Try this in your classroom when things are getting crazy. Say in a nice firm teacher voice, “I notice six people are doing their work.” Watch what happens. I can almost guarantee that the room will begin to quiet, students will look around and start to work. You might have to announce a new, higher […]
Tips for Student Success
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
C'mon and Dance
I watched a wonderful video by The Killers this morning. It is filled with images of dancers that simply lifted my soul. It reminded me of one of the joys of my second grade classroom — dancing. I never officially taught my students to dance. I had a huge collection of cd’s: classical for math […]
Posted inFeatured, Middle School, Opinion
When Cinderella Arrives
“I love it when the pretty girl crashes the party.” ~Kenny Sailors I don’t claim to know a whole lot about basketball, but I do love the sport. Whether you love it, or not or pay attention to it or not, no one can dispute that March Madness is a real phenomenon. According to experts, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Languages
World Language: 5 Ways to get your Students Talking
It would be a rare occasion, indeed, for any of our students, if while traveling abroad, are asked to sit down and write a paragraph about themselves in Spanish, Chinese or German. It is much more plausible that they will be called upon to introduce themselves, ask for or receive directions or tell about their […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
The Life-Changing Power of Extracurricular Activities
It’s the semifinal round of the county debate tournament. The prize: a ticket to the county debate championship and a trip to Washington DC for nationals. Our varsity debate team went 4-0 in the preliminaries and smoked the competition in the quarter and semifinal rounds. I’m judging another debate so I don’t get to see […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners, Instruction & Curriculum
Changes that Need to be Made in ESL
As an ESL teacher there are a few things that I wish would change in education today. These are things that specifically relate to English language learners. Of course, there are other aspects in education that could do with some tweaking, but for today The focus is ESL. 1. Licensing. Teaching English to speakers of […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Opinion
Always. Ask. Questions. Always.
As a teacher, have you ever thought about the power of the almighty “question?” Without questions where would we be as a society, as students, as teachers, as classroom communities? One day I found a website that listed the top ten philosophical questions of all time. The #1 question (of course) “Does God exist?” The second […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
"The Weakest Link"
At the beginning of the brand new school year, I had my students create a chain by taking a strip of paper and writing their goals for the school year on one side, and their strengths and talents on the other. I then had them connect the chain together and we hung it from the […]