“…but first, I give them a quiz,” the 2nd grade teacher was telling me. “A quiz?” I was surprised, “Why?” “Well, how will I know they read their homework?” she responded. “But…they are only in 2nd grade…so……” I trailed off; she blinked expectantly. I didn’t finish my sentence. “So… this is how the madness starts,” […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
Elements of a Great Lesson Plan
There is no right way to plan a great lesson. Sometimes what you thought would be an amazing plan falls apart and other times what was supposed to take only five minutes ends up being twenty-five. Or my absolute favorite thing happens, there is a “teachable moment” and it is not written on any lesson […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Starting the New Year Full of Possibilities
This year is brand new. If it is your first year or your thirtieth year teaching, it is new. You have never been in this situation or with these exact set of colleagues or with these kids. It is easy to see the negativity in education, it is everywhere. You can ignore the truths […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, School Improvement, Series
What is Close and Critical Reading?
More than six years ago my school district found itself on the state’s list of failing schools. We were not making annual yearly progress (AYP) and it was becoming evident that we couldn’t keep doing what we had always been doing. Our demographics had drastically changed when the industry-heavy area began to crumble and families […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Uncategorized
SPED Students – Where Do They Belong?
I’ve always been a proponent of inclusion in the regular education classroom. I say this from experience. Before it became common place I accepted SPED students into my classroom. You see at the time, Philadelphia would not allow a SPED student to “mainstream” in high school unless they could prove that they could function in […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instructional Strategies
Behavior Bugs Are On The Loose!
Every school year I use some type of token system with my class. Since I have students who loop with me for several years, I don’t like to use the same system every year so as not to repeat something that has already been done for students I have again. One year I used poker […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
"So What?" Brings Critical Thinking
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] This summer, I plan to spend time organizing question stems to spark critical thinking and post them on a number of slides to share with teachers. OR I could shorten the process and use just […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Classroom Management, From the Front Lines, High School
Advice from Adventures in Seating Plans
The seating plan is often thought of as an important element for student success. From the first day of school, the seating plan is a teacher’s strategy for learning student names, and student names can be the most important piece of information a teacher can gather the first day of school. For that reason most teachers choose to use […]