Teaching made easier

Is it hard for you to be consistent? Do you feel guilt over holding your sensitive generally well-behaved children to the same standard as everyone else? Do you sometimes purposely overlook some misbehavior because it was minor? Or because that child is normally on task? Or that child is getting their work done? This is causing your more difficult students to dislike you. Difficult students tend to have a very strong sense of justice and fairness. They also want to look outside themselves to blame others for their problems. It is much easier to think, "My teacher is always picking on me. She's not fair," than it is to think, "Wow. I really am making some poor choices." When you have different standards for different students, you are not being fair. Especially if your different standards lets some children get away with more. And since we are all racially biased, you probably let your white students get away with more than your kids of color. This is especia...

If you are like me, the mental shift from the school year to summer is sudden. Moving from thinking about 10 different things every few minutes, managing 20 - 30+ children all day long, differentiating lessons etc., to having very little structured time can be challenging. Especially if you enjoy or even thrive on the hustle and bustle of the school year. Of course you are also most likely relieved and happy that it is summer, but the transition can be rocky. What can ease that transition? Here are some tips that could help. Commit to trying one new idea here. Remember, perfect is the enemy of the good. So, it is better to try an idea in a limited way than not try at all. Anticipate that the transition will have bumps. If you don't expect to feel giddy and care-free during summer immediately once the students are gone, you are going to be happier. Connect with friends. If you think of someone, text them or call them. Don't think about it - just text or call and say you ...

Here are 3 easy activities I like to do on the last day of school. Words of affirmation. Supplies necessary :  1 colored pen per child (a regular pencil would do too), 1 piece of paper per child. Time needed : 60 minutes to 90 minutes Grades : 2nd and higher Steps - Explain that we are going to write words of affirmation for our classmates. Model the difference between specific praise with details and general statements that could apply to anyone. Explain that students will have 3 minutes to write something nice for each person. If they finish before the three minutes are over, they can add doodles and drawings to the edges of the paper. Make sure to model this is what a good size doodle looks like. This doodle is too large and won't leave space for everyone. For some groups you might need to add this step: Explain that if you have nothing to say that is nice, don't write anything. Only nice things should be written. Word Cloud Memory of Year Supplies needed : Whiteb...

I would like to share one of my favorite podcasts about classrooms. Truth For Teachers by Angela Watson has been the most regular teaching podcast I listen to. She has amazing, practical advice and lots of real-world experience. One of my favorite end of the year podcasts she has is on how to pack up your classroom in 4 easy steps. I highly recommend listening to this one your way to or from work before your last days of school. Good luck with ending the school year strong! Deconstruct Your Classroom in 1 Day .