Bell ringers are a staple in my high school English classroom. Even my yearbook students must complete a task at the start of the period. Without fail, each day my students have an assignment to do right after the bell rings -- every day! About my 2nd or 3rd year teaching, I implemented a system of top-of-the-period daily work, and I haven't looked back since. Along the way, I learned what didn't work and what did. Here I'm sharing everything you need to about bell ringers for class.What is a Bell Ringer?Also known as warm ups, … [Read more...]
Everything You Need to Know About Essential Questions in Lesson Planning
"If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else," Yogi Berra. We talk a lot about movement, growth, and going places in education, so it only makes sense that the analogy I'll use for explaining essential questions and lesson planning stems from my obsession with old red trucks, right? Nonetheless, the essential question(s) should be IS the "driving force" of your lesson plan. In this post, I'll share everything you need to know about essential questions in lesson planning.What Is an Essential … [Read more...]
Formula for Classroom Success Series Post #5: Planning
I’ve mentioned several times before here on the blog that planning is one of my favorite parts of teaching. I truly do believe, though, that without a plan – good or great – you just aren’t going to have the same success as you would without one at all. Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up some place else.” That kind of lack of direction creates confusion and frustration for teachers and students. Here a couple of things I keep in mind when I plan.1) Backward Planning. Start with the end in mind. In my … [Read more...]
A Teacher’s Guide to Having a Stressful School Year
It’s 2.5 weeks into the beginning of the school year, and I have three to-do lists going (and I can’t remember where one of them is). I’ve already had a migraine, stomach bug of some sort, and I’ve not been getting enough sleep. Sound familiar year after year?What’s the culprit? It’s simple – stress. A teacher’s life will always be stressful to some degree because that’s just the nature of the job -- even more now than ever -- but there are a few things that tend to add more stress than others. If you don't want to repeat … [Read more...]
