During a reading small group last week, a second grader I worked with sat staring at a tricky word in the middle of a page. I watched as he first tried to skip it, then went back and sounded out the beginning, then...

“Teachers are not just instructors of standards, but developers of skills, intellect, identities, criticality, and joy.” — Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, Cultivating Genius One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as an...

Summer is nearly here, and I know we are all looking forward to moving at a slower pace for a few months. We finally get the space to reflect, recharge, and explore new ideas without the constant demands of our...

It’s that time of year…May! The testing window is open, attention spans are closing, and if you’re like most elementary teachers, you’re doing Olympic-level juggling to keep routines going while pushing for academic...

Since entering education in the early 2010s, I’ve seen countless education technology trends come and go. From smartboards to the more recent one-to-one device rollouts, each initiative has set out to...

I remember as a little girl stepping into the classroom and looking around at all the bright posters, letters of the alphabet, and charts I could not yet read in English. Although my teacher was very friendly and...

One of my favorite ways to embark on the New Year is to set a lofty reading goal for myself. I peruse any and all best book lists and queue up my GoodReads with all the newly published books I can’t wait to get my...

As we head into a new year, we also enter the tricky and confusing land of New Year’s resolutions. If we’ve heard one new year’s resolution, we’ve heard them all. Whether it’s eating more celery, eating less chocolate...

I have always LOVED an improv game, even as a youngster. I remember when my 5th-grade teacher had us participate in a mock Salem witch trial prior to our social studies unit. This role-play activity was engaging, and...