Time to Hit the Break Blog Series It’s been quite a year…now it’s time to hit the “break.” This blog series shares how setting up holiday lights is similar to lesson planning, ways you can do things for yourself this break, and a poem going through all the things that cross teachers’ minds every day! Posts in the Series Light … Read More
Light Up the Holidays with Teaching
TL;DR: Lesson planning in advance can be a way to express your creative side by collaborating and researching. Setting up holiday lights has many parallels to teaching and lesson planning. Students should be part of the design. With the holidays just around the corner, it brings out the spirit in most people. The fall season brings out the candles (yes, … Read More
Mental Health: We Are the First Line of Defense
TL;DR: COVID impacted our students in different ways. Find ways in the classroom to be authentic when it comes to supporting students’ social-emotional learning. We’ve all heard it. Within the last two years, educators have been focusing on the health of the social-emotional learner. In a previous blog, I wrote about the SEL of an educator. In order to be … Read More
Using Differentiated Instruction to Teach a Novel
TL;DR: Introduce the author first, and let students know why they are reading this particular novel and what the background of the story is. Teach essential questions, themes, motifs, and symbolism ahead of time, especially with difficult texts. Include visual art with their reading. Allow students to differentiate their pace. Using differentiated instruction in the classroom does not have to be … Read More
Classroom Management Is Not Just About Rules
TL;DR: Classroom management is not just about rules. Make students feel valued and successful as individuals in your class. Teach responsibility through natural situations that arise in your classroom. Model clear communication in your feedback to students. Effective Classroom Management We have always heard the phrase “effective classroom management” either from colleagues or administrators, but what does that entail? Classroom … Read More