We are at the halfway point through our summer school session 🎉 I decided to develop a unit around the theme "What makes a hero?" and selected the book Black Panther: A Young Prince by Ronald A. Smith. This Bookshop list is most of the books I read to consider as well as the nonfiction … Continue reading A Young Prince – Summer Unit for 8th Graders
Bloglovin’
Follow my blog with Bloglovin How am I just now finding out about this resource! It's a great way to follow all of your favorite blogs in one place. I usually find new blog posts that are shared through social media, but Bloglovin' is a hub where you can follow your favorite blogs! I'm just … Continue reading Bloglovin’
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
In an effort to blog more often, I am hoping to write a short review of each book I read this year. I was lucky to start 2021 with Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. It takes place in what is essentially a parallel present, but there's magic. The main character - Ellie - can raise … Continue reading Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
When there are no answers…
I've been milling this post over in my head for the last month or so. Trying to think about how to condense everything I've been thinking and feeling into a coherent message. But I don't have one. These are complex times with complex situations that call for....you guessed it, complex answers. It's not really something … Continue reading When there are no answers…
Teaching Strategies Not Texts – The Outsiders
To try to bring back a regular blogging habit in 2020, I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite lessons/units/ideas/learnings from 2019. I'm starting with the one that has the biggest impact on my teaching - Teaching Strategies, Not Texts. This is not a new concept, by any stretch of the imagination. I knew … Continue reading Teaching Strategies Not Texts – The Outsiders
Long Time No Blog
Last year at this time, I set an ambitious goal to write one blog post per week. My goal was to be reflective on my practices, thinking about both celebrations and challenges. However, life happens - and I only blogged once. The entire year. Oops. Since setting a weekly blog goal for myself didn't seem … Continue reading Long Time No Blog
Getting it Together: Celebrations, Challenges, and Changes
In August, I set the goal for myself of one reflective blog each week. I thought that I would be able to maintain that during the year. I had achievable goals of celebrations, challenges, and changes. My initial goal was 5 celebrations, 3 challenges, and 2 changes each week. It's December (2 weeks before break), … Continue reading Getting it Together: Celebrations, Challenges, and Changes
Some Thoughts On Self Care
The importance of self-care for teachers is growing. It's come up at several workshops I've attended recently, where I feel like for the first decade of my career - we didn't hear about it at all. I thought of myself as someone who "did self-care". I do yoga every morning because it creates a noticeable … Continue reading Some Thoughts On Self Care
Nothing Prepares You
A student at my school died this week. Because of the timing of the universe and how news travels these days, we had to tell them all their classmate had passed. I had to look out at a room of 30 middle schoolers and tell them that a child that was in school yesterday would … Continue reading Nothing Prepares You
When Do We Give Up?
How long should you try something before it's enough? Before you can say "Well, I gave this my best go, and it's not going to work out?" I've been thinking about this a lot lately. As I've written about before, I take aerial arts classes. I am not very good at it. I've been at … Continue reading When Do We Give Up?
