My first few years of teaching were spent scrambling to assemble the perfect lesson plans that would engage my students and still be fun. I spent hours at work instead of with my family. I was completely dedicated and yet afraid of failure. Sometimes, I felt a little lost and sometimes wondered if I had […]
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Six-Word Memoirs as an Introduction to Narrative Writing
Six-word memoirs are not a new thing. A simple Google search will bring up Smith magazine and their six-word memoir site that all began in 2006. If you search Pinterest, you’ll find dozens of ways to use six-word memoirs with kids of all ages. That is all I did to piece together something that I […]
Why I Create a Class Motto
Why do I spend several lessons during my first weeks of school creating a class motto? There’s so much to do. Students need to learn rules, routines, and procedures. There’s the beginning of the year assessments. And the curriculum isn’t waiting. Still, despite these many pressures, I find it worthwhile to take two or three […]
My Coming Out As A Conservative Teacher
The phone rang, and on the other end was the principal of the elementary school I had interviewed at just a few days prior. The middle school where I had worked until the end of that school year had to lay me off due to low numbers in my special education specialty area. But, my […]
A How To List For Flexible Classroom Seating
I don’t know why it took me so long to jump into flexible classroom seating. After 27 years of dodging clunky desks, tripping over backpacks and watching kids fidget uncomfortably in their hard plastic seats, I had had enough. I’ve had classes as large as 38, and it just was too hard to fit that […]
What Opening 100 Sixth Graders’ Lockers Taught Me About Kids
She was running late for the departing Friday bus. I saw her as she laid there on the floor, sobbing, as other staff members patiently held 100 buses to send the nearly 800 students home for the weekend. “I want my mommmmmmy!” She wailed, with the tears waterfalling down her face. Here lay the sister of […]
Putting Books in Student’s Hands: How to Make the Right Match
Last week school started and a whole new group of 8th graders filled the desks in my classroom. Besides talking about the syllabus, creating a social contract, and handing out all of the many things parents have to sign, my biggest goal was to get a book in the hands of each student. [bctt […]
Word Sorts: A Pre-Reading Strategy for Frustrated Students and Teachers
If I were to ask my middle schoolers what the hardest subject is for them, I can tell you right now, a majority (especially sixth graders), would say science. Even though my kids typically love science labs, they despise all of the reading that accompanies them. When I talk to students about what makes reading […]