Language is a subject matter of much controversy in our country. Are you “American” if you speak another language? Well, many of our students come from homes where the parents do not speak English, so regardless of whether or not you think all Americans should speak English, the fact remains that we are a country […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inElementary School, English Language Learners, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, The International Teacher
Diaries of an English Teaching Assistant in Taiwan: Christmas is Love in Action
During the writing workshop that I facilitated last Friday, a participant shared with me that she’d almost committed suicide, but that one of her best friends had helped her out of depression to find happiness. To this day, Macy (name given to protect her identity) is determined to become a social worker, so that […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Mathematics
Integers: Adding and Subtracting the Easy Way
Teaching integers can be very frustrating to students. Early in my teaching career I found that many of my students found adding and subtracting integers to be very difficult. I tried teaching the rules and learned that everyone (including me) was frustrated. I began to realize that one problem was that for most children, negative […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Instruction & Curriculum
New Year's Goals as an Educator
Remember the excitement you felt at the beginning of the school year? Round two starts this month and you have an amazing opportunity as an educator. You get to make a difference in a child’s life. Just as you set goals and made plans in August, pause and help your students start the year right […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
Five Ways to Increase Student Engagement
Not everything in life comes easily, we know this and we harp and harp on students to “try harder” while sometimes they are giving it all they got and it is not good enough. We all have those moments where we feel like nothing we do is ever good enough. Imagine how it feels to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Mathematics
5 Do's and Don'ts for Teaching Elementary Mathematics
Have you ever heard math content specialists say that elementary teachers have poor math content knowledge, but they have great instructional strategies? While this may be seen as harsh but for the most part it is true. Through not fault of their own colleges did not prepare elementary teachers to specialize in mathematics. When a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Going Paperless, Instruction & Curriculum, Series, Technology
Adventures in Going Paperless: Making Assumptions about Digital Literacy
I am an immigrant—digitally speaking. Like many born in the late 70’s, I have fond(ish) memories of hovering over my Brother WP 1400D, busting out a 14 page essay due the next day. I used card catalogs, bound journals, and microfiche for my research. I didn’t even have an email account until college, much less […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum
Take A Break in Time for the Holiday Season
The time from Thanksgiving through Christmas break is a paradox of time. The days blend together and fly by as the end of semester checklist is slowly completed. But the hours seem to crawl by as you fight against commercialism, seasonal change and holiday excitement for the attention of your students. Here are a few […]