My count-down to summer series this year is all about teaching those unfamiliar beings in our classrooms popularly referred to as Generation Z. In the introduction to this series, I identified five traits they collectively share (give or take): 1. They have smaller attention spans than previous generations.2. There’s a lot of “noise” in their lives.
Every year since 2015, I’ve done a spring series that counts down to summer. Last year, I discussed Simple Spring Engagement Tips. Before that, I did Spring Tech Tips. In 2016, I did Google Classroom Hacks, and way, way back in the balmy days of 2015, we all learned about some Spring Survival Tips together.
Most high school teachers have strong opinions about Interactive Student Notebooks (ISNs). They either love them or hate them. They see the benefit of using them or they see them as too juvenile and a time drain. Students are the same. When first trying to implement them a few years ago, I heard the common
There’s something about me that you may not know–I am an extremely high strung introvert. I often come across as laid back, but that’s only if you don’t know me. If you walk into my classroom on a given day, I am calm and smiling, and my desk looks like Einstein’s (that would be fine
“A student slaves from dusk till dawn, but a teacher’s work is never done.” Okay, I made that one up, but it sounds good…right? Our society counts “busy” as a virtue. And teachers are busy. So working in a classroom must put us all up front for those shiny halos. We teachers work hard, and
In the ELA and social studies classroom, sometimes we simply must lecture or, heaven forbid, assign readings. I used to assign readings, my students would do them, and we’d have a class discussion. When I’d lecture, the students were genuinely interested in the stories I told (or did I imagine these things?). I’ve either become
This post is also featured on the TPT Blog. I have to admit that in the past, I haven’t been very good at implementing debate in the classroom. I get the idea in theory, but it always seemed to degenerate into a string of unsupported opinions and logical fallacies. I see that everyday in my
Every Teacher New Year, I have a classroom resolution. The first year I taught it was to survive. The second year, it was to make it another year. I don’t remember what it was the third year, but I do remember being confident enough my fifth year to make the resolution something about pedagogy, even
I don’t want to say it. I mean, I really don’t want to say it. Saying it somehow makes it true, and as much as I love my job, I have to confess that I don’t want it to be. I want to keep staying up late and sleeping later. I want to keep not
We’re finally in the last week of school–that long-awaited moment in time that feels more like an eternity. Some classes have exams the final week, and others do not. So here, in this final post before summer break, I want to discuss ways to keep students engaged (and yourself sane) whether your course has a
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