[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”] Every year right after the Fourth of July something magical happens. Shelves, which were previously filled with bright summer cookout and beach essentials, now become filled with #2 pencils, binders, and […]
elementary school
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Series, Teacher Leaders
How to Own the Leadership of Your Classroom: Craft a Vision
It’s no secret that teacher burnout is a problem. A commonly cited statistic is that as many as half of teachers leave the profession within their first five years. As retention of teachers gains attention in policy circles, teacher leadership has emerged as one possible solution. Generally teacher leadership means an opportunity to extend a […]
Posted inFormative Assessments, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
Through Their Eyes: Gathering Information with Formative Assessment
There is a game called Petals Around the Rose. The object of the game is to figure out the rules of the game. The rules of the game are reflected in the title. I played this game in a class composed of masters level engineer students and classroom teachers. It was interesting to observe the […]
Posted inElementary School, English Language Learners, Literacy, Professional Development, Uncategorized
Teaching Reading: No Magic Wand Required
Teaching children to read seems to be a mystery to everyone except primary school teachers. Someone recently asked: Is it true that it is not necessarily a teacher’s job to teach children to read? Is our job to give them the skills to make them better readers? Does any teacher have the time to teach […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies, Literacy, Uncategorized
Turning that Picture into Writing
On my bathroom wall at home, I have a large framed drawing my son made in first grade. It has a lot of underwater action, including thought bubble over the shark saying “I am the king of the ocean.” Another thought bubble over a fish close to the shark’s mouth reads, “I am going to […]
Posted inFeatured
How My Elementary School Community Saved My Life
I was born in 1951. A few months after my birth, it was discovered that I had a heart defect that would need surgery. Before I was old enough to have the surgery my father died. As there was no real safety net back then, my mother and I lived with three different families until […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized
Fight! Fight! Illinois Teachers Refuse to Administer ISAT State Test
There is another battle this week between parents and teachers against Chicago Public Schools and it centers on testing. Threats from the board include disciplinary action against teachers including the revocation of teacher certification. Next week, the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) is administered to grade school students across the city and state. The test takes […]