Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Middle School

Teaching in the Winter: The Best Time of Year

By Guest Writer Jeffrey Benson [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”] It’s the middle of winter in the U.S. Northeast. I wake in the dark, there’s snow and ice to scrape off my windshield, and all the […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Middle School, Social Studies, The Traveling Teacher

The New Teacher in a New Country, and Year 9 in IB Geography

By Guest Writer Melissa Kandido Melissa Kandido teaches IB Art, IB History, IB English, & IB Geography for middle and upper grades at the Windhoek International School in Windhoek, Namibia.  She is sharing with us her experiences and adventures this year as an international educator and IB teacher.   Joining  a school community from a point […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School

Letter From A Teacher On MLK Day

My Dear Fellow Colleagues, Critics, Politicians, and Aspiring Professionals: While I am happily undertaking the responsibilities of influencing the lives of young people, I have come across many comments, news articles, blog entries, and other choice pieces of  that my choice of profession are “unwise and untimely.” While all of these pieces are of serious […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy

Literature Circle Roles in New Wrappings

Educators regularly refurbish old ideas with new wrappings.  Take for example, the literature circle. The literature circle has been in education since 1982 when, according to Wikipedia, fifth grade students in Karen Smith’s class, organized themselves loosely into groups, and started to discuss individual novels.  Smith was surprised at the degree of their engagement with the books and the […]

Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion

Creative Writing Strategies For Elementary Students – Outside Of The Classroom

Writing is a huge component in my second and third grade classroom. Next to speaking properly, communicating through the written word is an important life skill that needs to be developed which will follow children throughout their lives. The sooner the basics of writing are introduced and honed, the easier this skill will become as […]

Posted inFeatured

Questions on Co-Teaching

Co-Teaching was introduced to me three years ago when I was asked to attend a seminar by my principal. It was presented to me in the format of two teachers with equal degrees in the same subject, sharing the classroom teaching equally. Since then, it seems that co-teaching has evolved to the more common scenario of a regular ed teacher […]