom teeth. This creates more resonance.
Start music classes with regular pitch-matching exercises.
Teaching students systems like takadimi and solfege hand signs is helpful in giving students concrete ways to work with music.
If singing is a struggle, consider doing it in smaller segments to keep everyone’s mood from deteriorating. If you are frustrated and it’s showing, it will undermine the good feelings and joy that singing is supposed to promote.
Consider trying to achieve the following goals through music class:
Students will have proficiency in reading music.
Students will have basic singing skills such as accurate pitch, the ability to blend to a unison choral sound, and experience in participating in group harmony.
Students will be able to lead singing.
Students will have an understanding of baseline theory (i.e. note names, rhythms, time signatures, key signatures, and accidentals).
Elementary
Help elementary students gain confidence in singing solos by making a game out of it. Have a few finger puppets and have students sing “as the puppet.” Another option is to toss a ball or beanbag to various students while standing in a circle. Whoever is holding the object sings a phrase of the song, then tosses it on to another person, who sings the next phrase.
Especially for younger students, incorporate motions and movement with singing. Singing is a whole-body experience.
Tips to help monotone singers:
Recognize that this is very normal in young students, and many will outgrow it by third grade.
Daily practice (very few people are actually tone deaf; many who struggle to match pitches just haven’t had enough exposure to singing).
Place struggling students near confident singers.
Have students match a pitch you sing on a hum, then note discrepancies (“You sang __. Try a little higher like this __.”) You can do this in pairs to make students feel less singled out.
Junior High and High School
Be aware and empathetic of the voice changes that students encounter through grades 6-9. Boys’ voices change, drop unpredictably, crack, and have a limited range. Girls’ voices often have a breathy quality during these years. Change your expectations during these years, perhaps focusing more on building rhythmic skills than in doing a lot of pitch-matching.
Recommended Resources
Practical vocal training tips: Music Gold: Vocal Training for Children in Every Grade - The Dock for Learning
Video example of a With Glad Voices music class: Ta, Ta, Ta-Di Ta: Music Class Exercises for Rhythm and Beat - The Dock for Learning
Practical advice for music class: I'm a Music Teacher. Now What Do I Do? - The Dock for Learning
Sources
Music Gold: Vocal Training for Children in Every Grade by Jeff Swanson Music Gold: Vocal Training for Children in Every Grade - The Dock for Learning
How Can I Get My Students to Sing? Positive School Culture, Engaging Music Practices by Anthony Hurst How Can I Get My Students to Sing? Positive School Culture, Engaging Music Practices - The Dock for Learning
I’m a Music Teacher. Now What Do I Do? by Yuriy Kravetz I'm a Music Teacher. Now What Do I Do? - The Dock for Learning
Teaching Music by Brandon Mullet Teaching Music - The Dock for Learning
Why Teach Music by Lyle Stutzman Why Teach Music? - The Dock for Learning
Elementary Music Culture 3 by Regina Troyer Elementary Music Culture (3 of 3) - The Dock for Learning