One thing that I absolutely love being a part of is witnessing other teacher’s lessons and learning from them. We learn so much by watching other teachers in action and applying some of their lessons into our own classroom. We have so many inspiring teachers at our school that I have learned from over the…
So, here’s my dirty little secret: I secretly envy those teachers who have perfectly straight rows, neatly arranged rooms with nothing out of place, and really quiet students. These are the kind of teachers who are strict disciplinarians…the kind of teachers whose kids don’t even breathe without permission. Sometimes I wish, even if only for…
Every experienced ELA teacher has felt that moment of utter frustration when he or she realizes that very few students completed their homework or students completed it but cheated. This is especially true for those dreaded spelling or vocabulary worksheets — the boring, but necessary — or are they? I have recently experienced much success…
My very first year teaching I discovered an activity that really helped teach students about characterization. It is perfect for kinesthetic and visual learners; artistic students are also very engaged with this activity. I have used it in all grade levels and tiers. You can also use homogenous or heterogenous groups; you can have lower…
The Socratic Seminar has been done many different ways over the years. I have seen versions that maintain the teacher as question writer and moderator; I have also seen and used the “fish bowl” model where some students are participants and others are assessors; there is also a hot seat and philosopher’s chair version of…
Some of you will say, “What in the world is a QR Code?” Let me first say I am no tech expert, but a QR code looks like a square with a funny pattern inside. Once you have a QR reader installed on your smart device, you can scan a QR code (almost like you…
For years, I have contemplated about writing a blog. I thought about blogging on cooking or crafting or writing because I enjoy all of those things, but when you get down to it, when you really get down to the nitty gritty of who I am and what I love, there is nothing in this…
It’s Lit Time! 