After attending a Penny Kittle workshop in spring of 2014, I decided that I wanted to radically change the reading/literature instruction in my twelfth grade English class by setting up a Reader’s Workshop. In order to do that, I needed a classroom library. In fact, I needed an extensive classroom library if I wanted the […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Information in Google Doodles Build Background Knowledge
That letter “O” morphing on your search engine for Mother’s Day?That spinning Globe for Earth Day?Those jigging leprechauns for St. Patrick’s Day?These are all the Google Doodles from 2015 to celebrate holidays. There are also Google doodle tributes to individuals. Emmy Noether (physicist), Laura Ingalls Wilder (author), and Anna Atkins (botanist) have been featured in doodles this […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Middle School, Special Education
Inclusion Students – The Elephant in the Room
There has been the great controversy for many years over the inclusion of special education students in the regular education classroom. Some parents are afraid that inclusion students will negatively impact their child’s education. Mainstream education teachers sometimes voice concerns over whether or not they can teach these students when they have no background in special […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Fine Arts, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
Implementing Art Across the Curriculum
I started teaching back in the days when supplies were limited and you saved everything. I remember days when I taught kindergarten with only toilet paper rolls, markers and a package of rainbow construction paper, which was expected to last for the first nine weeks, with the possibility of getting wiggle eyes to add to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, School Improvement, Social Studies, Technology, Uncategorized
Planning the Last Unit
This is the time of year in which students’ impetus to volunteer, join clubs, school wide activities, and community drives overrides the necessity to finish out a school year. Many justifications are given for not being in class — and how could I blame them? A record cold winter and delayed spring bloom kept students pent up […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Technology
20% Time is a Common Practice
Recently I mashed a world history unit on 19th century industry with student discussions on the history of change in education. A TED Talk illustrating Sir Ken Robinson’s reflections on transforming education away from standardized practice prompted student discussion and agreement on the need for time spent on creativity and artistic expression in all classes. However, the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Turning Reluctant Readers into Life-Long Readers
Reading should not be presented to a child as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift. ~Katie DiCamillo One of my biggest challenges for the past thirteen years as an English teacher has been getting my students to read, and I know I am not alone in this frustration. Getting teenagers […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why I Lend Out My Personal Books to My Students
In my incredibly messy classroom, behind my desk are my personal books- novels ranging from Pride and Prejudice to Splintered. They are worn underlined, and some have sticky notes in them. About six weeks into the school year, one of my students wanders over there to look at my pictures, then they pick up a […]