In my previous post on the Benefits of Using Paired Texts to Teach Reading, I discuss the advantages of this brain-based teaching method. It's no secret that offering ways for students to making connections -- text to text, text to self, and text to world -- is an opportunity to exercise higher order thinking skills. Teaching shouldn't happen in a vacuum, even though sometimes it does as we stress to move units along the conveyor belt, more acceptably known as pacing guides. Often and unfortunately, we teach one skill and move quickly onto … [Read more...]
End-of-Year Reflection: Top Five Classroom Success Stories of 2019
One of the most important things we can do as teachers is reflect, and so that’s why I love this annual blog post. It’s been my new year tradition for the past several years (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), and choosing only five memorable teaching moments is always so hard, but here goes: My top five classroom success stories of 2019! This year in review… Teaching Gatsby for the first time in forever and writing the unit plan for it. A little bit Disney Frozen on the brain here, but it works. In the past, I had taught The Great Gatsby mainly in … [Read more...]
Lord of the Flies Island Challenges for Each Chapter
Each time I teach a novel, I try something different. I love teaching Lord of the Flies, and this past year I decided to give island challenges a try. Let me tell you... best decision I made for teaching this novel! I taught the novel out of class and hosted book clubs each Friday. (See more about my book clubs here.) Fridays, then, were when we did our challenges, discussions, and quizzes. I'm so excited to be sharing these Lord of the Flies island challenges for each chapter with you. I worked really hard to select and … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year
It's getting to be that time of year when things get a little crazy - a little sideways. Students - and teachers - are starting to tune out! So hopefully, these ideas will make these end-of-year days less stressful, and more fun. Plus, these 5 ways to keep students tuned-in at the end-of-the-year are all student-centered and standards-based, so the kiddos stay engaged, and your job is easy. Join me for a fun recap of 5 ways to keep students tuned-in this time of year. Perfect for any secondary education classroom.1) Make It … [Read more...]
Heart to Heart with Secondary School Teachers February 2016 Blog Hop
Thank you for joining us on this Valentine's Day Blog Hop where some great secondary teachers are sharing confessions from the heart about teaching!1) I like when former students come back to visit me or see me in a restaurant and say hey! It’s always funny because they don’t know if they should call me Julie or Mrs. Faulkner. They usually choose Mrs. Faulkner!2) I like having student work to hang on my walls because I hate making bulletin boards. I’m even guilty of having a cute activity planned but run out of time in class to do it, … [Read more...]
Treating “Activity-itis” (Assessing and Adding Value and Quality to Activities)
Class time is precious and limited. With so many standards to cover and stakes being so high, it is imperative that everything we put in front of our students be standards-based, purposeful, and designed to drive and assess student growth. Over the years, I've reflected on some activities that I've done with students and realized that maybe just maybe :) some of them were "fluff" in terms of standards. Don't get me wrong. Some assignments are fun, make personal connections, or meet other goals. However, some are just not designed to do much … [Read more...]
