To-Done Lists for Teachers

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To-Done Lists for TeachersI am the queen of the to-do list.  Seriously.  I have at least half a dozen going at all times, from projects for the next ten years to what to get done while my little one naps.  And the list of teacher to-do’s is endless.  But we’ve been talking about making the classroom more positive for students and for us, so I want to talk about transitioning the to-do list to a to-done list.

You’ve probably heard of to-done lists, and there’s more info about them here, here, here, and here. Most productivity people seem to agree that they’re less anxiety-provoking and more accurate than to-do lists.  I want to talk about how they’re especially important for teachers. Continue reading →

Positive Self-talk for Teachers

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Earlier on the blog, we were talking about the goal of kids hearing 3 positive statements for every negative one.  But let’s be honest here.  If there’s anyone whose negative to positive ratio is off, it’s us.  Teachers.

There’s a considerable list of people we may hear negative comments from. Teenagers (who aren’t exactly known for cheerful enthusiasm), those parents (you know the ones),  administrators, politicians who have no experience with education and even newspapers that seem hell-bent on trashing teachers every chance they get (Hello, Chicago Tribune). Continue reading →

How–and Why–I Teach Silently

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how I teach silently

image credit: Jason Taellious

“Holy crap!”
“Is she not talking?”
“Can we talk?”
“Whoa, this is going to be really cool!”

These were the reactions of my sophomores when they realized I was participating in the Day of Silence today. Yes, that means I taught for an entire day without speaking. No, I didn’t show any movies.  And it’s not a game of charades. I’ve done this about 6-8 times before, so I know a lot of people are curious about it. Continue reading →

How to Create a More Positive Classroom

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. . . Even If You’re Not a Cheerleader

not a cheerleader

image credit: Sanderlin

If you’re always super positive and love teaching your kids to shine their halos and kiss their brains, you don’t need this post.  You can share your ideas for class cheers here.

But some of us–myself included–just aren’t natural cheerleaders.  It’s not that I mean to be critical, because I do enjoy being a teacher and a mom and I do like listening to kids.  It’s more that I’m insanely detail-oriented and there are just so many things that need to be corrected. With a 3 year-old, those things include “don’t ride the cat like a pony,” “don’t use the waffle as a stethoscope” and “please take your finger out of my ear.”  Those are non-negotiable, right? Continue reading →

Everything that Could Go Wrong with the Appointment Clock Strategy

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And Why You Should Do It Anyway

Another strategy that I presented at the recent conference was appointment clock buddies.  I really like this strategy and I think it can work for almost any subject and a lot of grade levels.  If you do it right.  There are also a lot of potential pitfalls, and I’d like to share those so that you can think through how to approach the appointment clock and feel good about it before you use it (now would be the time to grab a beverage).

What is the appointment clock strategy? Continue reading →

Simple Reflective Reading Journal for Use with Any Text

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simple reflective reading journal for use with any textToday on Next Time Teaching, I want to share one of the strategies from my recent presentation.  The focus of my presentation was low prep activities that increase critical thinking, close reading and engagement and can be done with any text.  Many of the activities can be repeated multiple times throughout a year, saving prep time while allowing you to see your students’ growth over time.  This reading journal certainly fits the bill! Continue reading →

DuPage County Institute Day Presentation

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Yesterday I presented at the DuPage county-wide institute day for “Celebrating Language Arts” based on “How Reading Makes Us More Human.”  My focus was “Expanding Your Teaching Toolbox: Classroom Activities to Promote Engagement, Critical Thinking and Close Reading of Any Text” and I gave a version of it at NCTE a few years ago with colleagues.  Yesterday I was flying solo. Continue reading →

Why Next Time Teaching?

We’ve all been there. Sitting in a staff meeting or a professional development session, hoping for something we can use next time. Monday. Tomorrow. Next period.  

It’s happened to me, although I’m insatiably curious and really passionate about how teachers learn and grow. I think a lot about the teaching life (because let’s be real, it’s not a job). But even so, I’ve sat in pd sessions when I knew I didn’t have lesson plans for the next day and I knew I had stacks of papers to grade, and thought “that’s all well and good, and I would love to talk more about it later, but I need something for next time.”    

At its most frustrating, teaching can feel like an endless string of “next times” with never enough time to prepare or research or grade or think (let alone rest!) in between. And yet somehow we Continue reading →