On Friday mornings, the lights would go off, quietly chatting, and the class moved to the rug. Each child held a book of poems. They sat in a circle, poems on the floor before them. I would ask a student to start. As he began reading, the child beside him picked up her poem. The […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Opinion, Uncategorized
5 Lessons We All Need to Know in Education
This morning as I was embarking on my morning run/walk, I encountered a hill that was in my way to becoming a more confident runner. The sheer enormity of knowing that I would have to run the entire hill was enough to mentally take me out, but something in me kept telling me to “keep […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion, Parents
Tried and True Resources for Curriculum Reinforcement
Over the course of my 18 years of teaching, I’ve seen many trends in skills that aren’t mastered before kids move into the next grade level. I’ve also been in schools where funding is not adequate for curriculum and supplies that are needed. Most of my teaching experience has been with early childhood, Pre-K through […]
Posted inEducational Apps, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum
Pioneering 1:1 iPads Meets Resistance?
It is risky business, changing everything you teach and control in order to move towards a tech heavy classroom. I am one week into a 1:1 iPad rollout for all of the juniors and seniors at our rural high school. We are the last assigned group in our school wide transition to 1:1 iPads that […]
Posted inChild Development, Classroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
The Importance of Executive Function
[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”] Do you have a student who just can’t seem to follow a set of directions, no matter how simple they may seem? Or one who seems to drift from one assignment […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
Differentiating with Alternative Assessments
[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”] We’ve all seen those long lists of activities to give a class as an alternative assessment. You read through the list, for example on a site like TeachHub, you pick out […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy
What’s A Kid to Do: Implementing Literacy Centers Using Guided Reading
Guided Reading is a strategy used in elementary classrooms around the United States for reading instruction. Teachers listen to students read and determine their individual reading level, group students according to fluency and comprehension needs, and teach reading and writing skills within these small groups. You can use canned programs with lesson plans provided, find […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum
The Power of Current Events
It seems recently that there has been more of an explicit push in education to connect the content to the students themselves. Why should they care about what’s going on in the classroom? How does it impact them personally in their homes, communities, and nation? How can they use it beyond the test? Where a […]