Education reform needs to include a renewed respect for the teaching profession, along with respect for the knowledge and intuition that teachers bring to the classroom. It may be uncomfortable for the drivers of the current reform narrative to admit, but it needs to be discussed because many of the “choices” pushed to the forefront […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
4 Unusual Gift Ideas For Teacher Appreciation Week
I walked into my classroom the first morning of Teacher Appreciation Week a bit groggy and bleary-eyed from a terrific weekend – a weekend not spent grading or lesson planning, but instead, spent taking long walks, baking, and digging in my garden. There’s nothing easy about teaching first period English in junior high school – […]
Posted inBook Review
The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Book Review
The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Instruction That Works in Every Generation is aptly titled. Great teachers have existed in every age, with every type of technology, and in every nation. It is not the tools that make them great, but rather their form. Such can be said about this book, which is readable for just about […]
Posted inFeatured
Using Literature Circles with YA Historical Fiction
As English teachers, we are constantly told that “choice matters” and “choice gives students a voice.” Multiple experts (Kelly Gallagher, Penny Kittle, Donalyn Miller, Nancie Atwell, Harvey Daniels, just to name a few) have written multiple books and articles on the topic. But I think many teachers struggle with how to incorporate choice into a […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Teacher Appreciation 2016: Show Teachers Some Love
Last updated: 05/01/2016 Teacher Appreciation Week Deals For more ideas about homemade Teacher Appreciation Deals click here. 1-800-Baskets: Take 20 percent off with code GIVE until May 9. 1-800-Flowers: Take 15 percent off all flowers and gifts with code FLWRFFTN until July 3. FruitBouquets.com: Take 20 percent off any order with code FRUITNOW until May 8. SendFlowers.com: Get flowers […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Surviving the Spring “Thing”
Spring Break has come and gone, and every teacher knows what follows thereafter: the Spring “Thing.” The “thing” involves a stretch of days where there are no more holidays until Memorial Day, or in some schools, the end of the year It’s a time when most states dig deep into standardized testing When the “thing” […]
Posted inMiddle School
The Genius Hour in Middle School
Two years ago, I had an idea. I wanted to see a class in my school that allowed students who are intrinsically motivated to do something they were interested in. I began searching around on the internet and stumbled upon Passion Projects, 20% Time (based on a Google practice), and Genius Hour, but it was […]
Posted inFormative Assessments, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Social Studies, Technology
Breaking out of the Norm with Breakout Edu
It has been a long time since I started my high school class with this opening, “Today I’m going to tell you a story… and only you have the power to save the world…” My gaming team of devoted educators advised me to take a plunge into an all-out game experience with Breakout EDU. While […]