Ending the school year right is critical to enjoying your summer and getting next year off to a good start. Thinking about my own years of teaching, I know that the idea of “Well begun is half done” really means that beginning the next year starts much earlier than we
Reading Buddies can improve reading fluency, decrease anxiety in reluctant or stressed readers, and add a bit of cuddly fun to reading, making it even more pleasurable than it usually is! A Reading Buddy can be another student, or, as I’m going to talk about here, a stuffed animal or
One of the most effective things a teacher can differentiate is the environment. There are a lot of ways to do that, and one of them is to use magazines. The good news is that it is very easy! If you’ve been put off of the idea of differentiation because
I understand that there is a large contingent of people who think that best practices for testing in schools involves no testing whatsoever. Testing is a reality, however, so I’m sharing some best practices for testing in schools with the disclaimer that I’m not a fan of over testing. Best
Gifted kids often finish first, even on high stakes tests, and that gets on people’s nerves, especially concerned teachers. I’m going to explore some of the reasons why gifted kids test quickly and why that is okay. (This applies to gifted adults as well, actually.) Test taking is complex, isn’t
I’m sharing seven things not to do while studying as a companion to my post on 6 Strategies for Effective Studying. The truth is that some things don’t work, even though they’re popular. Here are some tips for what NOT to do. Just a spoiler: you’re not going to like this
I’ve compiled this list of 6 strategies for effective studying just for you. You know who you are. You don’t like studying. In fact, when people suggest that you study, you’re not completely sure what they mean. Study? Isn’t that the room where Colonel Mustard was with the candlestick in Clue? As
How to prepare for a test is something that can challenge anyone at any time. I’m 49, and I’m still taking tests! In fact, I have to take a big test very soon, and I thought I’d share the strategies and plan I use for how to prepare for a
The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark (the education phenom who also wrote The Essential 55) found its way to me circuitously. YouTube recommended a video of a classroom decorated like Alice in Wonderland to me because I’m a total nerd who spends her freetime watching videos about classroom organization
When Debbie Roby joined the Lewisville ISD as its Supervisor of Gifted Education, she realized that they needed to make a change. The students in the district who were being identified as gifted and talented were not coming from the full range of the population. The children who were culturally and/or
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,
