Teacher's Curriculum Institute

TCI eNews
September 2008  

In this issue:

Refresher: The TCI Approach and a Cooperative, Tolerant Classroom

School has started. And you are trying to meet a variety of students' needs with one lesson--students reading and writing below grade level, English Language Learners, learners with special education needs, and advanced learners. It's a lot of different groups to cater to at once. 

The interactive, experiential, and stimulating learning at the heart of the TCI Approach can happen only when students feel comfortable sharing ideas, taking risks, working cooperatively, tolerating differences, and disagreeing honestly and respectfully with you and their classmates. You need to take purposeful steps to develop a "safe" community in your classroom. 

Here are some tips for creating a cooperative, tolerant classroom:

Read additional tips here: http://www.info.teachtci.com/forum/CooperativeClassroom.aspx. 

Don't forget to review TCI's Lesson Guides for more ideas on differentiating instruction.

Bert's Blog: Do You Believe in Differentiation? 

In his latest blog, Bert Bower, TCI's CEO and founder, reflects upon how teachers reach all learners in the diverse classroom. Learn about Bert's past experiences and join in the discussion. Bert asks, "Is it helpful that TCI differentiates our lessons? Or does it go against our core philosophy of reaching all learners in the diverse classroom?"







Enhancing Learning

You probably don't hear students clamoring for more homework. But if they are going to have homework, students agree that variety is best. What do we mean by variety? Think media. Assign a film. Or visit TCI's Online Resources for Internet Projects and/or Enrichment Essays. Visit the discussion groups to see how your fellow teachers are enhancing learning for their classrooms.

Film Clips for High School

Digging Deeper in Middle School

Tapping into the Teaching American History Grant with TCI Academy

Since 2001, the Teaching American History Grant has provided millions of dollars to local education agencies to help them further their teachers' understanding of American history. In the grant's first year, $50 million was available. In the last fiscal year, $117.9 million in grants was awarded. Successful applicants build multi-year programs that include keynote speakers, teacher field trips, and high quality inservice programs.

TCI Academy's (www.tciacademy.com ) course, Enhancing Teachers' Understanding and Appreciation of American History, was developed specifically to meet the requirements of the Teaching American History Grant. The sessions in the course delve into eras of American history, giving teachers concrete strategies and lessons for making the content come alive for students. The goal of TCI Academy's course is to help teachers translate the powerful content they learn in the lectures and trips their district's grant provides into meaningful classroom practices. Using tried and true TCI lessons as the foundation of instruction, the sessions offer new ways to approach instruction such as incorporating mnemonic devices into the study of the Bill of Rights, or weaving performing arts into instruction.

Grant information for the current fiscal year is not yet available. Keep checking TCI's funding pages at