Are you a planner? Or do you like to fly by the seat of your pants? In my 20 years of teaching, I've seen all kinds of planning personalities, and I've learned a lot about what works for me and what doesn't. Most people will tell you that I'm a planner extraordinaire. During our end… Continue reading Lesson Planning- Big Picture to Daily Schedule
Category: Secondary ELA
Taming Summer Anxiety- What I Do During the Summer to Combat Teacher Guilt
Being a teacher is great. I've always loved that I get summers off from going to school to be with my daughters. Notice I didn't say "I like having summer off from work" because as most teachers I know will tell you, they work during the summer. Even if they swear they aren't going to.… Continue reading Taming Summer Anxiety- What I Do During the Summer to Combat Teacher Guilt
Building Your Classroom Library- One Book at a Time
Classroom libraries sometimes seem like an unattainable dream that only lucky teachers at wealthy schools get to even consider having. Some schools know the deal and provide funds for each teacher to build one. Most teachers know that having good books accessible to kids is always the best plan. But most teachers are on their… Continue reading Building Your Classroom Library- One Book at a Time
How Do You Get Them To Do That?- Real Talk About Secondary Classroom Management
At least once a school year a teacher will come into my classroom to deliver a message or ask a question, whatever. Then later, they will ask me, "Were your students in trouble?" "No." "Then why were they so quiet?" "Because I asked them to work silently." "That's it?" Yep. That's it. Until recently I… Continue reading How Do You Get Them To Do That?- Real Talk About Secondary Classroom Management
Peace Out! Another School Year in the Books
It's my last day, and I'm sitting in my room trying to find something to do. For some reason, the board decided to approve a calendar that had four work days after the last day of school. Yeah, FOUR. Now y'all know I'm a planner. I DO NOT procrastinate. So I started taking things down… Continue reading Peace Out! Another School Year in the Books