Teaching Tips
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Ideas Float, Grab Them While You Can
Denise Jaden has a theory. She believes that “ideas float in the atmosphere, and they are fair game for anyone to grab and make use of.” This is sometimes referred to as the collective unconscious. It seems to be something that we can all tap into. There are so many ideas out there and if…
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10 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Your Students
I was inspired to write today’s Teaching Tip post from a book I read by Cynthia Tobias. You Can’t Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded) was not written with teachers in mind. It was meant to help parents deal with strong-willed children. However, many of the tips in the book could work with all…
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4 Ideas to Truly Connect With Students
I just read You Can’t Make Me [But I Can Be Persuaded] by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. The book is meant to help parents deal with strong-willed children but I see all sorts of applications for teachers within these pages. Tobias notes that parents often make mistakes. I know teachers sometimes say or do things they…
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Teacher Hashtags and Inspiration
The ending of The Kindergarten Teacher has been haunting me. I don’t want to spoil it for you though as I am sure there are many people who have not yet seen the film. I wrote about it last week and how it can inspire us to nurture the talent we see in our classrooms.…
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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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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…