As an administrator, observing classrooms is a crucial part of ensuring effective instruction and supporting teacher development. When you walk into a classroom, you should see clear evidence of both word recognition and language comprehension being taught. Here’s a guide to help you know what to look for and the questions to ask to ensure […]
Back to School
Prepping for Workshop Model: Classroom Design
For me, the weeks leading up to an in-service week are the most exciting and the most overwhelming. I am eager to meet my students and make my classroom come alive, but I also know there’s a lot of “boring” work I should be creating as well. For a Workshop Model classroom, there is quite […]
Back to School Team Building Ideas
Similar & Unique. I have only done this activity with teachers in trainings, but it would definitely work in an upper elementary through secondary class setting. Each student will write three things they enjoy doing on a piece of paper without sharing. The first one should be something that a lot of other people probably […]
7 Strategies for Generating Ideas in a Writers’ Workshop
In the ideal Writers’ Workshop, students will write about topics of their choice that they are passionate about. This sometimes leads to frustration on the part of the students because they have a hard time figuring out what they want to write about and many times we hear comments like “I have nothing to write […]
Setting Up Routines: Writing to Make Strong Relationships with Students and Parents
I have to admit, this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the excitement of getting to know a whole new group of students. I enjoy deliberating on my classroom furniture and thinking about how to design my room. I thrive off of creating new routines that will make my classroom […]
Organizing the Classroom: Eradicate Pencil Woes
Yes, a post about pencils. How is it that something as small as a pencil can cause so much grief for teachers? At times it is the bane of our existence. Students not having pencils when it’s time to write, students having pencils when they should be listening, students sharpening pencils for hours on end, […]