Children do not learn important social skills, morals, or values unless they are taught them. These basic life skills and attitudes need to be transmitted to children in some way. When I first became a teacher, I didn’t think that it was part of my job to teach these things. However, I quickly realized that […]

In order to manage behaviour effectively in the classroom, I believe that it is important to instill a sense of ownership on the students. The classroom needs to be a place where students will feel safe and comfortable. In my classroom I have exactly 4 rules to help achieve this. These rules cover pretty much […]

The best board game ever invented, in my humble opinion, is Scrabble. One of the reasons I like Scrabble is that it challenges the mind and is not merely just a game of chance. I think I also have an affinity for the game since it has always been a big deal in my family. […]

Teachers need to be prepared. I can’t emphasize this enough. I make sure that I draw up very detailed year plans and day plans.  I am very well organized in my classroom. Unfortunately all the planning and organizing can sometimes not be enough. Teachers need to be flexible. There will always be things that interfere with our […]

Here is one of the best teaching tips I can share with you – Use what you have! I know that through my teaching career there have been many times when I have needed some items for a lesson that I didn’t have readily available. Sometimes these things were simple items for a science experiment […]

I want to keep this edition of Teaching Tip Tuesday fairly short. I think teachers should be helping each other by sharing what works with them and their classrooms. I hope you have found my past columns here helpful. Please email me or leave a comment if you have any questions or thoughts, or if […]

When I was in Boy Scouts, there were about 25 youth members in our group. Within this large group, there were five smaller groups called Patrols. Each patrol got to choose a name and a crest that identified them. This crest was then sewn onto our uniforms and we became a unified group with a […]

Students need to learn how to work cooperatively, how to treat each other with respect, and how to listen attentively. These are life skills that are absolutely essential to have. Yet these skills are not addressed in the Ministry of Education’s curriculum documents. As teachers, we are expected to teach a variety of subject areas […]

A huge part of teaching lies outside of the curriculum. Teachers cannot simply teach the basics; math, science, social studies, English, etc. We need to teach the students how to work together cooperatively, how to follow routines and procedures, and how to strive for their best. Character education has become a bit of a buzzword […]