Welcome to the end of April where test prep is in full swing and many of you are feeling the fatigue setting in. I encountered this exact sentiment while working with a group of middle school ELA teachers just today. Your students have checked out, and are comfortably buried under their hoodies and distracted by… Continue reading All’s Fair in Games & Test Prep
If there’s one overarching theme among teachers in the classrooms and school districts I’ve had the pleasure of working with, it’s a resounding cry for student engagement. Curiously, something has shifted in the way today’s students interact with daily lessons. And yet, due to a host of both valid and, quite frankly often, poor excuses,… Continue reading Increasing Engagement and Agency with Project-Based Learning
As I think about all that educators face in the vast landscape of education, it becomes more and more clear that beyond our roles of fostering academic achievement, (which is undeniably important), there exists a realm equally significant but, quite frankly, often overlooked: the land of social-emotional learning (SEL). Let me be clear, I’m not… Continue reading The Power of Self-Reflection in Education: Nurturing Social-Emotional Learning
Today I officially launch my debut children’s book, “The Splendid Spark”, the first in what I hope to be several more, and yet I can’t help but reflect, not only on the journey that brought me here but also on the rollercoaster of emotions that accompanied each stage of the process.1 Each time I revisit… Continue reading Navigating the Emotional Rollercoaster of the Writing Process
Newbies or veterans, makes no difference really. What proves to be the greatest challenge is helping them move through the different ranges of emotions and phases through the school year. From anticipation, then full-fledged survival mode, to realization and disillusionment, our job as coaches is to help teachers come to a point of rejuvenation and… Continue reading So Let’s Talk About Coaching and Mentoring Teachers
5 Simple Steps to Reading Like a Writer I often wonder where we went wrong in teaching students to write. Which came first, the high stakes state assessment or the boxy formula for writing an essay? In the course of my work over the past several years, one of the greatest obstacles teachers face is their… Continue reading Mentor Text Writing Made Easy
Maintaining High Expectations in the Midst of Feeling Beat Down There used to be a time when teachers set the bar for the expectations in the classroom. Well, having worked with teachers from different states, different grade levels, varying years of experience and demographics, what seems to be the trend among them all is a… Continue reading Fighting the Good Fight
In honor of my youngest son's birthday this week, I'm celebrating by sharing a 10% discount off ALL ELA Jeopardy Test Prep resources in my TpT store. This one day sale will run all day Wednesday, April 19th so be sure to share the news with your friends and colleagues who may be interested. Happy birthday Jimbo... and to the… Continue reading ELA Test Prep Resources
How experience plays a role in our questioning practices I haven’t always had the confidence to ask questions like I do now that I’m older, more experienced, and feel more secure in my field as an educator. As a matter of fact, I usually have a hundred questions running around in my own head. Yet,… Continue reading Questioning without Apology
I’ve always had a love for reading. I suppose it was my mom who fostered that in me; I have fond memories of laying on her bed beside her in the late afternoon, just her and I, listening to her read aloud to me. In thinking back upon the books she chose to read to… Continue reading 5 Tips for Teaching Novels
