Great find!!

Posted While doing some much-needed research for my up-coming Literacy Webinar at my favorite local Starbucks, I found a site that just might save me (and hopefully, many of you!) from creating or re-using question banks and passages for Pre- and Post-Assessments that our districts and administrators want us to do for that ever-present DATA. I’ve already created a Reading Assessment for...
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The “G” Factor

Posted The returning to work in the Fall (or Summer, for our year-round teacher friends) brings many things. However, this school year brings a surprise, and unwanted, new ingredient: Guilt. As many of us return to jobs, we feel twinges of guilt when we run into those teachers who have been laid off, transferred unwillingly, received reduced hours, or had to change subjects or levels of teaching. If we...
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Building Relationships

Posted I have to say that my biggest “secret” to whatever success I’ve had is because I’m all about relationships. Whether I’m training teachers or teaching students, I’m all about making sure that I get to know them as much as possible in the time that I’m working with them. Some ways to do this are: Telling them a little about yourself. This isn’t a group therapy session, but it’s...
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Setting Expectations Early-on

Posted We’ve all had to take Classroom Management classes when earning our teaching credentials, and some of us have even had to attend additional trainings and workshops on how to manage our students and our classrooms. However, I’ve learned that clear, concise, condensed expectations are better than a ton of rules and regulations. Clear: it is important to explain your expectations to your...
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Planning for a Successful Year

Posted To begin planning, it is important to know what’s been happening in education over the summer. Most states (see diagram: http://www.corestandards.org/in-the-states) have adopted Core Standards for Language Arts and Math. If your school is in one of those states, then you can begin looking at the Core Standards Website for more information. You will save time and frustration if you start...
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