6 Must-Teach Novels in Secondary ELA
A book is a dream that you hold in your hands. ~ Neil Gaiman March is National Reading month, one of my favorites! Not only is the dreary winter weather…
How to Beat Teacher Burnout: Practical Tips to Try Today
Feeling overworked, underpaid, or undervalued? You’re not alone. Teacher burnout is the pits. It happens to the best of us. In my experience, it usually happens in the middle of the…
Why We Should Teach Grammar
“Why do we have to learn this? When am I ever going to need this in life? This is so B-O-R-I-N-G!” If you’ve ever taught grammar, you may be familiar…
How to Teach Vocabulary: Increasing Vocabulary Retention
Wondering how to teach vocabulary meaningfully and effectively? Consider the following scenario: “So, who can tell me what the word surreptitious means?” Cricket. Cricket. “Hello? We learned it yesterday. Doesn’t anyone…
The Grammar Nerds Tell All: How to Sequence Grammar Instruction
It was August of 2005. I stared at my lesson plan book in frustration, having made a complete mess of my notes about teaching grammar. I was excited to begin…
Practical Tips for Grading Faster: Keep the Quality & Maintain Your Sanity
Have you ever cried over a stack of essays late at night, eyes too bleary to see the words clearly? Are you a teacher who practically lives at school? Do…
Multigenre Research Project: The Key to Fitting in All Genres of Writing
Looking for a way to spice up your writing unit while engaging students, differentiating by ability and interest, and still covering all the required standards at the appropriate level of…
Meaningful Reflection in the Classroom: 10 Goal Setting Ideas
A New Year means it’s time to pause and reflect. It’s time to make resolutions, to identify areas for growth, and to set goals. Best practices in education require that…
Engaging Boys with Independent Reading (Sensible Tips from a Reading Specialist)
Looking for practical strategies for engaging boys with independent reading? Find some useful tips that apply to struggling readers in this post. Overall, boys are often less engaged than girls…
How Admitting Ignorance Promotes Learning
Have you ever been in that awkward situation where a student asks you a question you should probably be able to answer, but you just don’t know? Of course you…
8 Ways to Design Engaging Grammar Lessons
Looking to spice up your grammar instruction? I have a few ideas for making engaging grammar lessons that might help. There are approximately 23 million blog posts and articles about…
Laughing All the Way: Spreading Christmas Cheer through Music-Inspired Task Cards
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” One of the many lessons we learn from Buddy in the movie Elf is that singing is…
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