Traditions feel good. It is why we sing songs that we know well, why we go to the same store each week, and why we drive to work the same Read More »
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SEP
24
2021
Empowering Educators to Get to Know Their Students: A Conversation with Authors Andy Moral and Heather Young
Early in the school year, all educators are faced with the same important task: getting to know their new students. To learn some effective strategies for making connections with Read More…
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MAY
07
2021
Looking Ahead: The Dilemma of Learning Loss
Social distancing. Hybrid classrooms. Remote learning. These are among the many phrases that, in the past year, have become central to every educator’s vocabulary. But of the many terms Read More…
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MAR
31
2021
Sustaining Safety, Joy, and Challenge for Students with Diverse Learning Needs
All of us, students and teachers alike, approach the end of the school year with a wide variety of feelings. Just as teachers might be feeling burned out right Read More…
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SEP
17
2020
Creating Space for Students to Discuss Social Issues
Along with new structures and strategies teachers are employing in response to the multitude of changes to their teaching environments, the beginning of this school year is defined by the Read More…
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JAN
06
2020
It’s a New Year – Time to Look at Students Through a New Lens
A new calendar year provides the ideal occasion to reflect on who our students are now compared to who they were at the beginning of the year. Depending on how Read More…
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JAN
09
2018
Know Your Students: Developmentally Responsive Planning
Knowing the students in your class happens in different ways for different teachers. A middle school teacher who sees 150 adolescents for one subject, 45 minutes a day will likely Read More…
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SEP
20
2017
Teachers, Specializing in… Everything!
You’re a master of flexibility, an expert gear-switcher, and you know and teach every student at your school. You’re a Special Area Teacher. And you’re amazing! Being a Special Area Read More…
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SEP
09
2015
Adapting Morning Meeting: Speech and Anxiety Needs
Morning Meeting is a powerful way to start the day. It meets students’ needs for belonging, significance, and fun; provides students with an opportunity to practice social and emotional skills; Read More…
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APR
29
2015
A Time of Change
Suddenly in the last few weeks, I can’t keep enough band aids stocked in my classroom. It seems like every time I look over, I see one of my students putting a…
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APR
17
2015
The Fervent Fourteens
Fourteen-year-olds seem to have mostly gotten used to the idea of being teenagers. Their moods are not as mercurial as at thirteen. They are somewhat more comfortable in their own skin and…
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APR
17
2015
The Thriving Thirteens
The thirteen-year-old has lots of positive attributes to help navigate the first of these teen years. At the forefront are a keen sense of humor and a sense of silliness that makes…
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JAN
07
2014
Magnetic Friendships
As a kid, I was fascinated by magnets: the force they exert, the way they could push and pull through tables, windows, and papers . . . sometimes without even touching! Now…
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APR
16
2013
“We All Get Angry Sometimes”
Just as we teachers help children recognize letters and patterns, manage their belongings, and control their movements, we must also help them identify and manage their emotions. Such self-regulation preserves social relationships…
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FEB
14
2013
Why Do Children Act Silly or Show Off?
Sometimes, we forget that the children we teach are just that—children. Humor, silliness, playfulness, and showing off are hallmarks of childhood, and we should expect to experience some at every grade.
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OCT
24
2011
The Twixt Twelve-Year-Old
Closer to teenagers than to middle childhood, twelves are tweens. They have enormous positive energy for independent and group endeavors, whether at school, in sports, or in after-school activities.
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JUL
20
2011
The Electric Eleven-Year-Old
Powerful advocates and strong believers, elevens are passionate about their ideas and opinions, allegiances and sense of justice. They’re devoted to classmates and peer groups, and the social negotiations surrounding cliques (which…
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APR
01
2011
The Terrific Tens
Double-digit kids, tens can take on almost anything and love almost every minute of it. It didn’t take me long as a teacher to latch onto the understanding that if you want…
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FEB
01
2011
The Notable Nine-Year-Old
Nine is not always an easy age, but it is an age of growing social awareness, of intellectual stretching, wondering, and clamoring. These are the “ing” kids: the kids who are doing,…
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JAN
05
2011
What’s Changed?
One of my favorite times of the school year is right after the winter holiday break. That first week back reminds me of the first days of school—many students come Read More…
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NOV
01
2010
The Energized Eight-Year-Old
When eight-year-olds wake up in the morning, new plans for adventure are often percolating before their feet hit the floor. These plans usually involve a friend, or better yet, a group of…
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AUG
01
2010
The Seeing Seven-Year-Old
Sevens notice everything . . . in detail. Their drawing, writing, and play construction is characteristically small, reduced to the microcosm, miniaturized to an intricate and controllable world they're trying to make…
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APR
01
2010
The Sensational Six-Year-Old
No one is more industrious than a six-year-old. Sixes take on every activity with unbridled enthusiasm. Work is completed in no time at all, though quantity, not quality, is the measure that…
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FEB
19
2010
Do Your Students Seem Older?
Have you noticed an age shift in your class now that it's the middle of the year? It always seemed to me that when we'd come back from February vacation, my students…
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FEB
01
2010
The Feisty 5½ Year Old
There's a discernable turning point in children's fifth year where the focused, centered, rule-following kindergartener becomes the full-fledged explorer. The growth spurt that's beginning will last through the sixth year. "Stretching" is…
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FEB
01
2010
Erica’s Surprising Insight
In almost forty years of problem-solving with children, I learned how important it can be to stay open to surprises. Although I'd always try to figure out what was causing a problem…
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JAN
17
2010
The Phenomenal Fives
Oh, what fun to be five! Busy and loving every moment of it, each day is a brand-new adventure, and if the structure of life around them is strong, they’re good to…
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