In This Post: Leveled libraries in classrooms is a good idea taken way too far. The level system was created to match readers to texts that best met their reading levels. It has become a rigid system that hinders text choice. The level system is often applied to inappropriate instructional times. The text level-creators themselves – Fountas and Pinnell – … Read More
How to Fight Mental Illness Through Authenticity
In This Post: Authenticity is a growing necessity in education, for both teachers and students. A job may be just a job, but teaching is more than that; it’s a work of love and sacrifice. Although there are certain things we must temper when we are in front of our students, the inherent qualities that define who we are must … Read More
Getting the Most Out of Collaboration Time
In This Post: Time to collaborate with colleagues is limited. We need to take advantage of it. Working together towards a common goal takes flexibility, dedication, vision, a good sense of humor, and a positive mindset. Collaboration time and meetings are not a single event on a single random day. Meetings need to have a plan and protocols. If you … Read More
Moving to Dynamic Learning
In This Post: We need to create classrooms where students are the ones defending and explaining their ideas, rather than regurgitating facts. We need to make projects, and classrooms in general, more dynamic. Tech tools, such as Seesaw, Flipgrid, and others, can be used to make ordinary experiences more dynamic. This only works when combined with the endless creativity and … Read More
Collaborative Behavior Planning: Putting Students at the Helm
In this post: Discover the biggest problem with most student behavior plans What is a student-led behavior plan? Steps to make a student-led behavior plan work for students and teachers Let’s get this out in the open: implementing and designing behavior plans to improve the behavior of challenging students is not an easy task. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they … Read More