Current Events Done Right
Think back to your school experience. Your history teacher assigns current events. Go home, cut out a story from the newspaper, paste it onto some construction paper, and provide a summary. Easy. You go home, wait until the last minute, pull out the first story you see, and get the scissors and glue. The next [...]
Teacher Hub: Effective Planning
Assemblies, field trips, extracurriculars, pep rallies – there is always something getting in the way of a full week of instruction. Education increasingly becomes more demanding on all stakeholders. Back to school nights have come and gone, and we are going to be approaching parent-teacher conferences before you know it! Teachers are overwhelmed with the latest and greatest initiatives, parent meetings, and administrative walk throughs and observations. How do educators keep it together every week?! Well, the best educators do so through effectively planning each and every week. [...]
Back to School: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself
We ask our students the basic “back to school questions” every year. What did you do this summer? Did you read any books? What are you looking forward to this year? We ask these questions to get to know our students and to help our students practice reflection. But what about you? Are you returning rejuvenated? Have you reflected and set goals? We are so busy focusing on our students, that we often forget to provide “in-filling” for ourselves. Therefore, before you walk into school on that crisp August or September morning, ask yourself these questions. [...]
Lose the Fidget Toy – Brain Breaks are Better!
Do you hear that? The low, yet distracting hissing noise. The infamous fidget spinner has taken the education world by storm. Students claim that these spinners help with ADHD. However, NPR reports that these fidget toys serve the use of entertainment (or distraction) more than they help with focus. [...]
The Downfalls of Powerpoint
While scrolling through social media, I noticed a shared link from a colleague: Powerpoint Makes Professors Boring and Students Stupid. While the wording is quite provocative, the general premise has merit. Whether primary, secondary, or post-secondary, students are not learning from Powerpoint. Additionally, Powerpoint slides do not engage students. Powerpoint is engrained in education (even if in the form of SMART notes or Prometheus slides) similar to chalk and erasers – this is just how we do things. But how do we change this constant? [...]
Student Led IEP Meetings – Giving Students the Power
IEP implementation is demanding for special education teachers. Students are evaluated and based on their strengths and needs, a plan drafted and implemented. Evaluation and reevaluation reports often list needs including, “math fluency, reading fluency, organizational skills, executive functioning skills … SELF ADVOCACY.” As committed and diligent special educators, drafting IEPs includes SMART goals and SDI that address these needs. Finally, the team meets around a table and discusses IEP implementation. Hopefully, the team will ask the student if they understand, how they feel, etc. But what if the student were to explain what they need themselves? [...]
Tech Boost: Engaging Your Students Collaboratively
When planning collaborative assignments, think about the focus of the lesson? Is the focus on engaging every student? Often, the focus strays from student engagement to ensuring every student completes their share of work. Students end up splitting up the work, going their own ways, and submitting the project. Fortunately, with tools like Planbook Plus [...]
Tech Boost: 5 Tips to Effectively Use Technology in the Classroom
Worksheets. Every teacher has them. Typically, each course is indexed by binders and teachers tap into their worksheets arsenal to support or supplement instruction. Standards-aligned, rigorous, and relevant worksheets assess knowledge, but the question remains: are they engaging? More often than not, students will confirm that worksheets are not the reason they look forward to school. As the new year approaches, consider a few ideas that may save some paper and contribute to a highly engaging classroom. [...]
Student Engagement = Student Success
Successful instruction demands the invested and active participation of both students and teachers. One of our primary goals as teachers is to avoid classrooms where students feel bored, dispassionate and effectively disengaged. A lack of student engagement is easy to see because we’ve all experienced it before. Doodling in notebooks, passing notes (or now texts) and the tried and true disengaging method of aimlessly staring out windows. As fellow educators could tell you, nothing is more deflating than a class of disinterested students. [...]
TeacherHUB – Thanksgiving – Family, Food, & Fun in Class
Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season! Getting to sit down with relatives for the biggest meal of the year (and having a four-day weekend) has students excited for the fourth Thursday in November. The classroom should stay exciting, too! [...]