Oh my goodness! I have an abundance of, how shall I put it, VERY STRONG LEADERS in my classroom this year. You know that point where you feel like your class is completely autonomous and could run smoothly without you? Yeah, we haven’t gotten to that point because if I wasn’t present it would be […]
Classroom Management
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Why you need a Classroom Mission Statement
A mission statement. The best businesses use them to guide direction and lead to success. Our classrooms are definitely not businesses — but I believe, like in business, that a classroom mission statement can lead us and our students toward a clear outcome, guided by a defined purpose. I’ve created a teaching philosophy before. I’ve […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Dealing With Personal Tragedy In the Classroom
I experienced quite a lot of personal tragedy last year. And as a result of my stress, my students experienced them too. I tried so very hard to keep my personal life from affecting my students, but I’m convinced that sometimes no matter what you do, some events just can’t be disposed of at the classroom […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How Response Notebooks Differ From Reading Logs
When I moved from teaching high school to teaching 8th grade English three years ago, I was introduced to an independent reading requirement: each student would read one book of their own choosing each quarter. How we chose to implement this requirement was up to the teacher, but each student had to produce a product […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Transforming the ‘Trump Effect’ in Schools
As early as March of this year, teachers were reporting a significant increase in anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and bullying behavior in their students since the start of the 2016 presidential race in what has become known as the “Trump Effect.” The Southern Poverty Law Center tries to get some data on these anecdotal reports, and ran […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instructional Strategies, Opinion, Podcast
Podcast Review: Angela Watson’s Truth for Teachers
“Remember, it’s not going to be easy – it’s going to be worth it.” Blogger, consultant, and educator extraordinaire Angela Watson ends every one of her “Truth for Teachers” podcasts with this Art Williams quote – one that any educator would agree we know all to well. But the content of her podcasts do make the […]
Posted inElementary School
Using Board Games In The Classroom
I remember when I was little I loved to play board games. Growing up as an only child though, it was difficult to find someone to play with. I drove my parents crazy with Monopoly, Hi-Ho Cherrio and Sorry, then I moved on to checkers and chess as I got older. In the age of […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Deliberate Practice and Growth Mindset
I have been obsessively researching growth mindset over the past few weeks. And one of the many misconceptions that I have discovered is around the idea of effort. It seems that many people believe that a growth mindset means trying and trying until you get it right. The more you practice, the better you get. […]