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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Nurture Talent in Your Classroom
This weekend, I watched a film on Netflix entitled, The Kindergarten Teacher. There are plenty of movies about inspirational teachers who truly make a difference in the lives of their students and community. This is not one of those movies. The story revolves around a 40 year-old kindergarten teacher who sees talent in one of…
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We’re All Part of the Universe (Writing and Discussion Prompt)
Last week. we lost a creative genius who helped change the world with colourful characters and profound storytelling. Stan Lee created some of the best superheroes to ever grace the pages of comics, television, movies, and beyond. We will remember him and always treasure what we gave us. Rest in Peace, Stan Lee. This video…
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Teacher Hacks for Missed Work and Lost Items
Being organized as a teacher is very important. Here are a few great ideas that you might find useful. Missed Work Having a missed work file is great. Having one that students can access without having to bug you is even better. It takes a little bit of work, but can save you tons of…
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First Contact with First Nations
Teaching has taken me to some incredible places and let me experience all sorts of new things. I have learned a lot in my career and continue to do so. That is what my Teaching Tip Series is all about. This year, I started working for a new school board and had to return to…
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Unanswered Questions and Curiosity
One day, a little girl looked up towards the night sky and asked, “How did all those stars get up there?” Her dad replied, “We don’t really know.” She thought for a moment and then asked, “How did I get here?” Her father answered brilliantly, “That’s an equally puzzling question.” This was a story that author,…
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Transform School Band Concerts
Nicole Kmoch wrote an incredible piece for the Smart Music Educator blog entitled “Perform Early, Perform Often: The Power of Informance.” She believes, “performing early and often can be a great way to reduce the anxiety students experience during performances. It also offers an opportunity to make all parents and guardians aware of – and…
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Teaching with the Olympic Games
I have been having a lot of fun incorporating the Winter Olympics into my English ESL classes. Part of the curriculum deals with Canadian culture and this seemed like a great opportunity to explore different areas of the country. Research I asked the class how they could find out about the Canadian athletes who are…
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Feeding Your Flame (Student Writing Activity)
Last week’s Will Smith video response activity was a success. I decided to try it again with another of his Instagram videos. This one has a few harsh phrases or words that might not be appropriate for your classroom (please watch it before you share it with your students) Please write a 2-3 paragraph response…
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Fault vs Responsibility (Student Response Activity)
I am posting this edition of Teaching Tip Tuesdays as an activity you can do with your students. I will be doing this today with my class. If you try it out, let me know how it works in the comments below. Will Smith is an actor, rapper, and songwriter. This is one of his…
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Students Working Together on Tests? (Brilliant!)
I subscribe to this ten-minute podcast series specifically meant for teachers. In this episode, a teacher shared a brilliant idea. After he gives his students a test, he has them retake it in groups. This lets them discuss the questions and the answers they originally provided. It gives them a new perspective on how to…