Teaching
Your People
It is very tempting to be frustrated with the current state of education, get annoyed with colleagues and/or leaders, and work really hard to become an island. During this back to school season, it is not uncommon to carry our former issues right through the front door and hold them tight as we begin another…
Read MoreWhat Teachers Would Really Appreciate
Once a year, we celebrate teachers with Teacher Appreciation Week. We gather cards and flowers and chocolate and scour Target for the cutest items. It’s fun to shower our teachers with gifts! It’s also important to express our gratitude for what teachers do for our students. However, I think there are a few things teachers…
Read MoreSpring Challenge #4: Read Aloud with Purpose
Raise your hand if you believe the Teacher Read Aloud is like the Jan Brady of literacy. Keep your hand up if you identify with any of the following: It’s that thing we do when we need to fill time. It’s often unplanned and lacks focus. It’s heavily fiction, regardless of the genre we are…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Challenge #3: Develop Agency
Agency. In a discussion with several professionals recently, we all had different ideas about what this idea really means. However, we could all agree it was something we needed students to embody in order for lasting learning to take place. In her new book What’s the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller unpacks the idea…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Challenge #2: The Reading Process
Are you teaching The Book or the reading process? We know you have data, more data, and even more data on top of that. We suggest that as you think about the data, and as you consider the weeks leading up to testing season, you take time to consider that question. Are you teaching books,…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Challenge #1: Let Them Read
It’s (finally) spring, and along with the warmer temperatures comes testing season. This year, before you kick into test prep/worksheet hell, try this simple literacy challenge to fine-tune the coming weeks: Track how many minutes students spend reading during one school day. Research is really clear on this: students who read more achieve more. (And…
Read MoreERG Event: Creating Voice and Choice in the Classroom
How does agency affect reading comprehension? Spend a day with Debbie Miller and ERG to learn more! Creating Voice and Choice in the Classroomwith Debbie Miller September 19, 20198:30 – 3:30 This workshop is open to K-5 educators who want to instill a sense of agency, ownership, and independence within children and themselves. If you’re…
Read MoreMath Gangs
Math (n): The abstract science of number, quantity, and space, either as abstract concepts (pure), or as applied to other disciplines such as physics and engineering (applied). With all that fancy language, it’s no wonder there is a lot of confusion and anxiety around this subject. As soon as you read that first word, you…
Read MoreThe Teacher is the Heart
There is a guy from North Carolina who once said, “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” Besides playing basketball, creating iconic shoes, and being in the movie Space Jam, he basically exemplifies the growth mindset that we want to establish in our classrooms and our schools. Let’s take this quote…
Read MoreDon’t Ask
What did you get for Christmas? Did you have a good break? You may think this is polite chatter for your students as everyone falls back into the routine of school. These are normal questions that we all ask without thinking. We’re excited to see the kids and genuinely interested in how they spent their time. They are the…
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