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
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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?
Should You Blog?
I've kept a blog on and off for about 10 years now. I've had this blog for about half of that time, though I'm hit and miss on keeping up with posts. I love to talk to people about starting a blog, and I often hear questions like What if no one reads it? What … Continue reading Should You Blog?
What counts as reading?
"You're in 8th grade, and that's not an 8th-grade book." I can picture myself in the library, looking at a student with a book in their hand, saying, "Choose something else." When I first started as a teacher, I had certain thoughts about what literacy instruction was supposed to be. About holding students to "high standards". … Continue reading What counts as reading?
Just Jump In! – #BookSnaps
When I realized it was #NoWorksheetWeek, I decided to jump right in with something I've been thinking about for awhile - #BookSnaps. (This idea originated with Tara Martin - Check out her website for the details.) At this point in the year, I have spent a lot of time working with my striving readers on the skills they … Continue reading Just Jump In! – #BookSnaps
