The techy teacher is the go-to teach guy or gal in the school. He or she has great little gadgets, waits hours in line to get the latest iPhone, and can be counted on to get the projector up and running in the case of an emergency. Check out this techy teacher gift guide for suggestions from stocking stuffers to full fledged gifts! Techy Teacher Gift Guide 1. AUDIBLE SUBSCRIPTION I ...
Open House in Middle School
The thought of open house immediately triggers memories of the busy first few weeks of school, long days, and an even longer night. Open house in middle school can take on different forms and fashions- whether that be before school begins, a few weeks in, later in the spring, and whether parents follow their students schedules or not. Today, I want to share four tips for a smooth open ...
Organizing Parent Communication
When you have 100+ students, parent communication is tricky! Some parents you might never hear from, some live with grandparents, some have helicopter parents, but the truth of the matter is the more you communicate with parents often the better results you will see in class. Parent communication can span the gamut of newsletters to emails to phone calls and often documentation is ...
6 Instructional Strategies for Middle School
This summer, I have shared various instructional strategies and ideas on the Maneuvering the Middle Facebook Page. Many readers have enjoyed the ideas and mentioned that they would love to implement some next school year. I know I was always looking for new ideas and fresh ways to engage my students and have complied a few below. These clips are provided by The Teaching Channel, are ...
5 Professional Development Books for Math Teachers
I always envision summer as this super relaxing time where I lay by the pool and read books. Reality is not quite as dreamy, as there is still laundry to do and kiddos to corral. However, I do love sharpening my skills and picking up a few professional development books. Based on your responses and the questions I get via email, I am going to focus my professional development reading on ...
Teacher Appreciation
For seven years, I was a teacher with no kids. My only perspective of teacher appreciation was that of a teacher. At one school, the PTA went all out, catered lunches, gift bags, etc. At another, we didn’t have a PTA, and so it was a quiet week where we got to wear jeans. Now as a parent, teacher appreciation has a new meaning. With the explosion of Pinterest and all things cute, ...
Ratios in the Classroom
I always loved teaching ratios. Students often did well with the concept, I was able to incorporate fun activities, and we quickly moved on to proportions. With the changes in the Common Core Standards, students are expected to have a much deeper understanding of ratios. 6.RP.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two ...
5 Teacher Organization Tips for Middle School
Over spring break, I was able to visit my sister, Mrs. Brack, and see her classroom. I love seeing other people’s classrooms and how they are organized. She is not only a fabulous math teacher but crafty and organized. I thought I would share 5 Teacher Organization Tips for Middle School. Some of these totally apply to any middle school classroom, but a few are ...
How to use MailChimp for Teachers
Have you ever gotten an email from a parent who was upset about a grade or a missing assignment? Maybe they said that they weren’t aware of a project. It’s not pleasant, and it is a struggle in middle school where students are asserting their independence and taking ownership of their learning. Today, I am sharing how to use MailChimp for teachers, a service for improving and ...
5 Evernote Tips for Teachers
I love composition notebooks, I used them in my classroom all of the time. My own personal composition notebook traveled to parent conferences, team meetings, professional developments, and home. Everything changed when I started using my phone for reminders and appointments. I found that I always had my phone and somehow that composition book was MIA. A colleague of mine always ...