There are so many new resources that allow teachers incorporate technology into the classroom that it can be overwhelming at times. I’ve found that it’s best for me to slow down and pick a few things that I want to focus on and learn well. Otherwise, I do a lot of things poorly. I also […]
Flipgrid in the Classroom Read More »
We’ve all taught the student who appear to refuse to make any effort at all in the classroom or the student who constantly gives the shoulder shrug and the dreaded, “I don’t know”. This can all be attributed to learned helplessness, which is the belief that behavior does not control outcomes or results. A student
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Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there. Wondering how many more days we can take it, much less years. Teaching is hard work. It can be a physically, emotionally, and mentally draining career, and it’s often a thankless job where teachers are typically portrayed as the reason for all of educational shortcomings. We’re expected to
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I love teaching through the holidays. From fall through Christmas, I have have so much fun with my students, and seeing holidays and events through their eyes makes everything a little more special. This can be a great opportunity to engage students in meaningful math tasks that reinforce a rigorous curriculum. I’ve recently created ten
4th Grade Halloween Math Centers Read More »
Recently growth mindset has become a major buzzword in education. When I began hearing the term, I started reading about growth mindset and quickly realized that the idea of growth mindset was something most great educators already believed long before the term was coined. However, there was now data and research to prove and justify
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There are many, many different approaches to teaching math and structuring an upper elementary math block. Over the years I’ve tried more strategies than I can count, and I’ve found that there is no one right way to teach math. Different concepts and activities lend themselves to different structures. The key is to be flexible,
How to Structure Your Math Block Read More »
Over the years I’ve read countless blog posts, social media posts, and comments over the debate of balancing cute and content. I think we can all agree that there is value to both, and it’s certainly possible to teach with both style and substance. The purpose of this post is not to criticize one or
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Some of my absolute favorite teacher memes are the teacher tired memes. This is probably because I can completely identify with each and every one. Without a doubt, teaching is an exhausting profession. We go hard mentally and physically all day long without breaks or downtime. I work with many new teachers, and one of
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Students love this ecosystems project and activity! Science should be engaging and exciting for students, and they should leave a science lesson feeling curious and intrigued, not bored. This ecosystems project hits the mark! In this post I’ve shared ten of my favorite ways of teaching ecosystems, which are all centered around engaging and creative
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Starting the day with a soft start morning work is a big change for me. For the past several years I’ve had a morning work routine that I loved. I’ve blogged about it a few times, and you can see one of my more thorough blog posts here. My morning work procedures were a well-oiled
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