When I first became a teacher, I was horrible at classroom management. When I say horrible, I mean “pulling my hair out because I couldn’t control the classroom for the life of me” horrible. Years later, I learned that I was almost fired that first year. Yes…I was that bad. Fortunately, someone saw a glimmer of hope in me and … Read More
Let Your Students Lead
Letting go of control in your classroom is difficult. As teachers, we sometimes have a hard time letting go of control. As we consider management issues, keeping everyone engaged, and the constant pressures of pacing guides and state testing, the easiest solution seems to be for us to take control in any and every way possible. This often leads to … Read More
5 Simple Items That Can Transform Your Classroom
In my classroom I constantly try to create lessons and experiences that allow students to get excited about learning. I have done many classroom flips, changing the space into environments, scenes, and locations that allow engagement and inspiration to take hold. In the past few years, I have created a list of must haves that can be used to transform … Read More
Motivating Students Through Increased Engagement
Motivating Students Is Always A Challenge. Motivating students is one of the most elusive and commonly discussed topics during my work with teachers. Many times, the conversation starts with a statement like, “They just won’t do the work,”or, ”I can’t get them motivated.” I’ve said these things myself, and I’m sure you have, too. The common theme in both of … Read More
5 Ways to Use Padlet in Your Classroom
What is Padlet? Padlet, in case you aren’t aware, is a fantastic live posting board you can utilize with your students or colleagues to collect, curate, interact, and comment on anything from documents, posts, ideas, or web links. All this collaboration happens in real-time, and anyone can access it from anywhere as long as they have the link to your … Read More