by Amanda | May 23, 2021 | Podcast, Professional Development Books
128SHAREShare Tweet Pin It What are your plans this summer? Hopefully, you plan to do a whole lot of relaxing and enjoy every minute of your time off!But, I know after a few weeks of soaking in all the free time, teachers start looking for opportunities...
by Amanda | Apr 4, 2021 | Book Review, Podcast, Professional Development Books
Share Tweet Pin It Before we get to this overview and review of 7 Myths About Education, I have a question for you… How big is the stack of books you want to read this summer? If you are like most English teachers, the stack is sky high. This is...
by Amanda | Mar 6, 2021 | Differentiation, Podcast, Reading, Research, Secondary Teachers
154SHAREShare Tweet Pin It What are best teaching practices? Have you ever questioned your beliefs? When you begin questioning your beliefs, it is referred to as a paradigm shift.Stephen Covey, the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People describes...
by Amanda | Feb 20, 2021 | Mindfulness, Podcast
129SHAREShare Tweet Pin It Do you often feel overwhelmed with all you have to do? Maybe you feel scattered and aren’t sure what to focus your energy on. Mindfulness in your personal and professional life can most definitely help alleviate these...
by Amanda | Feb 3, 2021 | Mini Lessons, Podcast
Have you ever felt you weren’t supporting a group of students with writing? Maybe these students had IEPs, maybe they didn’t, maybe they were the students who turned in writing that was all over the place, spelling mistakes, run-on sentences, no paragraphs…you...
by Amanda | Jan 24, 2021 | Book Clubs, Discussion, Distance Learning, Podcast, Reading
113SHAREShare Tweet Pin It There are so many discussion tech tools available to teachers these days! Parlay, Jamboard, Back Channel, Voxer and even Google Slides and Docs can be used to facilitate discussions among students virtually. But, what...
by Amanda | Jan 15, 2021 | Podcast, Routines
Share Tweet Pin It I’m a goal setting master. However, like many other humans out there (maybe you?), I lose motivation quickly and eventually my goals disappear into the ether only to be heard of again when it’s time to make a change and set a new...
by Amanda | Nov 4, 2020 | Equity, Mentor Texts, Podcast, Social Justice
Share Tweet Pin It Our classrooms are microcosms of the society we live in. The sad reality (that many have a hard time admitting) is race matters in our society and it matters in our classrooms. The majority of teachers in America are white and female....
by Amanda | Oct 3, 2020 | Assessment, Podcast
Share Tweet Pin It Amanda Write Now · How To Quit Grading So Much And Make It More Meaningful So, you want to know how to quit grading so much? Or maybe you just want your grading process to be more systematic and meaningful for students. Well, reading...
by Amanda | Aug 2, 2020 | Back to School, Distance Learning, Podcast
Share Tweet Pin It Amanda Write Now · How To Teach Reading And Writing Workshop From A Distance Many teachers are wondering, can I still teach reading and writing workshop from a distance? The quick answer is… absolutely! Whether you want...
by Amanda | Jul 27, 2020 | Back to School, Distance Learning, Podcast
354SHAREShare Tweet Pin It Amanda Write Now · 15 Community Building Distance Learning Activities Middle Schoolers Will LOVE! Students in our class need to feel that their unique voices, opinions, and experiences matter. In this article, you’ll get...
by Amanda | Feb 2, 2020 | Book Clubs, Management, Podcast, Reading
Share Tweet Pin It Managing a book club unit is tough! Some teachers may feel so overwhelmed by all the moving pieces that they avoid book clubs altogether. This is completely understandable. During a book club unit, students are reading different...
by Amanda | Jan 19, 2020 | Beginners, Conferencing, Differentiation, Podcast
Share Tweet Pin It Does this sound like you? You learn a new idea, a new way of teaching, a new strategy and you’re all in. You become so convinced THIS is the way to go about things from now on! But, this energy to change everything all at once...
by Amanda | Jan 15, 2020 | Assessment, Podcast
Share Tweet Pin It I teach 4 sections of English with a total of 128 students. Grading that many papers every few months is a huge endeavor and can overtake a person’s life! In my 13 years as a teacher, I’ve never been able to kick...
by Amanda | Dec 22, 2019 | Assessment, Differentiation, Podcast, Writing Units
Teachers are SUPER busy during the school year and need to be efficient when planning new writing units. It is absolutely necessary to find ways to save time. The thing is you are most likely missing one huge step before you even begin planning your lessons. Listen to...