“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing…” I write these words of Vince Lombardi after just watching Matt Cassel, playing with his fifth NFL team, throw a terrible floater towards the end zone, resulting in his second interception of the game. So how does Matt Cassel, branded with a losing record, and the Dallas […]
Scaffolding learning for each different layer of understanding in my elementary classroom is one of the hardest things I professionally do. There, I said it. Maybe you can sympathize with me more completely if I tell you about a recent math lesson. By the beginning of 4th grade, students should know all of their basic facts, and we […]
This past week was the Week of Respect. Respect. That word gets thrown around a lot. Rodney Dangerfield. Aretha Franklin. Respect is important. A community, a home, a school, a classroom – all need a culture of respect in order to succeed. I teach twenty-two fifth graders, so I find myself using the word a lot. […]
I can’t believe I have to have this conversation with these kids again. For the fourth time. Yes, I am serious when I say to work on the assignment without talking. No, it certainly shouldn’t take 10 minutes to find your books. Yes, I meant that it was due today. No, please don’t dance on […]
The Common Core Standards are heavily immersed in what is known as “Close Reading.” What is close reading? This publication in Educational Leadership gives a good overview. After reading this, here are three “big ideas” of my own: I agree that getting students to self-question is crucial, and if we want students to independently ask questions that lead […]
Happy International Literacy Day! We always tell students that reading is important. This video can be used to help them understand WHY reading is important. [wp-svg-icons icon=”point-down” wrap=”i”] [vooplayer vooid=’NTI3ODU=’ width=’600 height=’390′] Video credits: DNews
So I find myself back here again enjoying the last week long, sun- and dream-filled weeks of summer vacation before the school year starts. Before the happy laughter down the hallway, before the meetings and events pile up, and before the leaves begin to turn and the air grows crisp. I stick my toes a […]
The school year begins and with it comes a renewed sense of enthusiasm. “This year I’m going to try my hand at this,” says the seasoned teacher, always looking to improve. Across the hall, a new teacher excitedly sets up her classroom as thoughts race through her mind, “I can’t wait to do this, and […]
“Because if you have bad habits, then the longer you have it, the harder it will be to undo it.” “Because if you don’t it will become a habit that is hard to break in the future.” “I think this because like he said it is easier for us to learn something than adults so […]
This video can be used to help students understand the concept of grit/resilience. Instead of just showing this to my students, I had them (try to) count the number of times the mouse was unsuccessful in its attempts. After talking about this and reflecting on how many times we continue to try after unsuccessfully attempting something, […]
