The dark days of November are upon my students and admittedly the enthusiasm for being back in school has worn off. The fervor, rigor and rapid pace of schooling usually takes its toll on me this time of year and I have to develop means of not only survival but of hope as I try […]
Instructional Strategies
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why Reading Logs Have to Go
“Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.” ~Beverly Cleary Reading Logs: On the first day of school, I welcome my 8th graders to my English class with a survey about their reading life. I ask them to be extremely honest, so I can gauge where […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
What Makes a Great Unit?
With so many skills and so many concepts, units are a necessity. We can become overwhelmed with the amount of material we have to cover in a short time. I have learned I only focus on one unit at a time. A unit is a set amount of skills or concepts tied to a literary […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Educational Apps, From the Front Lines, High School, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Social Studies, Technology
E-Sub Plans for Educators
Writing sub plans is the task I dread most as a teacher. It is time-consuming and often the best-laid plans go awry. Substitutes misinterpret directions or students use that excuse to claim that they were led astray from a meaningful task. I have found a few digital applications that have changed the nature of the […]
Posted inFeatured, Instructional Strategies
Recycling Classroom Supplies
My colleagues, and family cringe when they empty Pringles cans, toilet paper rolls and bottles of vinegar. They know I will swarm into the trash like a group of hornets snatching the prized possessions to ‘save for a project’. I am a huge hoarder. I save every single item that I ‘might’ need and I […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instructional Strategies
Letting Go of Classroom Management and Embracing Community Building
My first year of teaching was terrible. I will always remember a moment where I watched my students in disbelief as if it was an out-of-body experience. Paper balls flew back and forth and one particularly defiant child stood on top of his desk to do his best Michael Jackson impression. I had big dreams of leading […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy
Leveled Reading For Young Readers
One of the most frustrating situations I have as an early childhood educator is the misconception of “leveled” readers. Time and time again parents will tell me they’ve checked out these readers from the library or purchased readers that are “leveled” for their child, only to become frustrated when their child has difficulty reading the […]
Posted inHigh School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Social Studies
Presenting Missing Histories
How do educators balance teaching in an area of expertise while knowing that what they know might not be enough? Media scrutiny and traditional practice of being the “sage on stage” for determining necessary content coverage for standardized tests thwarts the better practice of modeling inquiry and discovery. Teachers worried about the uniformity of content focus more […]