In my first year of teaching, I wanted to teach a Shakespeare play, but was completely intimidated by where to start. I befriended the most veteran member of our English department, an actress, director and drama teacher, who gave me fantastic tips and assured me that I would love it and that students would, too. […]
classroom strategies
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
The Conundrum of Extra Credit
Every classroom teacher has encountered the inevitable question from a student or parent, “Do you offer extra credit?” The reasons can be myriad: the student was out of school due to illness and his/her grades suffered for it. The parents may want the student to gain additional mastery of the material. More often than not, […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics, Parents
A Parent’s Guide to the 1st Grade Math Common Core
So your precious Kindergarten student has successfully graduated and moving on to First Grade. They can count to 100, fluently add and subtract within 10, and even identify many geometric shapes. However, now they are in First Grade. That Kindergarten year sure did go by quickly! Here is what your now 1st grade student can […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, Uncategorized
ESL Students in the General Education Classroom
Help! I have a new student in the middle of February who doesn’t speak any English! What should I do? Sound familiar? This often happens at my school. English Language Learners (ELL), or English as a Second Language (ESL) students, are part of a very transient population. Sometimes students will even leave mid-year for a month […]
Posted inCharter Schools, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Charter School Diaries #4 – Order in the Court
Working in a school, I’ve learned that there is so much more that happens during the day time than just actual instruction. The instruction of children in the center of what we do as educators, yet everything else going on that surrounds instruction sometimes gains more attention than it should. More often than not, the budget gains […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten
Differentiating Instruction–Stretching All Learners
Classrooms are a mix of students. They come to us with different experiences, background knowledge, skills, talents, attitudes and understanding. There is no longer the proverbial “middle” to teach. Teachers strive to reteach and reach the lowest students while excelling and pushing the highest students. In between is a mixture of ability levels and good […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
High School in 2013 – These are Changing Times
About a month ago, Kelsey Sheehy wrote in US News & World Report that she expects three major changes for high school students in 2013: “Blended Learning,” “Flipped Classrooms,” and “Standards.” I think there may be some other, more stark realities for high school students in 2013, but I’ll comment briefly on her three predictions first. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Social Studies
Voices of our Past: How Primary Documents Can Make Lessons Come Alive
What if we could sit at the feet of Socrates and ask him philosophical questions? What if we could have a conversation about agricultural design with Thomas Jefferson, or about the rule of law with John Adams? What if we could sit in a room and listen to Frederick Douglass explain his experiences and […]