There is a lot to keep in mind when deciding between keeping your kids in distance learning, or taking the leap and choosing to homeschool. For many people, these are two options that they never would have considered otherwise, but here we are. There is no one right choice, but here are some things toRead more
Countdown to the Beginning of the Year Getting your secondary class set-up is a scramble. If you are anything like me, you are heavily focused on reviewing content, setting up engaging activities, and creating an initial semester or year-long pacing schedule in the weeks (or days) leading up to the beginning of the school year.Read more
Here is a great activity to teach one variable equations using Excel (Google Sheets, etc.). This is a great activity for 9th and 10th graders completing Algebra 1/Integrated math, or for 8th graders working on one variable equations. Why Use Real-World Math Connections to Teach One Variable Equations? When working on topics such as howRead more
In my first year of teaching, I had exactly two days to prepare to teach 9th-12th grade math and literature after having student taught in 1st grade. Halfway through the school year, a teacher was let go and I had exactly 20 minutes (!!!) to prepare to teach her 6th/7th grade combo for the remainderRead more
Writing a narrative short story isn’t easy. Many kids enjoy creative writing, but their structure ends up being all over the place, they don’t know how to create a problem, build suspense, develop an ending, etc. I wanted to create something that would allow my upper elementary/middle school (5th/6th/7th graders) to plan more than justRead more
We polled dozens of teachers to ask the question – do you think teaching is an art, or a science? While teaching does involve science, teachers we polled overwhelmingly agreed: teaching is an art, NOT a science. Educators gave us many great reasons to consider. Here are some of our favorites: I once read that scienceRead more
This year I kicked off our first writing project with formal letter writing. All of the Google documents referenced below are included in our free resource library. Why Teach Formal Letter Writing? Writing a letter is a fun, real-world task that is short, sweet, and easy to revise. By upper elementary and middle school, students haveRead more
Many students enter upper elementary or middle school knowing how to text, how to quickly find information on Google, and even how to make their own YouTube videos. But a surprising number of students have never used email. It simply isn’t a preferred method of communication among today’s youth. Why Teach Email Etiquette? As aRead more
A few weeks ago I was out to dinner to an old teacher friend. We hadn’t seen each other in a while and I was curious to know how her daughter, Lily, enjoyed second grade. Unfortunately, Lily had a terrible year and went from a kid who loved learning, to a kid who dreaded goingRead more
Why Should You Care About Other Grade Levels? There are a lot of resources and blogs out there that focus on a specific grade level. If you teach Kindergarten, of course you spend your time reading about all things kinder, and speaking with other K teachers others who “get it.” They understand and can sympathizeRead more