My school district has gone from planning for hybrid learning four days a week (with students in cohorts) to jumping right into in-person learning five days a week (with an option for families to remain in remote learning). All in the span of six days. Here’s how I’m feeling: And this: Anyone else?! We’re currently… Read More

It’s official: my school district will be opening soon in a hybrid learning model. For my school, that will mean that we teach the cohort of students who are back for in-person learning (the “roomies”) in the morning while teaching those same lessons to the remote students (the “zoomies”) in the afternoon. Hybrid learning is… Read More

February is Black History Month. But I believe that Black history is American history and thus should be taught all year long, just as we teach other topics of history. But, until that happens, I do think it’s good to have a specific time set aside to focus on Black history and the contributions of… Read More

If I had the magic secret to motivating students 100% of the time, I’d be a billionaire. We all know that nothing works ALL the time. But when everyone is tired of the routine, motivating students is even more of a challenge. Need some ideas? Here are ten ideas to try! 1 – Communicate with… Read More

Social-emotional learning, or SEL, is finally getting the recognition it deserves. With all the emphasis now on trauma-informed practices, restorative practices, and student wellness, teachers are getting the “permission” to focus on an area they have always known was important. There are lots of resources for social-emotional learning activities out there, but I’ve made a… Read More

Here we are – the long-awaited end of 2020. A year of unprecedented changes. Instead of beating up on the year just past, I am taking a different approach. One of the many social-emotional activities I did with my fifth graders last spring (and then with a new class of fifth graders this fall) was… Read More