I am blessed to have what many other teachers don’t: autonomy. A 2014 Forbes article listed the top 10 skills wanted by employers: ability to work in a team structure, the ability to make decisions and solve problems, the ability to communicate, the ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work; and the ability to obtain and process […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Eat Your Vocabulary– It’s Good for You!
“If music be the food of love,” as Shakespeare suggests, then the food for the mind is vocabulary. The term vocabulary is defined as “a list or collection of words or of words and phrases usually alphabetically arranged and explained or defined.” There are a number of reasons to think about these lists of words and phrases […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The Educator’s Room Statement on the Appointment of Betsy DeVos
At The Educator’s Room we have been energized to see how many people have recognized the importance of a strong public education system and have stepped up to take action on behalf of our students and teachers. The support has been non-partisan with Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters questioning who would think to be a good […]
Posted inLiteracy
Books Matter
I love books. There is something about them. The smell, the heft, the feel. . .The way kids respond. Because for all their complaints, most kids, most high schoolers, like books. Books matter. So my classroom is filled with books. So filled with books, it has become the smallest regular classroom in the building. Two […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Have You Tried Socratic Seminars Yet?
Have you jumped into Socratic Seminars in your classroom yet? If not, I’ve got a few easy tips to help you get started – including a ‘real life’ demo video! If you’re already using Socratic Seminar, maybe I’ve got a way you can snazz yours up and take your students’ thinking a little bit deeper. […]
Posted inChild Development
Connecting Motor Skills And Academic Achievement
We know how important it is to allow young children time to just play and be kids. We want them to run, be active and engage in group games that will help hone gross motor and social skills. Play is an integral part of learning for children, and believe it or not there is an […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
From Literature Circles to Inquiry Circles
Last spring, my 8th grade students were involved in Literature Circles where they read one of six Young Adult Historical Fiction selections. The Literature Circles took about five weeks to complete. Previously, I wrote a series of articles that cover procedures, mini-lessons, and assignments and assessments. One of the major areas I worked on with my […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Distrust of Facts Highlights Need to Return to Primary Sources
“Get your facts first,” quips satirist Mark Twain. “Then you can distort them as much as you please.” These words were first put to print in an 1899 Rudyard Kipling interview of the timeless sage, but they could have just as easily been written yesterday. In an era where the news makers are jabbing back […]