Excellent Teaching

Why Gifted Kids Test Quickly and Why That is Okay

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

Read More »

7 Things Not to do While Studying

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

Read More »

6 Strategies for Effective Studying

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

Read More »

The Benefits of Wordsearches

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

Read More »

The Truth About Teachers

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,

Read More »

Fantastic New Science Resource {giveaway}

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

Read More »

What’s Your Sentence?

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 and speak about in my trainings on internal motivation. I started incorporating “What’s

Read More »

Brainstorming with Microsoft SmartArt: A Tutorial

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

Read More »

Differentiating for Rigor in the ELA Classroom

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

Read More »

How to help children love great art

Helping children appreciate and enjoy art doesn’t need to be daunting. Gifted children are often tuned in to the aesthetic nature of things and can easily become aficionados with very little encouragement. Both the Waldorf and Montessori methods are based in part on the idea that even very young children can

Read More »

My 5 Favorite Office Supplies

I became a teacher because I like office supplies. I love kids, and I love learning, but let’s face it: I’m also in it for the colored pens. I think it began with these guys. If I ever meet Mr. Sketch in person, I’m going to plant a big smooch

Read More »

Creating Printables in PowerPoint

How you ever wondered how teachers create those cute printables? It’s easier than you could possibly imagine. And free. Which is always good. This tutorial will teach you how to create printables in PowerPoint. You can use them in your home, classroom, blog, or even sell your awesome product! This

Read More »