I’ve been trying to amp up my critical thinking resources this year…especially for early finishers and morning work, and I am LOVING it. Best of all, my students are loving it too! These are my Position Puzzles task cards. These shape analogies require students to determine the rotation of each image. I purposefully chose a variety of clip art for… View Post
Normal. It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot. Ironically, although it’s supposed to describe the status quo, there really isn’t a standard bar for “normalcy”. Everyone’s normal is different. My “normal” as a single teacher was different than my “normal” as a married teacher, and now that my son is a part of my life (and a wonderful… View Post
Have you ever heard a teacher say, “We used to have fun in school, but now we just test, test, test”, or “We used to have fun in school, but now we don’t have time because of testing”? In this standards-driven, results-driven educational climate, sometimes student engagement can get the shaft. Honestly, that’s just sad to me. I don’t want… View Post
I am a self-proclaimed “Word Nerd”. I love books that are dripping with precise vocabulary and transport you into the story…as though you are a participant in the plot. I love listening to articulate individuals speak… as their words pour out of their mouths and paint a pretty little picture. I am continually amused by witty remarks, beautiful… View Post
I am always looking for new ways to engage my students in meaningful early-finisher activities, because, let’s face it, kids are not robots. They are going to work at different paces, and that means that there will always be kids who finish first, even when you differentiate and provide sufficiently challenging work. It’s one of those unspoken truths of the… View Post