School and the City

Choice boards are a staple in my classroom. I've explained why and how to use choice boards and even how to easily create your own choice boards , but what if you're just getting started, and you aren't sure how to begin? Trying something new in your classroom can be daunting, but I'm here to help you answer this question: How do I get started with choice boards? When your students see a choice board for the first time, they will likely be overwhelmed by the unfamiliar layout and amount of print. Combat this by explaining how much you love choice boards - remember that your excitement is contagious! Explain that choice boards allow the students to choose how they learn and how to show what they learn. It's intended for students to choose tasks that interest them in order to deepen their understandings. In order for students to be successful, you'll need to set expectations. The higher your expectations are, the more your students will achieve! At...

I'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I'm loving the classroom right now, but I think I'd eventually like to move towards teaching teachers. Over the summer, I was looking for some books to read to help myself grow into a teacher leader, so I asked my community on Instagram to share suggestions. Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. By purchasing an item from Amazon using these links,  I will receive a small commission on your purchase, although your price stays the same! I use that commission to keep my blog up and running. Thank you! You guys gave some awesome suggestions, and I promised I'd share: 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell Crucial Conversations by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler Dare to Lead by Brené Brown How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader by John Gabriel Lead Like a Pirate by Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf Life is Short, Don't Wait to Dance by Valorie Kondos Field Shaping School Culture by Terrenc...

I used Class Dojo to manage student behavior this year. It was AMAZING. If you've never heard of Class Dojo, you're in for a treat.  If you are a Class Dojo veteran, can I get an AMEN?! ABOUT CLASS DOJO Class Dojo is an online program that I can access from a computer, my iPad, or even my iPhone. Students can earn or lose points all day long, no matter where we are in the building. Students can earn points by setting a good example, staying on task, and following directions. Students may lose points if they demonstrate behavior that is disruptive to the learning environment. Class Dojo also has the ability to create reports, which are great to use for report cards and parent conferences. You can check reports for today, yesterday, this week, last week, this month, last month, all time, OR a custom date range. It's incredible! The best part about Class Dojo is that parents can create their own Class Dojo parent account and log in at a...

Kids. They're so great, but boy can they get LOUD. I like to maintain a fun, exciting, interactive classroom environment, but with exciting activities comes excited voices. As you know, students get louder and louder in order to be heard over each other until they are no longer using inside voices. I have an easy tool for you to have students self-monitor the volume of their voices in the classroom. This awesome management trick was a fabulous idea that I saw on Pinterest way back before my first year teaching! I love to play music in my classroom. Music is a great way to help students manage the volume of their voices, especially when used with the NOISE letters for support. When students get so loud that we can no longer hear the music, I ring my bell, and take down a letter. Students have three opportunities. If they lose the E, then the S, and then the I, the letters will spell NO. That means no more talking for a set amount of time. I usually set a timer on the ...

Tieks . I am SURE you have heard of them, especially if you are a teacher that frequents Instagram and educational blogs. Tieks have a reputation in the online world of educators for being the go-to workday flats. I have issues with shoes. (Okay, maybe it's my Achilles that are the issue.) I especially have trouble with flats. Before I found Tieks, I also hadn't found any flats that I could comfortably wear to run errands, much less comfortable enough to teach in all day. Pairs of unwearable flats were stacking up in my closet as my frustration grew, trying to find a professional shoe to wear during the colder months. After weeks of researching, I finally made the decision to try some Tieks . #treatyoself The first pair that I bought was leopard , because in my opinion, leopard is a neutral. When they arrived just a few days later, I was sooo excited to wear them to school the next day! At the end of the day, my feet felt.... well, just fine. I didn't feel ...

I don't know about you, but I have my students work with partners constantly. Sometimes partners are assigned strategically, based on data for intentional instruction. Sometimes, however, I just need my students to find a partner or at least someone to turn and talk to during think-pair-share. I was tired of my students taking forever to find a partner. I was tired of my kids working with the same people over and over. I was tired of saying "make a better choice" or "you aren't allowed to work together." I have equity sticks and use them often, but the partnerships aren't planned and therefore often aren't great. Here's a management trick to partner your students successfully - the first time,  every  time.  Thus, I introduce to you... The Partner Wheel! I originally heard this idea from Amie Dean, The Behavior Queen . (Side note: SHE'S AMAZING!) It's perfect for partnering your students. Put students that you...

Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Teach Your Heart Out conference onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Navigator of the Seas! Quality time with other teachers, who just GET me... PD at sea... What could be better?! Let me tell you all about it.    We boarded the ship on Friday in Miami. Having arrived early, we were able to spend the afternoon at the pool meeting and hanging out with teachers from all over the country!  On Friday night, TYHO threw a luau-themed welcome party. We had a great time on the dance floor!   Saturday was reserved for the conference.  Sessions were divided up by grade level, but not mandated, so that each teacher could choose relevant sessions! I started the morning with a joint session by Juan Gonzalez and Brittany Root , "Turning Content into an Adventure." They talked about engagement strategies for introducing new topics as well as fun - but rigorous - ways to p...