Teaching
As an educator who loves to share tips for teachers both inside and outside the classroom, you can follow this page to find all my education-related posts. You will find tips, tricks, lesson plans, inspiration, and more.
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3 Tips for Using the Computer Lab Effectively
There are some cool teachers on Tumblr, Twitter, and Pinterest. I suggest signing up for these sites. You never know what inspiration you will find there. I know I come across great ideas on them all the time. Here are some great computer lab tips from Classroom Chaos. Scout Out the Computer Lab Before Taking…
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Arthur and the Dragon – Integrated Drama Unit
I absolutely love this drama unit. I have taught it several times and it is always a hit. It is based around the picture book Arthur and the Dragon by Pauline Cartwright. There is a 23 page Teacher Guide that is an incredible resource. It was developed by The Toronto District School Board back in…
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Short Term Self vs Long Term Self
I found this image on Tumblr and it really spoke to me. It would be a great discussion piece for the classroom about setting goals and working towards a bright future. We live in a day and age of instant everything. This can narrow our focus and keep us locked in the here-and-now. Why think about…
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3 Reasons Why Teachers Should Make Regular Calls Home
Sunshine calls a great idea, but one that I have never fully embraced over the dozen years that I have been teaching. It’s just so time-consuming to call the parents of every single child that I teach. I follow Chris Pearce on Tumblr because he has some great insights into teaching and he does so…
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5 April Fool’s Jokes to Play on Your Class
Today is April Fool’s Day and it’s a school day. I know that a lot of teachers out there are dreading what might happen today. On a normal day, we can have our share of jokers in the class. This day can push them over the edge. So here is a game plan – get…
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Lip Sync Battle
Radio DJ, Mastermind, shared this on Twitter the other day. Drop Everything And Watch This AMAZING Lip Sync Battle Between Paul Rudd And Jimmy Fallon http://t.co/3VgVcBJD3q — Mastermind (@MastermindLive) February 26, 2014 I clicked through because it seemed like such an interesting concept. A Lip Sync Battle? I’ve heard of dance battles, beatbox battles,…
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GPS – The Road to Musical Success
When I started teaching music, I was really disappointed with the method book. It didn’t seem like my students were learning much as we worked through the various lines of music. I searched for an alternative and found the excellent Band Fundamentals in Easy Steps. It was everything I was looking for in a method…
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How to Engage Students Who Only do the Bare Minimum to Get By
Academic success depends on a variety of factors such as the quality of teachers, textbooks, the ability and effort of students etc. to name just a few. Students have to be smart and hard- working in order to achieve academic success. But what would happen if middle school students are reluctant to study? Students who…
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Novel in an Hour
I went to a workshop last week and we did an activity called “Novel in an Hour” The class was divided into small groups and each group was given a chapter or two of a novel. We weren’t told the title or what the story was about. We were just given a photocopy of our…
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A Day Plan Template to Use for Your Lessons
This is what my day plan looks like for today. I always write my lesson plans in a format that will allow anyone to come in and teach my lessons if need be. You can see that my rotary classes have a name and a room number written right on the template. The coolest thing…