Sheldon Soper

Sheldon Soper is a New Jersey middle school teacher with over a decade of classroom experience teaching students to read, write, and problem-solve across multiple grade levels. He holds teaching certifications in English, Social Studies, and Elementary Education as well as Bachelor's and Master's degrees in the field of education. In addition to his teaching career, Sheldon is also a content writer for a variety of education, technology, and parenting websites. You can follow Sheldon on Twitter at @SoperWritings.

Using Activity Lists to Differentiate Instruction

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One of the key components in effective differentiated instruction is providing students with the opportunity to make the decisions that guide their learning. When teachers differentiate based upon their students’ various skill levels or interests, the impact on student learning can be remarkable. However, when teachers empower their students to make those learning decisions for … Read more

Three Ways to Boost Vocabulary

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Improving literacy skills can often be a complicated proposition. Successful readers and writers use a combination of several skills such as print awareness, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension skills, grammar, and spelling to be able to both understand and create meaningful text. Improving a student’s overall literacy skill-set requires a multifaceted approach that deals with the … Read more

Video Games that Make Learning Fun

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Video games are at the center of the gamification of education. While this movement to make learning more engrossing and engaging for a new generation focuses on changes away from the screen, video games remain a fun way to help build understanding and practice skills. Amazingly, some of the greatest examples can be acquired for … Read more

Building Time Management Skills in a Differentiated Classroom

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Differentiating instruction for students based on readiness, interest, and learning style is a powerful way to make learning personal and effective. Research shows that giving students options in how they engage with content and skill practice often results in an overall increase in engagement and growth. When I made it a point to shift my … Read more

Using Classroom Debates to Engage Students

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Any teacher or parent of adolescents will tell you, kids love to argue! With some effort, you can harness this natural inclination in your classroom as a way to improve your students’ content knowledge and literacy abilities. Two of the targeted initiatives in the Common Core standards are a focus on developing students’ speaking and … Read more