Edutopia - George Lucas Educational Foundation

William Ortlinghaus is a retired professional with almost 30 years of experience in education. He worked as a physical education teacher, science teacher, and assistant principal. He is a technological innovator and has also served as a technology coach. William holds a master’s degree from National University and is passionate about public education. Now that he is retired, he spends even more time outside, enjoying running, cycling, and other fitness activities while working part-time with Edutopia.

Rista Plate is a senior researcher at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

CASEL has a free tool that can help school leaders sift through the many social and emotional learning programs to select a good fit for their school.

Instead of having students compete for external rewards, fostering cooperation boosts intrinsic motivation and ensures that all voices are heard.

Jamie Nanfara has been working in elementary schools since 2011 as a teacher, K–5 literacy specialist, and administrator. Jamie is dedicated to comprehensive, research-informed instructional practices that support literacy development and social and emotional learning. She holds a master’s in teaching and is a certified Orton-Gillingham instructor. Her commitment to supporting students doesn’t stop in the classroom—she also shares resources and kids’ book recommendations with her thriving online communities. In her free time, Jamie loves to read, write, and explore the outdoors with her family.

Elementary teachers can use sentence stems to promote phonemic awareness, knowledge of vocabulary, and reading fluency and comprehension.

Assistant editor Daniel Leonard shares how teachers are turning to Diffit to automatically adapt texts to different reading levels.

A teacher shares her strategies for creating a culture and routines that foster students’ sense of involvement in the classroom.

These tips can help early elementary teachers foster students’ metacognition, helping them see how much they’re learning.

Before considering how to integrate tech in lessons, it’s important to ensure that you have clear expectations and routines in place.