One of my absolute favorite things to do in the classroom is to teach with political cartoons. I integrate them into every topic possible. I love that they give kids a real “in the moment” look at what someone was thinking about the given issue or topic. I love […]
During the summer, one thing all teachers have to think about is what worked well in their classroom last year and what they need to change. We all learn really quickly that how a classroom is set up can contribute to the success or struggles of your classroom […]
I’ve been extremely lucky in how extensively I’ve internationally traveled thus far in my life. I’ve been able to visit 13 countries and live in 2 (besides America): Canada, Mexico, Greece (twice!), Turkey, France, Germany, England (twice!), Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Belgium, and Gibraltar! One of the best perks of all […]
Organization is key to any teacher’s sanity, regardless of grade taught, and especially as the year progresses. One thing they DON’T teach you in your certification program is what method of organization will work best for you. A) they don’t have time for it and B) every teacher […]
As far back as student teaching, my weakness was wrapping up my lessons. I felt like I always floundered with the “well we’ll stop there for today” line or asking a few wrap up/review questions and then that was it. I wasn’t doing the material justice, and I […]
One of my go-to projects is for my students to make a collage reflecting what they learned during a given unit. I probably assign them twice a semester. I love assigning collages for the following 3 main reasons. 1. Students practice research skills. This includes learning about reliable and accurate internet […]
In the first few weeks of World History I’m not going to lie, there are some less than thrilling topics we have to cover which means I dread lesson planning those topics during the summer (which yes I’m trudging through right now). But in the midst of “blah” […]
It’s no secret that having open ones of communication with parents or guardians in high school is more than a little difficult. I always send a letter home to parents with students on the first day of school to open the lines of communication. I try to email […]
I started something new this last school year to try to keep my students’ spelling and grammar mistakes to a minimum. Not so much typos, but straight up mistakes such as writing bear instead of bare. I started by including the list of my biggest pet peeves at the […]
What do you want to be when you grow up? EVERY kid is asked that question hundreds of times. Until I was in high school I would tell people I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. I have a probably unhealthy love (cough cough obsession cough cough) of […]
