My answer to the question "What are we doing today?"
There's no doubt that our world has changed drastically in the past century. Technology is constantly improving, communication is instant around the globe, and the demands on our students are drastically different than they were even twenty years ago. Within the classroom, standards have been rewritten. Chromebooks and tablets are ubiquitous. Teachers swear by their… Continue reading The 21st Century Classroom
At the beginning of any school year, teachers are always looking for ways to inspire students to learn. So, when I stumbled across this great Ted Talk (from TEDxCSU) called "How to Learn Anything" by Josh Kaufman, I decided to turn it into an infographic for my classroom. This Ted Talk also pairs well with… Continue reading How to Learn Anything
This post contains affiliate links to products I wholeheartedly recommend. All opinions are my own. Many people have heard about "flexible seating," but few understand what a truly flexible environment is--perhaps because it requires an enormous investment of time, patience, research and money to develop. Over the past year, I educated myself on what flexible seating is, why… Continue reading Flexible Seating: 4 Questions to Ask Yourself
Writing is full of visuals: authors use imagery and figurative language, stories sweep us away to new places, characters seem to come alive. And yet, when it comes to providing feedback on writing, it's usually anything but visual. At best, feedback is meaningful and works to improve student writing--whether through comments or a rubric. However, often the… Continue reading Visual Feedback: How Three Highlighters Can Improve Student Writing
This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own! If you're a Language Arts or Reading teacher, then chances are that you have a classroom library. Be honest with yourself: how much do your students really use it? For my first few years of teaching, I pretty much just figured that just having a… Continue reading Your Classroom Library: Is It Healthy?
Researchers are continually finding out more about the human body and brain, so I'm always on the lookout for golden nuggets of studies that can benefit my students. The Atlantic recently published the article "Can Three Words Turn Anxiety into Success?" which I found because it was posted to Facebook by Donors Choose. Student anxiety is an especially hot topic… Continue reading Reframe Test Anxiety into Excitement
Since January 2015, I've received over $3,400 worth of materials for my classroom free through Donors Choose, including four laptops, dozens of books for my classroom library, and many professional development resources. Donors Choose is one of the easiest way to get the materials and supplies that are actually needed--and are literally hand-picked by you! However, many teachers I've… Continue reading Donors Choose: How to Get Started
This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting All Kinds of Learning Adventures! Over the past two years, our school hosted multiple Kagan workshops. If you're not familiar with Kagan, visit their website to learn more about these great student-centered structures. Their emphasis on collaboration is awesome! In addition to genius… Continue reading My Three Favorite Kagan Products
You know how you always keep a couple of tricks up your sleeve and a few strategies in your back pocket? Well, Quizizz is another one to add to your collection. I checked it out briefly last weekend; I liked how easy it was to sign up and especially how intuitive the interface is. Within… Continue reading Quizizz Review
This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting All Kinds of Learning Adventures! Despite that it is one of the most important life experiences, "failure" has become a "dirty word" for families and teachers. As teachers, we intervene at just about every turn, check off our list of accommodations, document… Continue reading Four Reasons Why Failure is Good for Teenagers
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