Education

I pride myself on being such an efficient and fast worker (my favorite compliment? “You are a MACHINE!”). I used to maximize all 45 minutes of my planning period like a champ. But I can’t lie—some of my teacher planning...

Cause and effect is such a big part of students’ lives. It’s taught in reading, math, science, social studies, and during social-emotional learning. So it makes sense that we need more than one cause-and-effect graphic organizer to teach it.  When...

What’s the one thing on every teacher’s first week of summer plans? Sleep. And as much of it as we can get. But what if we dedicated time throughout the year to prioritize and catch up on our much-needed sleep?...

Personal narrative essays are all about telling stories. Try these personal narrative ideas to inspire kids and teens to tell meaningful stories from their own lives, no matter what they’ve experienced. Plus, click the button below to get a set...

November is an important annual opportunity to pause and reflect on the rich cultural heritage, enduring traditions, and profound contributions of America’s indigenous peoples. As a teacher with Apache tribal heritage, I created this list of Native American Heritage Month...

Are Sunday NFL games your preferred way to close a weekend before you’re back in the classroom on Monday morning? Or do you watch the games so that you have something to talk about with your more sports-minded students? Either...

Winter brings the calmness of snow flurries and cozy days by the fire … oh, who are we kidding? Winter shenanigans, excitement, and chaos are what our students are all about! Calm the excitement with belly laughs from some of...

Kids say the darndest things. They also say the most brutally honest things. They’ll say things that make you tip your head to one side out of confusion, like a dog. Not to mention the casual, devastating observations that will...

One of the biggest tasks we have as teachers is building a safe classroom community. Starting on the first day of school, we build classroom and community rules, talk about what it means to be a good friend/classmate, and discuss...

Short stories are a perfect teaching tool for middle schoolers. They’re quick, fast-paced, and pack a punch with lots of action and drama. And because they require less time to read, they’re an easy way to expose your students to...