Self-Reflection in the New Year By Kristen Fraine With the New Year just starting there’s plenty of chatter amongst friends, family, and colleagues about everyone’s goals for their own personal “New Year, New You” ambitions. As a teacher, I find myself...
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“Fair” Means Everyone Gets What They Need to Succeed in School
“That's not fair! Why does Timmy get fewer spelling words than I do?" Some disabilities are obvious, while others are more hidden. Facilitating a conversation around disabilities can help students understand them more and treat other students with respect. Ultimately,...
Listen to Teacher Voices
What's on the mind of a teacher on the first day of school? Most of us remember what it felt like to be a student on the first day of a new school year. The excitement of seeing friends, the uncertainty of finding the right classroom, and the distress over the first...
What are teachers reading this fall?
It’s important to always find some “me-time” even during the always-on-the-go school year. Whether that time for you means diving into what interests you or it means broadening your knowledge by reading relevant educational articles, blogs, and texts, it...
Talking to Your Class about Students with Disabilities
At some point in every student’s life, they will work with a classmate who has a disability. I remember the first time as a child that I noticed a student with cerebral palsy: Our class was heading down a hallway as first-graders do, single file, trying not to trip on...
Building Students’ Reading “Muscles” by Using Smart Prompts
Start assigning them tomorrow. As a teacher, curriculum developer, and parent, I’m constantly seeking ways to allow young people to “take ownership” over a piece of text and build strong reading “muscles” along the way. Below, I’ve listed some of my favorite...
Real Strategies from Real Teachers
Adapting to a New Group of Students Starting off the year is challenging in numerous ways, but for me, it’s been interesting to see how each class takes on a different tone or personality. With that in mind, I’ve found it’s helpful to have some classroom management...
Providence Teachers Share Wisdom and Laughter
The question to kick off the small group conversation was simple enough: What successes have you had in the first two weeks of school? Six Providence, Rhode Island school teachers—previously unknown to each other—leaned into the hotel ballroom tables in an effort to...
Teacher Voices From the First Day of School
We hope you’re looking forward to--or have already launched--a successful start of school. Whether this is your first day in the classroom or you’ve experienced decades of "first days," one thing is certain--you’re feeling a flood of thoughts and emotions. In the...
Stop Reinventing the Wheel
How Do You Find the Resources You Need? Teachers have a constant and ever-changing thirst for classroom resources. From full lesson plans, to worksheets, to test questions, to engaging projects and videos, teachers can never have too many great resources....
