Fostering Co-Teacher Relationships for Student Success

Michele HaikenBlog, Differentiation, Lesson Planning, Reflect Better, Student Engagement

TL;DR: Regular weekly planning meetings and reflections enhance co-teaching effectiveness. Leveraging each teacher’s strengths creates a dynamic and supportive classroom environment. Standalone support classes complement co-taught sessions, providing tailored assistance to students. For the past twelve years that I have been teaching middle school English, I have worked with seven different co-teachers. Each is amazing and unique in their own … Read More

3 Reasons to Use Podcasting With Students

Michele HaikenBlog, Innovation, Leadership, Student Engagement

TL;DR: Tai Poole hosts an acclaimed podcast exploring diverse topics with experts, inspiring students to start their own podcasts, requiring minimal equipment but vast creativity. Podcasting develops critical skills: problem-solving, tech proficiency, and the ability to articulate ideas, aligning with modern learning standards. Creating student podcasts empowers learners, fosters global connections, and instills digital citizenship by engaging in authentic, diverse, … Read More

5 Classroom Strategies for Social Emotional Learning Support

Michele HaikenBlog, Classroom Management, Differentiation, Innovation, Leadership, Lesson Planning, Reflect Better, Student Engagement, Teach Happier

TL;DR: Social emotional learning is already integrated into everyday teaching, helping students develop essential life skills alongside academic knowledge. Teachers can enhance SEL by implementing intentional strategies, such as reflection for self-awareness, authentic assessments for social awareness, choice boards for responsible decision making, checklists for self-management, and promoting collaboration and cooperation for building relationship skills. These practices align with CASEL’s … Read More

10 Ways to Wrap Up Your Lesson

Michele HaikenBlog, Differentiation, Lesson Planning, Reflect Better, Student Engagement

TL;DR: Teachers should gather students for reflection and check understanding in the last few minutes of class to ensure everyone met the objective and address any confusion. Ten favorite ways to wrap up a lesson include exit tickets, 3-2-1 summaries, sentence-phrase-word reflections, stop and jot activities, captioning visuals, AEIOU reflections, rock-paper-scissors reflections, What’s In the Cards reflection protocol, quiz games, … Read More

Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Michele HaikenBlog, Differentiation, Innovation, Lesson Planning, Student Engagement

TL;DR: May is Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. You can provide rich cross-curricular learning experiences on WW2 and the experiences, culture, and contributions of these groups. The month of May is designated as Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. During this month, we honor “the generations of … Read More