How to Learn Anything

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

Visual Feedback: How Three Highlighters Can Improve Student Writing

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

Your Classroom Library: Is It Healthy?

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?

Reframe Test Anxiety into Excitement

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

Donors Choose: How to Get Started

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

My Three Favorite Kagan Products

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

Quizizz Review

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

Breaking the “Reading Rules”

This reflection is in response to the article "Some Rules We Need to Break in Our Reading Classrooms" by Pernille Ripp, reposted by Cult of Pedagogy When I introduced the Million Word Challenge to my students, I told them that all I wanted was their word count- no projects, no summaries, not a traditional reading log,… Continue reading Breaking the “Reading Rules”

Welcome to Utopia!

Don't get me wrong, I love a good dystopian novel. My students love them. I love that I get to teach about dystopias! But before we get to the worlds-gone-wrong, I like to challenge my students on their preconceived notions on what makes a "perfect society." So, we study what a utopia is first. I start out… Continue reading Welcome to Utopia!

Analyzing Claims & Evidence Foldable

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who has pinned and shared this foldable! I've added the information that I used in the "Analyzing Claims & Evidence" foldable to a FREE document on my Teachers Pay Teachers page, Lancy's Language Arts. I appreciate your positive feedback & reviews!   Claims and Arguments Magic Insert Foldable   There's nothing like having… Continue reading Analyzing Claims & Evidence Foldable