Escape rooms. Gamified learning. Treasure hunts. Huge project-based learning units. If you are anything like me, you can get overwhelmed by all the possibilities of how to structure a lesson and which method will engage students the most. I’m positive the first time I sat in on a professional development before the school year on all the “new techniques” that… Read More
Real-world Skills and AVID Strategies- How to impress admin with Philosophical Chairs
The first year I was introduced to philosophical chairs, I was amazed. It sounded too good to be true, to be honest. Getting students to talk about something controversial, without tearing each other apart cage fight style? Nah, pipe dream. But it’s true. Philosophical Chairs is a way for students to practice real-world communication skills, impress administrators, and enforce metacognitive… Read More
Essay Revision stations—Set students up with amazing writing habits
I admit I struggle with trying to explain to students why revisions are necessary. I think this is mainly because no one bothered to explain to me why essay revisions are important either. As an adult, I can logic my way around it. The first piece of writing I make is like a skeleton, just there for me to fill… Read More
How to manage a classroom—without failing miserably
I failed at classroom management: The scenario There are kids swinging from the rafters. Spitballs and scrunched up worksheets flying across the room. You are pretty sure there are some kids doing shifty things in the back, but hell if you want to know. Your ears are bleeding from the noise level, and you are damn sure no one can… Read More
Essay revision stations for high school- revising without complaint!
One of my biggest issues as an English teacher is getting my students to revise their essays. It felt like I was wasting time reading each of their essays carefully, giving constructive feedback, and handing them back—only to receive an “revised” essay with maybe a word or two that was new. It felt like pulling teeth. And I get it…. Read More
How to Make Money Blogging Your First Month
This post may contain affiliate links. To learn more, check out my Disclosure and Privacy Policy page. My first month of blogging was August. And I made money. I thought it was going to be a long and complicated process, but I had studied up from other bloggers and looking at their income reports, and learned what I needed to… Read More
How to get beautiful blog photos and not go broke in 2019
A E S T H E T I C S. That is what I think of when I look for beautiful pictures for my blog. But the problem is, I am absolute trash at taking aesthetically pleasing pictures. I can barely take pictures of my cats properly, let alone beautiful blog photos. And who has the time? I am a… Read More
Use Anticipation Guides to Amp Up Engagement
Have you ever been handed a novel by your supervisor and told you have to teach it this year? I know I have, and it was a novel I spark noted as a teen in school myself. This got me thinking, if I, a self-declared book addict, couldn’t stomach the idea of reading a book that sounded boring, how could… Read More
A Very Pinterest Death
Pinterest is where I go to die. Creatively, that is. It seems everywhere I look teachers have pinterest perfect classrooms. The walls are painted, the desks perfectly arranged, and all the decorations in the world seem to be crammed into a small classroom. First thing that runs through my mind is usually—holy crap, how cute. Quickly followed by how the… Read More
Teacher without a classroom: How I Floated my first year teaching
My first year as a teacher I was given that devastating news: I was going to be a floating teacher. For those not aware, floating is where a school hires a teacher but does not have a classroom available for them. So the teacher must float through other teachers’ classroom during their prep time. For me, this meant three uncomfortable… Read More