Assessments…it’s almost become a dirty word in education. Those of us in the trenches know assessments are necessary and have a purpose. We understand there are different types of assessments that guide our instruction, help us focus students on their learning objectives, and show us where re-teaching and extension need to take place. Everyone has […]
classroom
Posted inElementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, New Teacher Bootcamp
Where Should I Sit? Flexible Grouping in the Classroom
I remember the old cartoons and movies that depicted classrooms. The students were all sitting in rows of desks, and the teacher’s desk was front and center in front of the chalkboard. My, how times have changed. Today, our classrooms look different, and students learn differently. There are many ways to arrange classrooms and group […]
Posted inNew Teacher Bootcamp, School Improvement
The New Teacher Bootcamp: Who Do You Listen to In the Building?
Being a new teacher is hard. You have to plan lessons, call parents, grade assignments, discipline students and somehow live your own life all within a 24 hour time frame. In the midst of all of your duties and responsibilities as a teacher it is routine practice that you have a team of people in the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
Questions Please! An Approach to Higher Learning
“To every answer, you can find a new questions” –Yiddish Proverb. It starts when children can talk, “Why?” Sometimes it can seem endless, “What would happen…?” But it is one of the most important tools we can use in a classroom. Teachers ask questions to engage, motivate, teach, lead, expand, understand and challenge. For such […]
Posted inFeatured, Uncategorized
What are the 3 Shifts in Common Core in ELA/Literacy ?
There are few words in the field of education that can evoke the range of emotions that the words common core can. When those words are mentioned there are people who literally balk at the thought of changing, revising, and revamping standards while others nervously peer over the educational reform landscape, scared to say anything […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Creating Lovers of Reading: Tips for Using a Self-Selected Reading System in Your Classroom
Students come to us with reading levels all over the spectrum. As a new teacher, one of the biggest challenges in my heterogeneous classes was assigning and monitoring their reading. While challenging students with complex texts is not only important but required, it is still essential that our students read and read and read even […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics, Uncategorized
The Mathematical Workshop Model: How Data, Differentiation, and Classroom Management Combine in an Elementary Classroom
We have all heard of various writing workshop models. Students working diligently on various stages of the writing process: pre-writing, drafting, revising, proofreading and publishing. But how can we incorporate similar structures in the math classroom? To some, this may not be new. Various levels of the math workshop model do exist and so I am […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education, Opinion, Uncategorized
Part 2: Are Teachers Caught in the Crosshairs of the War on Women?
By: Eva Carafa In Part 1 of this four part series, we considered whether teaching is a low-status profession, despite the platitudes heard every day about the importance of teachers. In Part 2, we’ll consider whether there is a relationship between the War on Women and the War on Teachers currently being fought in the […]