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. Schools and neighborhoods are...
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 this blog post is the first step...
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 to admit it or not, the current state...
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 inspiration and ideas for distance learning...
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 books, analyzing a wide range of...
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 eventually wears off and you're left with...
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 that nagging feeling that there's always more to...
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...
We all have resistant writers in our classrooms. This is a fact of teaching life. In the video below learn 13 different ways that you can help resistant writers become much more motivated. Not all of these ways will work. You need to try different combinations with...
Quitting programs. I've followed and quit so many programs in my life! Diets, work out routines, parenting guides, teaching curriculum. Programs are everywhere we turn. Dictionary.com defines "program" as: a plan of action to accomplish a specified end. In this blog...