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How to find the confidence to try something that terrifies you

Many teachers long to make instructional changes in their classes, but longing only sometimes leads to action. Even after identifying the change they want to make, determining that it will be best for them and for their students, and learning how to implement it, many teachers still remain paralyzed; trapped in their old, no longer…

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“Is this novel REALLY Level 1?” – Which factors contribute to text complexity?

Ah, requisition season. Thousands of teachers around the country are making plans for next year and laying claim to coveted budget dollars to get the resources that they need for next year’s students. Perhaps you find yourself writing a budget proposal for the coming school year. Perhaps your deadline to submit the budget is…FRIDAY! Perhaps…

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Unit planning for TCI courses

My favorite session from iFLT 2014 (of the ones that I taught, anyway) was my session about planning units that introduce a set of target structures and then use them to teach a cultural topic to students. This was my favorite session because the creation of vocabulary-driven cultural units have had a greater impact on my…

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