Hooray For Monday

There’s something about the end of the year - holidays filled with dazzling light, reflections on months gone by and the new beginnings that lie ahead - that stirs our emotions. This stirring can be complicated, but also awe inspiring. Written Version: Resources: Speak Truth: Talking Across Dividing Lines registration https://forms.gle/aPAHP1cC2B5L8yjy7?mc_cid=8cce182e7e&mc_eid=UNIQID Hooray For 2...

When we have the opportunity to step away from a challenge – whether it’s a word puzzle or a lesson that’s not clicking or a student who’s hard to reach - we tend to come back to it refreshed. Time away offers the gift of new eyes that help us see solutions we couldn’t when we were in the thick of things. Written Version: https://inspiredteaching.org/vacation-and-brain-incubation/ Resources: "Why...

What might happen if we asked our students to define the words interesting, important, and useful? What might happen if we asked our students to list things that are interesting, important, and useful in their lives right now? Link to Blog Post: https://inspiredteaching.org/makeup-space-exploration-politics/ Link to Activity: https://inspiredteaching.org/interesting-important-useful/

Imagine engaging students in a lesson that is so compelling, that sparks their curiosity so deeply that they find it stirring! Written Version: https://inspiredteaching.org/stirring-up-curiosity/ Resources: Tap into the Senses: https://inspiredteaching.org/building-sensory-awareness/?mc_cid=672ff055e9&mc_eid=UNIQID Consider Different Perspectives: http://%20https//inspiredteaching.org/zoom-out/ Mo...

In anticipation of Giving Tuesday, we take a moment in this post to reflect on what it means for an organization to have an impact. How does an organization know if it's helping? This reflection is similar to what Inspired Teachers do when thinking about the impact they have on their students. Blog Post: https://inspiredteaching.org/hooray-for-helping/ Donation Page: https://inspiredteaching.org/d...

What if we taught our students with the expectation that they have the capacity to access everything they need to succeed in our classes? Written Version: https://inspiredteaching.org/accessing-our-strength/ Resources: Finding the Zone of Proximal Development: https://inspiredteaching.org/finding-the-zone-of-proximal-development/?mc_cid=dd057faf69&mc_eid=UNIQID Say Yet: https://www.instigatoroftho...

What will you do this week, and in the weeks ahead, to go beyond telling? How will you engage your students? Written Version: https://inspiredteaching.org/telling-vs-teaching/ Resources: 4 Ways to Welcome Students in the Door: https://inspiredteaching.org/4-ways-to-welcome-students-in-the-door/?mc_cid=68f9a1904d&mc_eid=UNIQID Use the Senses: https://inspiredteaching.org/building-sensory-awareness/...

We need stories about how effective teaching and learning work, so the public gets more invested in creating policies and providing funding to keep it working. When we raise our voices, we don’t have to point fingers at everything that is wrong. Instead, we need to elevate stories of what we’re doing right, how we make that happen, and what is required to take good work to scale. Every time we put...

This week, Jenna speaks with Hakim Johnson. Hakim is principal at Inspired Teaching Demonstration Charter School in Washington, DC and shares with us his insights into the power and importance of feedback. Written version: https://inspiredteaching.org/grades-dont-provide-much-feedback/ Resources: 5 Closing Activities for Student Feedback: https://inspiredteaching.org/5-closing-activities-to-give-y...

In this week's episode, Jenna Fournel (Director of Teaching and Learning) speaks with Kulsum Omer. Kulsum is a long-time teacher who shares her insights into the power of observation in the classroom. Resources: https://inspiredteaching.org/observing-instrinsic-joy/ Written version: https://inspiredteaching.org/observing-instrinsic-joy/ 21 Ways to End School Days: https://inspiredteaching.org/insp...

This week, guest host Jenna Fournel speaks with Lacey Hunter. Lacey is a PreK3 teacher at Inspired Teaching Demonstration School in Washington, DC. She shares with Jenna her approach to classroom interactions, which means using open-ended questions and helping students learn how to think, not what to think. Read this issue here: https://inspiredteaching.org/colorful-language-hooray-for-monday/ Res...

Teaching has always been social and emotional. The good news is we don’t have to choose between teaching students’ heads and teaching their hearts. As thoughtful, respectful, engaging teachers, we can teach their whole selves. Resources: 4 Ways to Start Class with Breathing and Mindfulness: https://inspiredteaching.org/4-ways-to-start-class-with-breathing-and-mindfulness/?mc_cid=64775ab0cb&mc_eid=...

Cultivating curiosity is one of the most important things we do as teachers. Read this week's issue here: Resources Graffiti Wall: https://www.instigatorofthought.org/graffitiboard?mc_cid=cb1f7f1652&mc_eid=UNIQID Yes, But vs. Yes, And: https://inspiredteaching.org/yes-but-vs-yes-and/?mc_cid=cb1f7f1652&mc_eid=UNIQID

“Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the person's capacity to act…The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” Resources: Make Way for the Monarchs: https://inspiredteaching.org/make-way-for-the-monarchs/?mc_cid=e33...

When we stop delivering information and start asking more questions, we begin putting children in charge of their own learning. That's vital to their success beyond our classroom, and it opens up space for our students to teach us. Full issue: Resources: The Surprising Power of Questions: https://hbr.org/2018/05/the-surprising-power-of-questions?mc_cid=aa27864b10&mc_eid=UNIQID Track the Questions...

If we commit to incorporating movement into the learning process – for our students and ourselves – we’ll be taking a great step forward in increasing learning and well-being. And we’ll make school a better place to be for all of us. Read the full issue here: Resources: 25 More Math Explorations: https://inspiredteaching.org/25-more-math-explorations/?mc_cid=08440fb1e8&mc_eid=UNIQID Hands and Feet...

We want our students to be right, do things the right way, and get the answer right. But can being right get in the way of learning? For the full text, read the issue here: https://inspiredteaching.org/making-good-mistakes/ Resources: "Where Am I?" Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLqzYDZAqCI&mc_cid=aef1adfa25&mc_eid=UNIQID Building a Paper Tower: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/educato...

Investing in a school community is one of the best ways to let students know they matter, they are seen, and they are starting the school year in a place that wants them to thrive. Read the full issue here: https://inspiredteaching.org/we-learn-better-when-we-are-known/ Resources: Why Teacher-Student Relationships Matter: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/why-teacher-student-relationships-m...

The pressure of making up for learning loss and covering much-needed academic content can push us into consumption mode, where we cram in as much “learning” as we can between Monday and Friday. But what might happen if we allow ourselves and our students to pause and really savor what makes them curious and captures their imagination? In our current educational context, being intentional about sav...

At Inspired Teaching, we believe a thoughtful teacher can use any activity to teach any skill. Your goal shapes the way you teach an activity, and it shapes the skills and content students learn. As you plan the what of community building this fall (and see below for some great activities to try), remember to focus on the how as well. And even if you use some activities you’ve done many times befo...

The start of the school year offers an important moment to create expectations that will last the whole year. But how do you know if you are challenging your students…the right amount? Read the full issue here: https://inspiredteaching.org/the-power-of-might/ Resources: Finding the Zone of Proximal Development: https://inspiredteaching.org/finding-the-zone-of-proximal-development/ Making School Wo...

When you reflect on your own “Why I became a teacher” story, where are the places you find your passion? Read the full issue here: https://inspiredteaching.org/what-inspired-you-to-teach/ Resources: One Word: https://oneword365.com/ Making School Worth It toolkit: https://inspiredteaching.org/resources-for-teachers/making-school-worth-it-22-23/

Just this past week, the January 6 hearings are wrapping up (or, at least, gearing up), Covid cases are back on the rise, and our country continues the painful struggle to come to some kind of agreement on how to protect ourselves from gun violence. What could be more important than teaching our young people how to engage in discourse – on issues large and small – with “grace,” “respect,” and “emp...

This week’s Hooray For Monday – the 100th issue!! – explores the importance of wonder. What does a classroom look like when students are allowed to wonder without the obligation of mastery? What might the world look like? + four ways to have a wonder-full week and more information on upcoming professional development and youth program opportunities! Read the issue with full resources here: https:/...

Fun is an essential human need, but as busy, responsible adults, it's often the one we allow to fall by the wayside. This week's Hooray For Monday explores "Fun" and offers ways to help prioritize it for yourself this summer. This week's issue: Resources: Inspired Teaching July Institute: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/inspired-teaching-institutes-94779 Speak Truth Fellowship: https://docs.google.c...