Success was always important when I was growing up. I’m an only child, so the pressure was palpable from my parents. They were always pushing me to do better, wanting me to ‘amount’ to something worthwhile. Unfortunately their worthwhile careers were those of a doctor, attorney or highly paid businessperson. Not that of a […]
Paula Kay Glass
Paula has a Masters degree in education with an emphasis on child development and child behavior. She has been an educator for 22 years. She founded a private elementary school in 2003 and is now working through the Moore Public School District in Moore, Oklahoma as a special education teacher. Paula is also a contributing writer to The Huffington Post and has a children's book published. Paula has three grown children and resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. You can contact her at glass foundations@sbcglobal.net or paulaglass@moorepublicschools.com.
Breaking The Cycle of Disrespect in the Classroom
I am an Oklahoman, born and bred. And although Oklahoma might not have a beach, DisneyWorld or one of the nation’s historic landmarks, it has amazing people who time and time again have come together to help one another when the rubber meets the road. Having said that, many of us ‘Okies’ were heartbroken when […]
Setting Up a Cooperative Learning Classroom
At recess yesterday I began sketching my classroom layout for next year. Crazy, I know. I am the teacher who likes to do trial runs on pretty much everything. Owning my own school gives me the ability to do that. I use the beginning of each quarter to lay out goals and expectations for my […]
Taking The Trouble Out Of Word Problems
Word problems for younger elementary grades can be challenging if kids don’t know how to break them apart. There is a meme about word problems that reads, ‘If you have 4 pencils and I have 7 apples, how many pancakes will fit on the roof? Purple because aliens don’t wear hats.’ This illustrates the probable […]
Providing An Anchor In Learning
I have a reference wall in my classroom. It includes phonics rules, checklists, our word wall and one of my newest loves, anchor charts. I introduce my anchor charts during my carpet time for several days, then when I feel like my class is comfortable with whatever concept is being taught, I hang it on […]
Birth-Order In Our Classrooms: How It Affects Our Students
The other day I ran across a post on social media that read: “First-born: I made the rules. Second-born: I’m the reason there are rules. Third-born: What rules?” I had to laugh because as a mom with three under five years apart, my husband and I always joke about birth order, especially since we are […]
Creative Writing Strategies For Elementary Students – Outside Of The Classroom
Writing is a huge component in my second and third grade classroom. Next to speaking properly, communicating through the written word is an important life skill that needs to be developed which will follow children throughout their lives. The sooner the basics of writing are introduced and honed, the easier this skill will become as […]
Dear Santa…
Dear Santa, Well, it’s that time of year again. The end of the first semester. And I am tired. Like, exhausted. Mentally, physically and emotionally. It’s been a long 83 days. And that doesn’t even include the days of school from last January to May or all the time I spent on ‘summer break’ preparing […]