Hooray For Monday

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...

A new study highlights how when adults listen to students it impacts their academic success. This summer, what can you learn from reflecting on what you heard your students say this year? This podcast explores how Inspired Teaching's Observe, Plan, Instigate Teacher Cycle uses such reflection to shape instruction.

Being a reflective practitioner means being intentional about your choices as a teacher. As summer break begins, and you strive to slow down your own heartbeat, see if you can find some time to think about the whys, whats, and hows of your practice. Read the issue: https://inspiredteaching.org/being-intentional/ Resources: An Inspired Teacher Is... https://inspiredteaching.org/academy/ Ask so what...

As you support your students in cleaning out their desks and lockers, as you make sure they return their textbooks and overdue library books, I encourage you to carve out a few minutes to ask, “What are you taking with you?” Read the issue: https://inspiredteaching.org/what-are-you-taking-with-you/ Resources: Say Yet: https://www.instigatorofthought.org/sayyet?mc_cid=e7498c28a0&mc_eid=UNIQID What...

As we look toward summertime, with the opportunities it offers to reflect on our practice, how might we see our students differently - as dancers, mathematicians, historians - and most importantly, as essential parts of our learning community? This Week's Issue:https://inspiredteaching.org/essential-community-members Resources Dance Clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTsy16DQvik&mc_cid=86429b6...

The work we do as teachers is HARD, and summer is when parents get a little taste of the difficulty. Inspired Teaching has just created a compact but useful Resilient Summer Handbook that incorporates our approah into a series of short articles and learning activities parents can use with children of any age. The latest issue: https://inspiredteaching.org/teaching-parents-our-secrets-hooray-for-mo...

Walking at our students’ pace means willing ourselves toward forward momentum. It’s the antidote to helplessness. It’s the hope at the heart of our profession. Read the latest issue: https://inspiredteaching.org/walk-at-their-pace/?mc_cid=4906077f7a&mc_eid=UNIQID Resources: What Would Make You Look Forward to School: https://inspiredteaching.org/what-would-make-you-look-forward-to-coming-to-school...

Could our efforts to help our kids be getting in the way of their learning? This week's Hooray For Monday features insights and resources for helping our children become more resilient. Read it: https://inspiredteaching.org/resilient-children/ Resources: Nobody Learns Quite Like You: https://inspiredteaching.org/nobody-learns-quite-like-you/?mc_cid=ddc2476743&mc_eid=UNIQID Professional Development...

Imagine a classroom in which students greet their teacher at the door, enter the room, grab a mat, and take a seat in a circle on the floor, then engage in a warm-up that involves clapping or jumping or stretching – every day, in every class period. Aleta speaks with Chiara Monitcelli, an Italian language teacher, about her approach to teaching -- sans desks and chairs. Read the latest issue: Reso...

It is our job to teach students how to make choices thoughtfully, weighing the facts and the evidence, and thinking ahead to possible outcomes. Hooray For Monday: https://inspiredteaching.org/a-is-for-autonomy/ ABCDE of Learner Needs: https://sites.google.com/inspiredteaching.org/abcde/autonomy?authuser=0 Poster Analysis: https://www.instigatorofthought.org/posteranalysis Inspired Teaching Institu...

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, this episode is all about gratitude. Aleta shares thoughts on how we can all show express our appreciation for the teachers in our lives and, as always, offers a couple of activities to try. Subscribe to Hooray For Monday for full details! https://inspiredteaching.org/academy/hooray-for-monday/