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 […]
classroom
Posted inPedagogy
The Secret Ingredients of Lesson Planning
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! This past Christmas, my family decided to organize our own version of the Great British Baking Show (or GBBS). We each had to make our own Signature dessert for the approval of three judges, my in-laws, and my oldest daughter. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Behind the Mask: Returning to School in the Midst of a Pandemic
We got the kids back. So why is it still so hard to reach them? Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Like many educators, I was excited when we managed to reopen our little Washington DC charter school last August. As middle school principal, I’d […]
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 inAsk a Teacher
Organizing Ideas from the Queen of Organized Chaos
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Imagine a substitute teacher dumping your desk drawers out on the top of your desk because they wanted to “reorganize it.” That is what happened to my cooperating teacher during my student teaching days. My cooperating teacher’s organizing skills […]
Posted inTechnology
How to Support Students Addicted to Screen Time
Tips for encouraging self-regulation of digital distraction As more schools introduce one-to-one iPad or laptop policies, teachers are increasingly worried about students’ dependence on screens. Devices are now a constant part of their environment and have become their ‘go-to’ form of communication, information, and entertainment for many children. As a fourth-grade teacher in a school […]
Posted inOpinion
Children Don’t Avoid “Divisive” Topics, And Neither Can We
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! As a primary teacher, I had interesting and sometimes challenging conversations on a regular basis. Young children do not limit their comments and questions to what’s “age-appropriate” or what is or isn’t “divisive.” They are trying to figure out […]