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Resource Roundup: PD for the Pandemic
Listen With states and districts closing schools suddenly due to the pandemic, some teachers are finding themselves with two weeks of “early summer”, extended spring break, or even voluntary time at home otherwise avoiding illness. If you’re faced with seemingly endless hours with little to do (after you’re tired of...
Student-Mentoring Programs
Listen Teachers have always had to find creative ways to help students without much family support: a single parent who has to work multiple jobs, a family distracted by crisis, or children removed from an abusive situation. These issues date as far back as any form of civilization, much less...
Tips for Combating Student Anxiety
Listen Childhood has always been filled with stressors, but recent studies show that childhood anxiety is on the rise. The Child Mind Institute says that 30% of children now experience significant anxiety, although many of these children never receive treatment. The CDC says that the number of diagnoses increased from...
Breaking Down Language Barriers
Listen Imagine being a five-year-old again. Imagine that you have been living with extended relatives all of your life, and one day they put you on a plane and send you halfway around the world to meet your parents in another country. Imagine being brought to a school the following...
Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)
Listen What Is ODD? Oppositional Defiance Disorder is a behavioral disorder. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms include persistent angry or irritable moods, extreme defiance for authority figures, frequent need to argue, and vindictiveness. Students with ODD most often deal with other disorders simultaneously and in addition to ODD. Frequent...
Preparing for an Interview, Part 2 10 Things You Should Be Prepared to Discuss
Listen In our previous post, we shared some things to do to prepare for the interview, including how to beef up your resume, preparing a portfolio, how to dress, good hygiene, respecting the time of the interviewers, and nonverbals to consider. Now it is time to talk about… well, what...
Tips for Preparing for Possible Health Epidemics
Listen Each year, things like colds, the flu, stomach viruses, strep, and other easily transmittable illnesses are spread among school children and educators. With new threats on the horizon, now is a great time to talk about maintaining good hygiene and health practices in schools. As we watch schools and...
Writing Centers that Inspire
Listen Every grade level and subject can benefit from a writing center. Where most elementary classrooms are used to using a “center” approach to learning, fewer secondary teachers are familiar with the concept, but secondary teachers are starting to catch on and use the strategies, as well. A writing center...
Tips for Coping with Personal Mental Illness
Listen According to NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), on average, 1 in 5 Americans in the general population experience mental illness at some point in their adult life. 1 in 25 experience severe or chronic mental illnesses. It comes as no surprise that teachers are not an exception...
Using Curriculum in the Elementary Classroom
Listen A curriculum is what you make of it. Unfortunately, no one really tells teachers in most districts what to make of curriculum. Few schools tell you how much or how often to use it, and even fewer tell you exactly how. When you adopt a new curriculum, there is...
Important Daily Math Routines for Pre-K Through 2nd Grade
Listen Just as literacy requires daily interaction with a variety of specified information and practice utilizing that information, so does math. With one or two short, intentional math interactions each day, you can help your students build vital math skills that last a lifetime. Remember, studies show that all children...
Pro Tips for Integrating Social Studies into Other Subjects
Listen Social Studies is one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated subjects for many teachers, which is unfortunate because social studies is a goldmine for ELAR, LOTE, math, science, and fine arts integration. There are so many things that can be taught and expanded upon with information in social studies. ...