In the ever-evolving landscape of education, fostering meaningful connections between students and real-world issues is essential for cultivating critical thinking and problem-solving skills. One compelling way to achieve this is through client-connected projects, where students actively engage with a real client to address pressing challenges. One such profound and impactful assignment revolves around chronic school […]
Category Archives: Behavior Hacks
Tips and ideas for implementing behavior management strategies in the classroom
It’s Beginning to Look at Lot Like Flu Season…
Everywhere. You. Go. Walmart? Coughing people. Grocery store? Snot-nosed child wiping boogers on the cart. Gas station? Woman unceremoniously throwing disgusting used Kleenex on the ground…from whence it proceeds to take flight in the icy breeze, landing wetly on my cheek. Ahhh. The magic of the season! It’s all around us! Time to make sure […]
New Products, Annual Food Drive, Senior Victory, Stress, and More!
I’ve been laser-focused for the past month on putting the finishing touches on my latest adapted novel, George Orwell’s 1984. It was a tough adaptation, and the longest text I’ve tackled to date. The finished product was 170 pages. In addition, I was stupid enough to ALSO assign research essays to both my juniors and […]
Example Syllabus for ELA 4 (Senior English)
Nobody has much to say about our syllabi until about an hour before the parents arrive at Back to School Night.
Planning for Plan B
It’s about planning for plan B starting on the first day of the semester.
Backing the F–K Off
…teachers work in a system that is designed to gaslight them and keep them in an eternal state of moral confusion. One day, we’re getting free coffees for Teacher Appreciation Week; the next, we’re sitting in a meeting with admin backing pissed off parent who doesn’t feel like their child should be asked to redo an assignment on which they cheated.
Universally Designed: Coming Soon!
I’ve been working on a new product line since January that I hope to roll out for a soft launch this summer. After finding that there are VERY few lower Lexile versions of texts in the most commonly-adopted literature books at my high school (and even FEWER that were actually engaging and of good quality), […]
Free Lesson: Do’s and Don’ts of Workplace Grooming Slideshow Templates
My students are focused on all things work-related between now and the end of March. We had some discussions in class yesterday about skills we wanted to make sure we addressed, and students and cadets wanted to be sure we talked about looking professional (good grooming) in the workplace. I see lots of teachers assigning […]
The Teacher Relationship Myth
There have recently been two suicides at a high school in my community. It’s been as awful as you think. I’ll spare you the details, because the details won’t do a damned thing to bring back those kids, ease their families’ hurt, or heal the gaping wound left by the loss of those kids for […]
What’s New in Book 2?
Here’s the abstract/overview from Teachers Pay Teachers. Lots of new stuff. We learned so much from the first book, and we’re bringing our “A” game this year! ********************************************** If you’ve endured professional development sessions that stress the importance of social/emotional learning without providing a roadmap for how to actually teach these skills, here is your […]
