This year I’m going back to school with a twist – I’m going to digitize my syllabus and lesson plans! A few years back, I experimented with different ways to engage students on the first day – and first weeks – of school. Building relationships, engaging my classroom, and creating a sense of excitement helps […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Do You Want Students to Do Better In Class? If So, Try Working on Their Executive Function Skills
“Executive Functioning Skills. Executive Function. What is that and what does it have to do with my classroom?” These are the questions I asked myself walking into the New Jersey LDT-C Fall Symposium in 2016. Cindy Goldrich, a board Certified ADHD coach, gave us an extremely in-depth look at what executive functioning skills were and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching Gender Equality in a High School Classroom
Following recent events, it’s impossible not to recognize how divided our nation has become. We as teachers have our own unique and individual opinions based on our own experiences and education, and so do our students. But what happens when events taking place are so prominent that it would be a disservice to students […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
LGBT Perspectives in the Middle School Classroom
There has recently been a lot of buzz around a new short animated film entitled “In a Heartbeat.” I first saw it being shared on Facebook, and since it was posted on July 31st, it has been viewed over 20 million times. If you have not had the chance to view it yet, here is […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Disrupting Thinking: Stop Focusing on Leveled Reading
Each summer I try to squeeze at least a couple professional books into my summer reading pile. This year, I knew I wanted to read Kylene Beers and Robert E Probst’s new book, Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters. Teaching my 8th graders not just to read, but to love to read has been my main goal. […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Teachers Fueled by Student Success
I had a student observer this past spring who asked me “how we do it?” She wanted to know how, in spite of all the stuff thrown our way – the attacks on the profession, the teachers, the union, the pension, the lifestyle, the politics, the “part-time worker” status, the lack of results – and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Equity in the Classroom: Content, Pedagogy, and Results
Recently the conversation about social justice in education and generally has shifted from equality to equity. As many before me have noted, equality focuses on every student getting the same resources or supports. Equity, on the other hand, requires that we give every young person what they need to be successful. This idea has also been […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Argument for Multi-Grade Classrooms in Today’s Schools
The idea behind having a variety of ages, or grades, in one classroom, should not be a foreign concept. On any given day, most adults interact with individuals from an assortment of populations: family members, co-workers, neighbors, service personnel, teammates, etc… Rarely outside of schools do you see individuals grouped based on a specific age. […]