and living life one day- and book- at a time
In all my years of teaching, this is the first time I’ve ever wanted to just walk out and quit. Between the full moon and the Spring fever, it was absolutely chaotic in the classroom this week. It is awful when Spring Break feels like it is just too far away. We know that these …
When it comes to adapting your instruction to fit student needs, do you do it before instruction, during instruction, or after instruction? Prior to this year, I always managed to foresee changes and adapt my lesson plans/instruction prior to teaching. This year? This year brings all new challenges. In a class with multiple reading abilities, …
There’s something that happens in schools when the weather starts to warm up. You see, as the weather warms up, the students get restless. Sometimes it has to do with hormones (thirteen is that wonderful age where many begin to feel the fluctuating hormonal roller coaster as their body begins to adjust). Sometimes it is …
Recently we were notified that South Carolina had created another set of standards for ELA. This will be the 4th set of standards I’ve taught since I began teaching in 2012. Of course, we will not begin teaching these standards in middle school until the 2024-2025 school year. I think my biggest problem with a …
The literacy specialist who visits our school and district shared with us an article title, “Every Child, Every Day,” that talks about the six things that every student should experience in the ELA classroom every day. She stated that we should strive to have students do those things in our classroom each day. I sat …
Each year with the use of computers in the classroom, the temptation for students to copy and paste straight from the internet becomes greater. Many students don’t know how I can so quickly identify what is their work and what belongs to someone else. Most of the time it is as easy as looking at …
Welcome to another Monday! Let’s get this week started! Goal
It happens. You have the fabulous lesson, and you start to teach, and then something happens and a disruption breaks out. It’s bound to happen when you have 23 students in a room, and 15 of them have learning disabilities or behavior issues. You’re going to expect that to happen. You redirect, move closer to …
I’ve seen bullying in the classroom. I’ve seen one or two students bully another. I’ve seen them start the others in the classroom to follow their agenda toward students. This year, though… My last class period has a student that most seem to target. He is a likable young man. Well-mannered, thoughtful, and polite. He …
This year has been a huge push to analyze student testing data. Every month we gather in a backroom behind the stage with other teachers of the same subject and look at test scores. We discuss why the students aren’t progressing, and we’re asked what we are going to do to change things. Can we …