Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Pop culture: Imagine entering a high school. The hallways are alive with discussions and debates, creative and well-thought-out student projects, and teachers as facilitators. I witnessed this with my own eyes several years ago. At a local high school, […]
Instructional Strategies
Posted inMental Health
A Safe Space, A Safe Place
Finding New Ways to Build Student Relationships Built on Trust Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! It all began when I started to meet students one-on-one in breakout rooms during the pandemic. I wanted to “become more in touch with the mental health of some […]
Posted inPedagogy
How to Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning Into Any Content Area
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Whether it’s unregulated and disruptive behavior or an overall malaise with regard to school, it’s clear that many kids are not all right, and parents and educators are taking notice. Some students are struggling to compensate for losses sustained over nearly […]
Posted inPedagogy
How Background Knowledge Supports Reading Comprehension
Essential Components In part 1 of my series on effective literacy, I discussed the Science of Reading, the role of the brain when learning to read, and the importance of explicit phonics instruction when teaching reading. Explicit phonics instruction is critical when learning to read, but word recognition is not the only component that creates […]
Posted inPedagogy
Why I Stopped Using Writing Rubrics
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In my English and writing courses, I always love to share the following Anne Lamott quote with students: “…writing needs to breathe and move.” To further expand on this quote, I explain that writing cannot be constricted in a […]
Posted inPedagogy
6 Ways Teachers Can Support Students With Autism
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Thinking back on my experience as a teacher in a Texas charter school, I cringe at the lack of knowledge I had about autism. It wasn’t covered in my certification program, it was never brought up during our professional […]
Posted inPedagogy
Red Light! It’s Time to Take Digital Literacy Seriously
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Several months ago, my fifth-grade class asked me to play Red Light, Green Light. Not typically a game my fifth graders request, it came as a surprise. Later that week I watched the first episode of a very grown-up […]
Posted inPedagogy
Lessons for Teachers From a Military Brat
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! What is a Military Brat? Are you familiar with the term “military brat?” This term refers to someone who grew up in a family where one or both parents served in the armed forces. My father served in the […]