Articles Classroom Management &amp; Discipline

Ten Ways to Set Up Your New Classroom for Success, Literally!

The physical space of the classroom plays a significant role in both the culture and community of your learning environment. In fact, I consider the space to be a third Read More…
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27

Four Ways to Include Families at the End of the Year

As the year comes to a close, you have likely considered activities and ways to bring the year to a joyful end with students. The end of the school year Read More…
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20

Quick Ways to Recognize and Celebrate Every Student at the End of the Year

The end of the school year is always an exciting time—full of opportunities to celebrate and reflect. The students we met in August and September have grown in innumerable ways—they’ve Read More…
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13

Pause, Ponder, and Reflect: Six Ways to Celebrate School Year Success

The countdown to summer can be bittersweet as fond memories of activities, moments, and achievements from the school year intermingle with the excitement of summer’s many possibilities. As our minds Read More…
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06

Five Ways to End the School Year With Joy!

The end of the school year is approaching, and with it comes a flood of thoughts and emotions, from relief to reflection to anticipation of summer’s promise of rest. One Read More…
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MAR

04

In Celebration of Teachers

Most people can recall at least one instance in which a teacher showed caring and kindness toward them at just the right moment in their lives. For me, it was Read More…
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FEB

25

Teaching Diversity Beyond Black History Month

Growing up, I always looked forward to Black History Month at my public school in New York City. My teachers taught lessons about Black people who made notable contributions to Read More…
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FEB

11

Beyond the Heritage Month: Teaching Black History All Year Long

Black History Month is a critical time to acknowledge the systemic oppression and racism that Black people have experienced in this country while also celebrating their incredible contributions to American Read More…
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31

Seven Tips for the Transition Back to School From Winter Break

For so many teachers and students, returning after winter break can feel like the first day of school all over again. The routines, rules, and procedures that were once so Read More…
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17

Use Responsive Advisory Meeting to Lend a Helping Hand

The holidays are a time everyone looks forward to. Some of us cannot wait to relax and binge watch our favorite TV shows; some are ready to eat delicious holiday Read More…
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10

Handle the Holidays With Morning Meeting

As the holiday season gets into full swing, maintaining a productive and pleasant classroom atmosphere can become a difficult task. During this time of year, students are frequently distracted by Read More…
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03

Inviting All Winter Holidays Into the Classroom

Q: The students in my classroom come from many different traditions and cultures. I know the winter holidays could be a great opportunity for students to learn about each other’s Read More…
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NOV

26

How Social Distancing Helped Me Up My Interactive Learning Structure Game

Six feet of distance. Masks indoors. Individual materials for all. All the new safety requirements felt overwhelming when my middle schoolers sauntered into B-5 after ten weeks of virtual learning. Read More…
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NOV

12

How Have We Reimagined Teaching, Leading, and Communicating in our Schools?

Recently there has been discussion in our education ranks about how students have not had an uninterrupted school year for over eighteen months. The disruption started at the end of Read More…
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NOV

05

Apps That Grew My Responsive Classroom Practices Despite the Hurdles COVID Created

The past two years have undoubtedly shaken up the way I approach teaching. Beginning the 2020–2021 school year virtually produced many daunting questions. How could I build community? How could Read More…
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OCT

29

How Do You Know It Is Happening? Six Clues That May Indicate Cyberbullying

Bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior between school-aged children. It is a way that a child with physical or social power abuses a less powerful child. Cyberbullying, according to the U.S. Read More…
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OCT

29

What Should I Do? Six Strategies to Use When You Notice Cyberbullying

You hear mean and unwelcome teasing as students do math activities on electronic devices. You see exclusion when a group of students are playing an online game. You suspect that Read More…
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OCT

22

Redefining Student Success

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

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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SEP

03

Meaningful Learning Through the Natural Learning Cycle

A new book from CRS Publishing, Make Learning Meaningful: How to Leverage the Brain’s Natural Learning Cycle in K–8 Classrooms, offers a brain-based approach to sustaining student engagement and Read More…
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JUN

11

Decades from Now, What Will Be the Story You Tell?

I recently had the opportunity to reconnect with educators I worked with at the school where I began my teaching career. Many of them came straight from productive days in Read More…
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21

Celebrating a Year of New Learning

This year tested us, our students, and their families as everyone worked to meet new and challenging expectations. Yet our students, when faced with seemingly impossible circumstances, were able to Read More…
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14

Growing from Challenges—Ending the Year on a Positive Note

There is no other way to say it—this school year has been full of unique challenges and demanding questions. Whether you have been teaching remotely, in-person with social distancing, or Read More…
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MAR

31

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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JAN

26

Trust Yourself – You Know a Lot Already

Did the first half of the school year give you a “déjà vu” feeling from your first year of teaching? Everything feels new and unfamiliar. A lot of time is spent Read More…
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JAN

26