TED Talks are videos that present engaging ideas in 18 minutes or less. Their compact, visual format makes them a great vessel for the middle and high school classroom! Truly,…

Wondering how to create a calm, predictable, and inspiring classroom atmosphere? Let’s start at the beginning! What is classroom atmosphere, and why does it matter? It’s actually quite abstract! Classroom…

Looking to teach students about how character development impacts theme? First, you’ll need to model with some specific, high-interest examples. Students need to know what character development looks like from…

Getting ready to begin student-led literature circles? Literature circles are the perfect opportunity to combine reading, writing, speaking, and listening in an authentic way! But, sometimes the broad nature and…

Are parent-teacher conferences in your near future? Getting organized is important. It can be challenging to communicate everything you want guardians to know in a short 10 or 15 minute…

Ever wondered where to start with vocabulary instruction? Sometimes, it can feel like we are throwing darts in the dark. The target has to be out there somewhere, and if…

Does it ever seem like standardized test writing prompts are intentionally wordy and confusing? If you have stumbled upon this post after finishing your testing for the year, enjoy! For…

Looking to improve student-led discussions? While these conversations may be packed with some of the most powerful skills we can teach students, they certainly pose plenty of challenges. Consider, for…

Searching for engaging ways to build students’ background knowledge? Perhaps you need an activity to help students prepare to read a complex text, to write an essay, or to engage…

What do your students do at the end of the class period? Do those last few minutes ever feel chaotic or unorganized? Without a structured routine, students will often line…

Inside: Is your choice reading program feeling stale? Are the independent reading activities falling flat? We can engage students and keep book love fresh by weaving in new ideas from…

Inside:  Have reading logs on your mind? Still wildly popular, reading logs have serious negative impacts on our students’ relationships with reading. This post is full of honest answers about…

Inside:  Looking for an alternative to covering the syllabus or using awkward ice breakers on the first day of school? Try this multi-faceted approach to help students begin building relationships…

Inside:  Wondering how to help students analyze diversity in literature? This post includes nine reflective questions to help guide conversations. It felt gigantic. The more she thought about it, Hailey…

It’s happened to me frequently. I sit down, head swirling with ideas, clear about the direction I want to go with my instructional sequence. And then…as soon as I try…

Inside: A meaningful end-of-year reflection technique for older students that combines the power of student-led learning with brain-based associations…  Ever wish you could just find a rainbow that will lead…

School’s out for summer! Well, not quite. But, the thought of summer break typically stirs butterflies in both teachers’ and students’ stomachs. Those flutters of excitement are nothing to feel…

You’ve just asked one of the most thought-provoking questions of your teaching career, and you look out upon a sea of faces with anticipation. Fully expecting students to exude wonder…

Ever wish you could add more student motivation and critical thinking to your independent reading program? Depending on the year or the class, it’s normal for students to show varying…

MLA is fussy. When teaching students to cite quotations in MLA format, it can feel like we are really nit-picking at details. And, I suppose we are. Students need to…