[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”] September is Open House Month, and the welcoming speech from a teacher could sound like this: “Welcome, Parents! Let me show you how to access my website on the SMARTboard where you […]
Kindergarten
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Featured, Kindergarten
Making Incentives Work for Students
[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”] Let’s face it. We all work for incentives. Even as adults. We get a paycheck for a job well done. We search for jobs with good health benefits or with an […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, Kindergarten
September 11, the Class of 2014, and the Poetry of a Memory
Eighteen years ago, I was teaching my Advanced Placement English class when word came that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. Several hours later, all classes were abandoned in the high school. A line of students formed in the office in order to call and know if […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Featured, Kindergarten
How to Decorate Your Secondary Classroom
At the end of last year, I changed positions. The difficult part of that was being expected to “replace” one of our best teachers in the entire district. Part of this involved his fun, learning-based classroom environment that he’d created over the 30-odd years of being there. I still remember one of my colleagues saying […]
Posted inBook Review, Elementary School, Featured, Kindergarten, Literacy
Just Let Them Read! A Book Review – Part 2
 A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the highlights from my reading of the beginning of Donalyn Miller’s The Book Whisperer. It has been many years since I have been so touched and so inspired by my professional reading. Throughout the book, two themes emerge: as literacy teachers, we must promote, model, […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Kindergarten, Literacy
Multilingualism and Language Acquisition in the US
[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”] It is very difficult to learn a second language. Part of this difficulty is that in America we begin learning that second language later in life. Language learning is not typically […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, How to Fix Education, Kindergarten, Uncategorized
Education News: Florida Education Commissioner Resigns Amidst Controversy
[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”] Under Governor Rick Scott, Florida’s education system has undergone a massive overhaul the last few years. Â Part of the overhaul included severe accountability rules with school report cards based on students’ […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Kindergarten, New Teacher Bootcamp
Setting Up Your Elementary Classroom
I have a photo book of my first classroom, seventeen years ago. The desks are piled in the middle of the room.  The teacher desk, my favorite item, was an old wooden desk. I still have it today.  In fact, I changed buildings 5 years ago with the stipulation that my desk goes with me. […]