TL;DR: Creating school-wide experiences for students beyond the classroom makes school an enriched place to be. When you have an idea, have the courage to follow through with the idea. Enjoy reading a poem written for the whole school as part of a performance. The first year I did this was 2005. The staff at school was wondering about whether … Read More
‘Twas the Night Before Teaching
TL;DR: This post shares a poem that encompasses what goes through a teacher’s mind on a daily basis. [bctt tweet=”More rapid than new initiatives filling my plate / Illogical worries lined up at the gate / I’d planned on technology, what if the school lost power / Then we’d sit in the dark and learn nothing each hour” username=”TchrJessee”] ‘Twas … Read More
The Best Gift Is You
TL;DR: This post shares a yearly tradition to write a poem for staff and students on the last day of the school year before winter break as encouragement and to build community. I thought I would share with you, for this month’s blog, a poem I wrote for my school’s students and teachers. This is something I started doing back … Read More
Celebrate Poetry: What Will Your Verse Be?
TL;DR: Poetry offers students an access point into language. Spoken and written word have the power to foster conversation, liberation, and increase student voice. Poetry instruction that is multimodal (spoken word, video, and audio) increases engagement and can be a great way to delve into social justice topics in the classroom. It’s OK to just celebrate poetry without feeling intimidated … Read More
Pause.
TL;DR: Traditions were broken all around the world due to the global pandemic. Next year, we can repair the traditions that 2020 took from us, or we can recreate new ones for our families. BreAnn presses pause on her Play Better series this month to share a poem reflecting on the importance of tradition. Pause. My husband’s grandma passed away. When I … Read More