Starting a Rubik’s Cube Club
Are you interested in improving student engagement with your English Language Learner (EL) students? Here’s an idea that I tried at my elementary school that was both fun and ...
Classroom Perspectives
Talking To Young Students About George Floyd
I search, “How to talk to kids about police violence.” “Talking to children about racialized violence.” I know experts say children are never too young to talk about race, but ...
The Benefits of Large Print Books
I thought they would be good for students with visual impairments and some of our struggling and striving readers. I had no idea how many regular education students would ...
Engaging Autistic Students with the Arts
The saying goes, “If you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one.” As one person on the Autism spectrum may be highly verbal, another maybe non-verbal. As one may ...
Using Urban Legends to Engage Struggling Readers
After teaching high school reading intervention courses for many years, I know that starting with a novel is a mistake—it’s too long... Then I tried Urban Legends...
Collaborating In A School With No Library
Do you remember the first time you entered the school library as a child? I do. There were books everywhere.
Creating A Reading Culture—Even If You’re Low On Time and Funds
Why read when you can watch the movie? In my eight years as an educator, no other sentiments have been quite so crushing to hear from children.
Lessons From High School Musicals
My appreciation of musicals started with The Sound of Music soundtrack. As a child, I listened to the entire album. I branched out to other musicals discovering they comprised ...
Empathy: Turning the Forgotten Into the Benchmark
So, here’s the secret to turning the forgotten into the benchmark: empathy. Honestly, that is what my team of eight educators work on day in and day out.
Movement in the Classroom
After teaching at an alternative middle school for the past four years, the one thing I constantly hear from new students is, “we can move around in your room and not get in ...