Can it already be time for another middle school classroom tour? Welcome to Ms. Henry's 5th grade math classroom! She has basically been my other half when it comes to math talk at school, and I am so glad that we are featuring her room today. Many of her classroom ideas are not only brilliant but also practical! A few things to note: Ms. Henry has been teaching math for 15 ...
Returning from Maternity Leave as a Teacher
Returning from maternity leave as a teacher can feel daunting. Add a classroom and it can feel impossible. When I returned from my maternity leave, I was only the second teaching staff member to have a baby and return in the 4 years I had been at the school, so I felt especially anxious about the transition. I learned so much from both my experience and my mistakes. Since my daughter ...
Teaching Kindness to Middle Schoolers
This last school year, I had my first grade level of students who had been together since kindergarten with no merging of kids from different elementary schools to shake things up. You might think that these students would all be friends since they had many years together, but the exact opposite was true. This group had a very complex history that would not be characterized as kind. ...
4 Ideas for Going Paperless
We spent last week at the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematical Teaching, or C.A.M.T. We met so many fabulous educators, we heard about the wonderful work happening in classrooms all over Texas, and Noelle and Kim led a professional development on Small Group Instruction. All in all, it was an amazing few days! There were two things that continued to surprise me as I ...
4 Components of Digital Citizenship
As educators, it is crucial that we teach our students how about positive digital citizenship. But what does that mean exactly? Just like learning how to be a good citizen, students need to be taught how to be good digital leaders! This summer, I had some great takeaways after attending the Region 10 Digital Conference. I heard from some wonderful speakers, including Jennifer ...
Google Forms in the Classroom
We have all taken those surveys after a professional development workshop asking us to provide feedback. Most likely, you completed that survey in Google Forms™. Google Forms™ does not just have to be surveys. Google Forms™ exists for any form of data collection, which makes it a perfect tool for teachers! Many features allow you to use it for your math classroom. Maneuvering the ...
5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers
We all remember our most effective teachers. Personally, I remember Ms. Eckles; she was the first math teacher that made all my years of math all come together and CLICK. As an 8th grader at the time, I was oblivious to her skill, but now that I have been a teacher, I know that SHE WAS DOING SO MANY THINGS REALLY WELL! Today, I am sharing five things that every effective teacher does or ...
Building Staff Culture
If you are interested in implementing some small things that go along way to increase positive staff culture, then this post is for you! Personally, I believe administrators should take charge of implementing (though I’m not sure if many administrators read this blog) these school-wide activities because I think it has a greater impact on the entire staff culture. However, I do think ...
Combatting Work Avoidance
This year I had a student who was new to our school. She was super sweet, took her notes, and whenever it was time for independent practice, she would raise her hand to ask to use the restroom, go get a tissue, or sharpen her pencil. I would give her permission, and I would watch as she spent WAY TOO LONG completing these tasks. As the year progressed, these behaviors escalated to total ...
Tips for Planning a Field Trip
My very first year teaching, I was put in charge of planning a field trip for students who had earned Honor Roll. I was told to do it as cheaply as possible. When I asked what my budget was, the response was $0. Ok... I’ll do my best. Hopefully, this won’t be your experience! Since then, I have planned or co-planned several field trips ranging from free trips to overnight, out-of-town ...