I barely sleep anymore. It’s a combination, I’m sure, of the lack of excitement in my days and the very vivid imagination that has me convinced that this is a zombie apocalypse instead of a pandemic. Somewhere around dinner time every day, I look up from my laptop and notice that the day has progressedContinue reading “Stress Relief for Teachers”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
8 Steps for Dealing with difficult parents during Remote Schooling
Some parents are more challenging than others. We all have war stories. I’ve had parents defend their children’s lies, accuse me of losing papers that their child hadn’t handed in, and tell me they didn’t think the detention I assigned was appropriate. They didn’t think I liked their child. They send emails demanding an explanationContinue reading “8 Steps for Dealing with difficult parents during Remote Schooling”
3 easy steps to create an animated banner on Google Classroom
The banner on your Google Classroom can be eye-catching and interesting. It also can be animated. Here’s how. Step 1. Create your banner on Canva using videos or animated stickers. Canva has a free level which limits the clipart and photos you can use but is user friendly and very versatile. I set my bannerContinue reading “3 easy steps to create an animated banner on Google Classroom”
Creating an animated banner on TpT
The banner on your TpT store can be eyecatching and interesting. It also can be animated. Here’s how. Step 1. Create your banner on Canva using animated stickers. Canva has a free level which limits the clipart and photos you can use but is user friendly and very versatile. I set my banner size toContinue reading “Creating an animated banner on TpT”
Checking Out
The Governor just announced that school won’t be reopening until September, and that things would be “different” when we went back in September. All across the state, the collective sound of thousand of kids closing their laptops for good could be heard. There are 7 weeks of school left. I have content to cover, activitiesContinue reading “Checking Out”
Distance Learning with Hyperdocs
Delivering instruction is challenging in distance learning situations. Challenging, but not impossible. For the past 6 weeks, we’ve tried countless web based programs – Kahoot, Quizlet, Newsela, Flocabulary, Quia, Quizziz, Edpuzzle – I can’t even name them all. But Google still rules. Using a hyperdoc, I can direct my students to nuggets of information –Continue reading “Distance Learning with Hyperdocs”
Alternative Energy -Free Resource
I just finished the climate change unit in my middle school science classroom. I had students engage with news articles and data sets from NASA and NWS to make informed decisions about the validity of climate change claims. Then we followed up with a slide show and cloze notes to summarize everything. I’m about toContinue reading “Alternative Energy -Free Resource”
Silver Linings
No, of course Quaran-Teaching is not what I want. I miss my kids. I miss my coworkers. I worry constantly about the health of everyone and the safety of many. Most of my identity is “teacher,” so I miss knowing who I am. But let’s be honest. It ain’t all bad. Teacher Bladder? Waiting forContinue reading “Silver Linings”
What’s a Teacher Worth?
For the decades of my teaching career, I’ve passed through myriad teacher evaluation instruments. There were the years of the checklists, years of narratives, and now we’ve had years of SGOs and SGPs. There are arguments to be made for all of these, yet I don’t think any of them actually measures the value ofContinue reading “What’s a Teacher Worth?”
Happy Quarant-Easter!
Our children are grown, living in their own apartments about a half hour from us. I miss them so much. All the time. But especially now, in quarantine, when all I get is phone calls and the occassional Zoom. No hugs, as they are both in essential occupations. Today we packed Easter baskets and EasterContinue reading “Happy Quarant-Easter!”