Take5: College Essays, Poverty, Power Learning with Movement, Effective Talk and lastly Sleep, and how to get more of it.

Trick or Take5!  In celebration of Halloween, we've lined up five "treats" for you, including an extra special podcast recommendation. So raid some of that Halloween candy, put your feet up, and take five minutes to explore the educational world while improving your own classroom. Happy Halloween teacher friends!

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​College essays are apparently big business. Every educator (and parent) should check out Read me!: Students race to craft forceful college essays as deadlines near to learn the low down about the admissions be all end all: the college essay. It's eye opening how pricey help with essays can be. In fact, it's down right frightening.

In his article, "How to Improve Brain Function and Reverse Poverty's Impact on Student Learning," Eric Jensen explores the ability of teachers and schools to help student living in poverty be more successful in the classroom and beyond.

Want kids to learn more? Consider embedding gestures in your instruction. Check out more in "How Seeing and Using Gestures Make Ideas more Memorable" by Claudia Wallis.

Edutopia's "Oracy in the Classroom: Strategies for Effective Talk" does a fantastic job of laying out different strategies and groupings for promoting discussion in classrooms across content areas. ​

After listening to a podcast on Fresh Air, I've been thinking (and talking to colleagues) A LOT about the importance of sleep. Most people who work in schools don't get enough of it and neither do students. You can listen to the podcast that got me thinking here. Or if you are short on time (and need more sleep) you can check out a quick synopsis entitled "The Importance of Sleep and Strategies for Sleeping Better" by Terry Gross.

-Corey