Before I talk about the benefits of wordsearches, let’s acknowledge the haters. Wordsearches get a bad rap. There’s a lot to hate about wordsearches. They look a lot like busywork. They look really low level. They look like everything wrong with a worksheet culture. They look ridiculous next to advanced
Moving is stressful for everyone, even when it’s positive change. For kids, it can be even more stressful because it’s rarely their idea, and they often feel powerless. I’ve got 12 tips to prepare kids to move that can help minimize that stress. You may not need all of them,
I’m sharing seven tips for New Year’s resolution success! It’s that time of year when our thoughts turn to New Year’s resolutions. About 45% of us set them, but only about 7% of those who set resolutions actually accomplish them. Goal setting is a strategic executive functioning skill that benefits
I’m going to tell you the truth about teachers. But first, let me go backwards a little bit. A few weeks ago, someone posted a comment to a post on my blog. I didn’t let it go through because I would have had to go all cray-zay on the person,
The Backstory When I was at the TAGT conference in San Antonio, a fantastic new science resource caught my attention. I don’t promote products very often (read: as in never), but I absolutely fell in love with this, so I’m sharing it. When I was looking at it at the
There’s nothing like a wonderful Christmas story to get you in the holiday season, and I’ve recorded a few of my favorites for free download. I’ve annotated the list to share why I think it’s a great shareable story. You can click on each title or image to hear or
I hope you’ve seen Little Free Libraries. In fact, I hope you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood or even in your yard. If you’re not familiar with them, Little Free Libraries were started by awesome Wisconsite Todd Bol, who wanted to honor his mom, a bibliophilic former
I went to jail last night. I went there to read. Because, you know, reading. If you know me, I’m probably on your list of Top 50 People Least Likely to Go to Jail, so I’ll share the backstory. How it All Began. When my parents retired, they returned from
What’s your sentence? What is one sentence that would convey what you are all about? I loved this idea when I saw it in this video: It’s part of Dan Pink‘s work on motivation, which I love. I started incorporating “What’s your sentence?” into a professional development experience I facilitate.
I recently joined Teachers Pay Teachers as a seller, and I thought I’d share why I joined Teachers Pay Teachers & what I think so far. It started with a friend’s suggestion Like so many things in my life, it began with the suggestion of a friend of mine. Laurie Westphal
Brainstorming with Microsoft’s SmartArt is an easy and free way to make brainstorming in class a breeze. Brainstorming is one of the most common classroom techniques, and Microsoft’s SmartArt can make it easier than you ever imagined. There’s no need to invest in graphic organizers when Microsoft’s SmartArt is there
Differentiating a challenging course can confuse even experienced educators. How do we add rigor to something already rigorous? It can feel like gilding the lily. Yet, even in advanced courses, the students are different. They have different levels of ability, interest and preparation. Where there is need in students, there
