Like most teachers I have a TON of grading to do. With essays to read and lessons to plan, I don’t always have a lot of time to spend reading professional development books. I’ve tried listening to audio books, but I don’t have time to search for the audio version and when I do find…
Category: Uncategorized
Speaking the language of kids…
At church the other day the pastor was talking about the story of the tower of Babel from the book of Genesis. If you’re not familiar with the story a quick rundown is in the beginning everybody spoke the same language. They wanted to build a tower to the heavens. God disapproved and scattered everyone…
Check Your Bags at the Door
For as long as I can remember I have loved grocery shopping. Several times a week I stop by the store to pick up milk or eggs or bread…but by the time I leave my cart is loaded down with groceries. I take my cart full of bags, load them in the trunk, and make…
Summer Conference Reflection 1: Rick Wormeli
A few weeks ago I attended the Olathe Summer Conference in Olathe, Kansas. This conference is offered through my school district to provide some professional development at the end of the year. It is optional to attend, but I don’t understand why anyone would turn down the opportunity to listen to a great speaker. So…
Letter of Appreciation
I just wrapped up the school year a little over a week ago, and I thought I would share a letter I gave to my students at the end of the year. I don’t share this with you to say “look at how great I am for writing this letter.” Instead I’m sharing this with…
A year-end reflection
I’m in the middle of my 2nd Talks with Teachers challenge on Facebook, where educators from around the country are challenging themselves to grow as teachers. This weeks project was to write a letter to my beginning of the school year self as a means of reflecting on the year. It was a great activity,…
Failure is an option…and I'm ok with that
My son is almost a year old and has finally learned how to pull himself up to a standing position next to the coffee table. It is exciting and terrifying at the same time. We have hardwood floors, and I’m so worried that he is going to smack his head on the ground and die. …
What can Twitter do for you?
Last week I had a conversation with teachers from across the country. There were Social Studies teachers and Language Arts teachers, middle school teachers and high school teachers, plus Laurie Halse Anderson (author of one of my favorite books, Speak). This conversation wasn’t in person or over the phone. It took place on Twitter. …
Energy Breaks
I teach 6th grade which means I’m working with kids with an attention span of about 12 minutes (if that) and as anyone who has spent time with adolescents knows they haven’t developed tact yet. They make it very clear when they are getting bored. Sometimes it is my fault for not planning an engaging…
Talking to Bill Gates and the Hour of Code
There are some days when everything clicks and there are other days when everything goes wrong. Then there are those days like I’ve had this week which are indescribable. It kicked off on Monday when, as a part of the Hour of Code created by Code.org, my students had the opportunity to video conference with…
