In my first year of teaching, I wanted to teach a Shakespeare play, but was completely intimidated by where to start. I befriended the most veteran member of our English department, an actress, director and drama teacher, who gave me fantastic tips and assured me that I would love it and that students would, too. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
The Conundrum of Extra Credit
Every classroom teacher has encountered the inevitable question from a student or parent, “Do you offer extra credit?” The reasons can be myriad: the student was out of school due to illness and his/her grades suffered for it. The parents may want the student to gain additional mastery of the material. More often than not, […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, New Teacher Bootcamp, Opinion
Creating Confident Readers Out of Struggling and Reluctant Readers
So, it’s directed reading time. I have my readers grouped according to ability and the groups are reading different books, which I have geared toward the students in the particular groups. I have a group who collectively love animals, so we are reading Trouble According to Humphrey. I have another group who are mostly boys […]
Posted inFeatured
Twitter PLNs -Because Solutions in Education Must Include Teachers
I recently read a tweet by the National Education Association’s (NEA) president, Dennis Van Roekel, which brought me to this quote: “I’m so tired of OTHERS defining the solutions….without even asking those who do the work every day of their professional life.” Consider how solutions determined by others have determined the profound changes in education […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Middle School, New Teacher Bootcamp, Opinion, Technology
Classroom Technology: When you Can't Beat Them, Join Them
I am not a technically savvy person. At. All. I’d rather use a dry erase board than my smartboard. I’d rather hand write notes than type them. How a land line phone works fascinates me. My smart phone freaks me out. I have two iPads and several laptops available to my class to use on […]
Posted inLegal, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized
Protecting the Protectors: Limited Liability from Students’ Lawsuits
Teachers have responsibilities beyond the act of just teaching. They must participate in professional development sessions, instruct students using a variety of research-based strategies, and maintain up-to-date student records. One of the most important teacher responsibilities is to maintain a welcoming and safe learning environment. In many teacher evaluation instruments, a teacher is assessed on […]
Posted inFeatured, Parents, Technology
Protecting Our Digital Kids
My mom grew up in the 1950’s. I remember her telling me a story of her and a friend seeing a word spray painted on a building. They did not understand the word, had not heard it before, and so they got a dictionary and looked it up. Their confusion continued as the literal definition […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics, Parents
A Parent’s Guide to the 1st Grade Math Common Core
So your precious Kindergarten student has successfully graduated and moving on to First Grade. They can count to 100, fluently add and subtract within 10, and even identify many geometric shapes. However, now they are in First Grade. That Kindergarten year sure did go by quickly! Here is what your now 1st grade student can […]