If you’re looking for a new approach to teaching writing, you’ve got to try teaching with hyperdocs. What are hyperdocs? According to their creators, Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton and Sarah Landis, hyperdocs are “a transformative, interactive, personalized engaging too to help facilitate student creativity and collaboration” (The Hyperdoc Handbook). And I can testify that hyperdocs […]
Posted inPodcast
[S3E2] An Interview with Mr. Dombrowski: Social Media is Not the Enemy
Ever since I saw Mr. Dombrowski’s clip on The Ellen Show, I have been in love with his infectious smile and bubbly personality! Since Social Media is such a huge deal in every school, we thought it would be interesting to discuss how one teacher makes it work for his fourth-grade students. Mr. Dombrowski has built […]
Posted inFeatured
I Tutored The Same College Student For 4 Years. Here’s What I Learned.
My school is about to graduate its sixth class of students. In independent school years, it is a young institution. By comparison, some of the older schools in my area have been around for 173 years and 328 years- a few more than our 11. As a young school, we have had to be particularly […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Reading Response Prompts for Nonfiction
In March, I shared how I create reading response prompts for my 8th-grade ELA students. Since then, I have gotten inquiries from other content areas about what sorts of prompts are appropriate for nonfiction texts. Many of my students choose to read nonfiction, but sometimes, we all read nonfiction together. Other content areas tend to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Making the Most out of Teachers Pay Teachers
After seventeen years in the classroom, I now realize that if I had charged a dollar for every time a colleague of mine “borrowed” materials I created for my classroom, I’d probably be rich! Being a successful educator requires collaboration and sharing; I have not only allowed teachers to use my materials, but many of […]
Posted inElementary School
Don’t Fear Conflict in Your Classroom
I’m in my eighth year of teaching, and I’m still constantly realizing new things about teaching. Most recently, I realized that I was afraid of conflict in my classroom. Since I started teaching, it’s been drilled into my head that the first and foremost marker of a successful teacher is strong classroom management. Classroom management can […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Conquering Teacher Biases Against Disabilities: Important Strategies
Last week, I wrote about teacher bias against special education students: a topic that struck a chord for many teachers for a variety of reasons. How can we achieve equity in education with biases in place? The answer? We can’t. But there are ways to help deal with biases, whether our own or someone else’s. […]
Posted inSpecial Education
It’s Time to Address Teacher Bias Against Special Education Students
As a special educator for eight years, I can honestly say that most teachers have good intentions when it comes to reaching all children. That said, not all teachers are comfortable with, or even express happiness with, having special education students in their classrooms. Not surprisingly, a study conducted by MacFarlane and Woolfson (2013) found […]