When I talk to other teachers about personalized learning, I always share how difficult it was for me at the beginning (and sometimes it still is). There are always challenges with anything, especially when it’s new, and personalized learning is no different. This philosophy allows for a lot of student freedom, self-regulation, and choice, which… Continue reading Letting Go of Control in Your Classroom
Tag: teaching resources
Modeling Writing (and Revision) in Your Classroom
Writing is hard. The published piece at the end is a source of pride, a beautiful work, but it didn't start out that way. There was a process that went into that finished work. There was a revisiting of the message, the words themselves, that happened before it went out to the audience. That's how… Continue reading Modeling Writing (and Revision) in Your Classroom
Involving Families in the Classroom
Families are an important aspect of a child’s education. Outside of the classroom experience, they are the most influential factor in how the student approaches learning, growth, and school as a whole. Because of this families should have real involvement the classroom experience too. I’m talking more than just being a ‘room mom’ or visiting… Continue reading Involving Families in the Classroom
What I Do in the First Week of School
The first week of school is a hectic one. No one is quite used to the new routine, everyone is still half in summer mode, and you’re busy trying to welcome and connect with a whole new group of students. There’s a lot of advice out there on those first few days, and people hold… Continue reading What I Do in the First Week of School
What I Learned From Going Standards-Based
School supplies are back in stock at the stores, fall flavors are being advertised, and teachers are posting their classroom decor on social media. All signs point to back to school season, and if my nightmares of being late on the first day are any indication, we are in full swing. As teachers gear up… Continue reading What I Learned From Going Standards-Based
The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten
In my lifetime, I’ve gotten a lot of advice. From family members, friends, veteran teachers, administrators, professors, parents… Some of it is good, some of it is helpful, and some I completely disregard—either to my benefit or peril. But the single best piece of advice I’ve ever received was in Dr. Johnson’s classroom management course,… Continue reading The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten
The Case for School Librarians
School librarians are a significant part of the educational experience we offer our students. They provide collaborative, engaging learning environments full of information for our kids. They are a wealth of knowledge on the books they have available, easily able to recommend and direct kids toward their next great read. They develop positive relationships with… Continue reading The Case for School Librarians
On Teaching Writing
Teaching writing is my passion. Like anything else, as time passes I continue to learn more effective methods for nurturing the young voices in my classroom. There are instructional best practices to put in place, research-based strategies to employ, writing powerhouses to learn from, and structural elements conducive to stronger learning and development. Experience in… Continue reading On Teaching Writing
An Ode to Poetry
Oh, poetry. You beautiful, expressionist, challenging, frustrating beast. Many struggle to find your deeper meaning, your hidden messages. Children sit in schools, turned off and annoyed by your very existence, writing the same poems (ahem, haikus) year after year. This year I took a new approach to teaching poetry, and it’s one that I wish… Continue reading An Ode to Poetry
Feedback FROM Students
“It is not enough to simply listen to student voice. Educators have an ethical imperative to do something with students, and that is why meaningful student involvement is vital to school improvement.” ― Adam Fletcher, Meaningful Student Involvement Guide to Students as Partners Feedback in the classroom is an important aspect of educational practice. It is… Continue reading Feedback FROM Students
