Category: new school year
Lessons Learned From Distance Learning
Last March when we went on Spring Break (March 13) it was the last time I saw my students in person. Distance learning was a shock for many of my colleagues. Most had never even used Google Classroom. I had been using various forms of technology for several years but it was even a difficult adjustment for me. But like any experience, there has been much learning as well. I have read a lot of information about “what works in the classroom” and no one seems to agree. Experts have suggested we keep assignments short vs others who suggest planning […]
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14 Formative Assessment Strategies
It caused some controversy in a meeting when I said I was never surprised by test/quiz scores. Some teachers tried to hide their smirks, others just stared. No, I am not psychic, I just use a variety of formative assessment strategies to gauge learning during and after the lesson. There was also some debate about the definitions of formative assessment. Many of us put it in the grade book, others said that formative assessment is just a tool and never goes in the grade book. But since I use formative assessment techniques daily, many will go in […]
Read MoreEffective Student Goal Setting
Goal setting is one of the activities I use in January when students return to school after the winter break. It begins a new semester and gives us a fresh start. In the past, I used the goal setting tools provided by the administration. But last year, after my winter reading, I realized students need more than to just “set goals”. Students need strategies to help implement and follow up on goals as well. It was so successful that we are going to continue with this practice. Students Need More than Goal Setting In a study of Harvard MBAs, it […]
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Holiday Reading/Listening List
I am a compulsive reader. Or at least I used to be. People were amazed that I could read 200-300 books a year. I didn’t get much else done, I was in college at the time and aside from my college work, I did little else but read. When Life Get Hectic–Use Audible Then work and life became complicated and most of my reading time was taken up with other things. I still read, but mostly on vacations or long weekends when there was nothing else going on that needed my attention. I tried Kindle as well, it helped […]
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Improve Your Teaching with a Morning Routine
I love mornings even though I am NOT a morning person. Have you ever had a bad teaching day? An unpleasant parent conference? A student who had a meltdown? A coworker who had a meltdown? Maybe YOU had a meltdown? Well, every new day is a fresh start—it’s a do-over for adults. And we all need that. How you start your day, the routine that begins the day has a big impact on the rest of it. Think of it as setting the tone for your entire day. That’s why making over your morning is so important. I’m sure you’ve […]
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8 Ideas to Deal with Absent Students
Absent students create additional thought and organization in every classroom. Each school and district have district policies on dealing with missing work due to absences. In my district the students are allowed number of absences plus one to make up missing work, however, this is not a hard rule. If a parent requests missing work, the teacher is expected to provide it even if this consists of the entire semester. Students with accommodations are allowed to turn in work “late” and last year I was required to provide 18 weeks of missing work. It was never completed and turned it. […]
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Why I Refuse to Assign Homework This Year
As a math teacher, I am expected to assign homework. After all, math requires practice. I can liken that practice (in my mind) to a Olympic champion practicing the balance beam hours daily to perfect that one skill. The problem is—my students are not Olympic champions or even Olympic hopefuls. They have no interest in the balance beam or balancing equations. None. This year I am teaching what is commonly referred to as Repeat Algebra. I have 10thand 11th graders who have not passes Algebra and therefore are not on track for graduation. Let’s be honest, they have seen this same material […]
Read More5 Tips for Successful Parent Conferences
I remember as a new teacher looking forward to parent conferences, and parent calls home, and parent visits, etc. Yes, I was a typical, over the top, optimistic new teacher. That did not last long. That first year taught me several things about parents, students and my role in the classroom in dealing with both. And like all things, parents and students have changed. 1) It Isn’t a Popularity Contest. And if it was—you lose. Parents, guardians, family always chose the child. It doesn’t matter what the child is doing in your classroom, the child is right. Even if the […]
Read More11 Online Tools for Secondary Students
With a new school year, it is time to try something new. In no particular order, some of my favorite online programs for the classroom: 1) Quizlet. I attended the Quizlet Unconference before school began to trim my learning curve. I cannot believe how easy it is to use. The basics are study cards, definition (graph, picture, diagram, etc) on one side and definition or explanation on the other. But you can use this set in a variety of ways. I used a statistics set that was done in Spanish for my ELL students. You can study the cards, or […]
Read MoreUnsolicited Advice for New Teachers (or how not to make the same mistakes I did)
All of us began as new teachers so every teacher has stories that will curl the hair of even the baldest person. And despite all the advice new teachers are given—most of it unsolicited-New teachers will have their own stories by their fifth year. I have been a coach/support provider for the last 10 years, helping teachers who are in their first two years of teaching avoid some of the obvious pitfalls that all of us have experienced. 1) Ask More Questions You are not going to know everything, so you need to ask questions. Asking questions does not imply […]
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