Congratulations you’ve been hired for your first teaching position! You are about to have a great adventure with your own students. To make your first year easier here are 10 tips that you probably weren’t taught in college, but might really help you as you get started in your career. Tip 1 – When you meet […]
classroom management
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
Four Little Tips to Transform Your Classroom
This post was featured on Classroom Chronicle on Wednesday, July 23rd 2014 Another school year is almost upon us! Along with content, systems and management planning, thinking strategically about how you set up your classroom this year will boost student engagement and success all year long. How does classroom set up do this, you ask? […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
Develop Habits, Don't Discipline
[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”] Discipline, as defined by Google, is a noun or verb which is the practice of or to train (someone) to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
Ten Tips to Smooth Transitions
One of the hardest things to master as a new teacher is a smooth and quiet transition from one task to another. The class can turn from calm to chaos in the blink of an eye, as soon as you make a change in what you are doing. While some children can move easily between […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
A Living Memorial
This last Memorial Day Sunday, our preacher spoke of the past. Do you know the name of your great-great-great grandmother? How about your great-great-grandfather? Do you know the name of your great-grandmother? Who was your grandma? While our family lineage is long, it does not take many generations to forget the names. I do not know the […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Opinion
School is Almost Out!
“Four more days!” “Yea!” Teachers are counting down, too. Some teachers have had grades done a while ago; especially the benchmark grades when a student’s passing or failing “the test” determines if she goes to the next grade. The rest of us are scrambling to get everything into the computer. The rooms have to be […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
Kindergarten Building Blocks
Last week, a friend told me about a principal in my large urban school district who took the blocks out of a kindergarten classroom. There are stories in this district of all play materials, including crayons, being removed from kindergartens. In New York, the story of a principal canceling the kindergarten show made national news. […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
The Case for Using Calculators
There are a multitude of opinions on the topic of calculators, ranging from: “I learned math without a calculator” to “what happens if children are dependent on calculators and there isn’t one around” to “children should not move on to higher level math until they can do basic computations mentally.” I am going to explain why […]