Finding engaging, interactive learning tools for students can be difficult. Here are a few online tools that you can use in the classroom to provide the engagement needed for students.
Teaching after a natural disaster
I may have mentioned this before, but I am currently on hiatus as a middle school teacher. Although that is the case, I have been staying up to date on trends and so forth, but one thing that completely caught me off guard was seeing the devastation of some areas after Hurricane Helene. I had …
The more they read
A few days ago I made the comment that I had managed to read 3 books in one day. That was a record for me because usually I could read one book in a day, but three had to be a record. A former student of mine, who is about to graduate from college with …
Being Sick Sucks
Sorry I haven’t been around to blog, but I recently had a viral sickness that rivaled the flu and Covid in terms of being the worst. Two weeks of it, in fact. I don’t know what kind of odd colds are going around your parts, but I do know that this one I had was …
One Student Can Teach You A Lot
It was my 2nd year teaching when I met C. He wasn’t supposed to be in my class, but through his parent’s request, he was placed in my class. I had been hired on after the start of the year to lessen the teaching load and lower class numbers. I believe that they had 37+ …
Project Based or Problem Based Learning
When it comes to creating a learning output in the ELA classroom, we can utilize either project based or problem based learning. While these two inquiry products can coincide with other subjects, finding a way to make them solely ELA can be just as rewarding in the classroom. Nine years ago, the word rigorous was …
My Blogging Story
I’ve always been a blogger. I found it to be a great creative outlet, and I have even encouraged my students to find a way to either blog or journal because of it. For me, blogging started out as a way to take my journaling to a digital platform. It gave me the ability to …
Reading Trends
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, reading has been on a decline since 2019. This isn’t too hard to understand considering the fact that 2019 and 2020 were pivotal years in education with the onset of Covid. Education was highly disrupted, and even though things have gone back to normal in the education …
One thing I’d do again: Classroom Jobs
Six years ago, I decided to implement classroom jobs as part of my classroom management. You would think that middle school students would be against it, but the truth is they enjoy having an important responsibility. Whether it was for a nine weeks or a month, it gave them something to do and they felt …
Are you ready for the slang?
I know, I know, I know. As soon as you get a grasp on the slang, things will change. Or will it? The word “FLEX” has been used, but considering it was used in a Will Smith (Fresh Prince) song from the 90s, was it really new? For some reason, old things become new again, …