When I first created the reading test, it was supposed to simply track student progress. But I quickly discovered that sharing the results of my personal tracking system with students has completely changed their engagement and motivation levels.

Do you remember the first time you entered the school library as a child? I do. There were books everywhere.

Like many of my students, I too use digital devices in my daily personal life, but the enormous piles of notes and paper combined with the constant fighting with the students to put their gadgets away drove me to reevaluate how I could use those very gadgets to my advantage.

Utilizing trauma-informed practices can help create a welcoming and inclusive environment that allows students to feel comfortable and valued.

Over the years, our ELL students have eagerly shared stories about an important festival that falls over spring break: Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Every year, almost every student says, “I suck at writing. I hate it.” I hear this phrase far more than “Hello,” “Thank you,” or even “Can I use the restroom?”

A wink to our school’s husky mascot, PAWS Time is a highly engaging, weekly enrichment program that allows our students to “pause”: Practice kindness, Always be safe, make Wise choices, and Show respect.

In English classes, which require students to sit and read or write for extended periods of time, it can be challenging to get them to want to do their work.

It's nice to think of the Internet as a wonderful invention that has made our lives both richer and more efficient. It's a nice notion and it's an accurate one—the Internet has changed our lives for the better. We can now communicate with people from all four corners of the globe. We can share, swap, and gain as much knowledge as we could ever want or need. There are no negatives associated with instant knowledge—or are there?