In this month’s #InspirationalEducator Series, Jake Miller sat down with someone who isn’t necessarily an “educator” by trade. Ms. Valerie Hegarty is an artist who focuses in educational aspects, namely history, and her thoughtful, incredible, outside-the-box 3-D art caught the eye of this social studies teacher. He found more information about her online and decided […]
social studies
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Using 'Picture Books' as a Teaching Tool With Middle Elementary Students
I love to read out loud to my students. The problem lies in the fact that I don’t have kindergartners anymore who truly appreciate reading aloud for the simple fact that they are being read to. There is always more ‘stuff’ to do than time to do it in our days in middle elementary, so […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion, Parents
Tried and True Resources for Curriculum Reinforcement
Over the course of my 18 years of teaching, I’ve seen many trends in skills that aren’t mastered before kids move into the next grade level. I’ve also been in schools where funding is not adequate for curriculum and supplies that are needed. Most of my teaching experience has been with early childhood, Pre-K through […]
Posted inChild Development, Classroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
The Importance of Executive Function
[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”] Do you have a student who just can’t seem to follow a set of directions, no matter how simple they may seem? Or one who seems to drift from one assignment […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Days of Remembrance: JFK’s and Lincoln’s Legacies in the Classroom
“Four score and seven years ago…” The first words of Mr. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address ring through the annals of every American history textbook ever written. Now 150 years later, seven score and a decade, the speech remains America’s greatest. It was just nine sentences long and took not much longer than 2 minutes to deliver. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Say No to Columbus Day And Yes to Indigenous Peoples’ Day
October 14th was Columbus Day this year. I remember that as an elementary student in the late 80s/ early 90s, we would do little projects about Columbus and his ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. My parents have a drawing my younger sister did in 2nd grade of Columbus showing the new […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Instruction & Curriculum, Social Studies, Technology
Mobile Devices in the Hands of our Children Part 3: More Apps
[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”] There are so many great apps available and realistically there are quite a few bad apps too. So how is a teacher to filter through and find engaging fun for the […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
How to Write a Reader's Theater Play
[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”] The most valuable class I have ever attended was at first a mistake. My enrollment in “Reading 101: Strategies for Middle School Students,” offered at our local intermediate unit, was a […]