Jump Start! What Teachers Need Now

This past week I attended the summer leadership conference for the Colorado Education Association in the mountains. The first meeting room had floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the rocky mountains, aspen trees, and pines.  What a beautiful backdrop to learning! If only we all had this view outside of our classrooms. We can dream, right? Solutions Based discussions The Story of Self-Us-Now Jum...

My original episode on time management was the most popular download.  I’m all about urgency and efficiency because our time in the classroom is limited and our students need so much.  This episode isn’t so much about things to do (or not do) but about forming an awareness of time wasters and revising our perception of how much time we lose each day.   I found these ideas online from Megan Sumrell...

By July 5th, all the red, white, and blue will be on sale. School supplies will be overflowing in bins. It’s important to have enough for EVERY student! Stock up while they’re priced low! Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

So, it’s official. I’m now a retired teacher, no longer on salary, no longer subject to curriculum demands, no longer a possibility of subbing in the grade level, no more unjamming the copier, no more belly breaths while a child has a meltdown, no more checking out, no more emails, no more meetings. No more district PD.  Just. No. More.   There are no tears, I have no regrets. I am grateful for th...

Several years ago, my team and I leaned against the stacks of desks and started to plan for the next school year.  The crazy part of this was the kids had just left for summer!  But as we stood there, and brainstormed some ideas to make the next year even better, we also reflected on how we had taught the current year.  We weren’t quite able to pack our backpacks and head out the door.  We also ta...

Have you been side by side with students most of the year? Then you've been a success in their lives!  Every bandaid, every smile, and every gentle touch-you are forever a part of their lives.  Celebrate your success! Teaching is hard, and the data only tells one part of the story of this year.   Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teachers...

Today I’ll talk about poverty.  Everyone seems to have an opinion about public education these days. Test scores make headlines, and magazines debate public or charter schools. People write blogs, and reels appear on social media.  Without telling us what poverty IS, they say children living in poverty can’t learn like ‘the rest of us. They don’t succeed academically.  Their parents don’t have any...

Hey everyone, welcome back to Jump Start!  We’re wearing short sleeves.  No more scarves, mittens, and raincoats.  We’re dreaming of summer.  Slow coffee in the mornings, walks with the dog, lazy summer breakfasts instead of a protein bar and a banana.  We're counting down the days with a chain of colorful papers, or we're proceeding with each day as a normal day (while doing a happy dan...

In today’s episode, I’ll share what I learned about learning loss due to covid.  I’ve got to say, I honestly thought we were past this topic!  We do seem to be through the most isolating days of the pandemic, but the effects of the virus will be with us for some time. Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Most of us aren't informed enough to explain language sounds, spellings, and word meanings. It isn’t because we don’t want to be.  Most likely, the college courses in your education program didn’t prepare you. I’ve spoken with two colleagues who have master’s degrees in reading instruction, and they remember, vaguely, being taught the names of parts of language, the morphemes, phonemes, sylla...

College teachers mentioned Title 1 schools, classroom management,  curriculum, poor behavior, and support from the administration...but your true learning happens in your first year as a teacher.  Truly, teaching is something we learn on the job, in the classroom, year after year.  My conversation with a first-year teacher is not an interview, but I paraphrased from the highs and lows of her first...

I first saw Jeff's teaching during a summer Writing Project.  It changed my writing and grammar teaching!  And I want him to change yours.  A video link is included, and be sure to listen to his podcast, The POPcast!  Invitation to Notice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV7Wvuk61Vs Jeff writes: “In the classroom, I experimented to see how I could accelerate students’ learning of editing and...

Learning to write well begins at the sentence level.  Our youngest students can learn to write strong sentences with explicit instruction. An example from kindergarten: The live oak tree needs a lot of water.    We could expand this sentence into a compound sentence: The live oak tree needs a lot of water, but it doesn’t need a lot of sun.  Students learn that writing the word 'but' betw...

Natalie collaborated with Judith Hochman on The Writing Revolution-the most no-nonsense approach to teaching writing. Natalie’s own book is called  The Knowledge Gap.  Last week I talked about how many of our kids don’t have any BK or background knowledge.  Natalie shares how having background knowledge of a topic allows more struggling readers to make sense of the text.  Online phonics diagnostic...

"They've got no BK!" laments my team teacher.  There's been a drought of content teaching and learning while trying to improve math and reading scores.  But what if adding CONTENT would help them become better readers? What do you think? Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

Chatter is everywhere in schools- who is leaving, who is changing positions.  First-year teachers are nervous if they will be rehired for the next year.  Tens of thousands of teaching positions need to be filled for the next school year.  Job fairs are the first step and they are happening now.   Are you ready for what's next? Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary r...

The teacher called to give me the day and time of the meeting for the results of the special education testing.   When I attended the meeting, things went downhill quickly, until the school psychologist stood and asked, "Are we talking SLIC here?" I would learn that SLIC was a 'new' yet less negative sounding term for mental retardation.   Support your student's parents th...

Two important acronyms in education, but frequently misunderstood. With the switch to a preventative model of support in 2004, interventions are focused on the student’s difficulty with a specific skill, instead of waiting on a diagnosis of disability. I suggest reading the blog post at solutiontree.com. The author included an analogy to sports performance-and since it IS Super Bowl weekend, I rec...

The planning, prepping, grading, copying, and choosing how to teach the lesson….  It’s all a part of teaching.  While we can’t remove any of the pieces, we can delegate a few. Without a balance between our professional and personal lives, something will break down. Stress causes illness, both physical and mental.  We can’t let ourselves become so stressed that we can’t find the balance.  You will...

 This book is loaded with bite-sized strategies that will raise the level of engagement and vocabulary in your classes. The title isn’t specific to Multi-Lingual Learners.   What’s good for language learners is good for ALL learners.   Enjoy! Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whamphonics

 Most often, with Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tiered System of Supports ( MTSS), teachers must work through two cycles of interventions for a student, then meet again to discuss if the interventions were effective in moving the student forward. At its best, these protocols can identify the gap in a student’s learning quickly, provide an intervention to move the student forward, and con...

Teachers shoulder a heavy responsibility for the well-being of their students, both academic and emotional.  However, contrary to the truth that teaching is never done, teachers have families and lives of their own that need attending to.  Support for putting in the time off and TAKING IT!  Mark those moments in your life and be there.  Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional element...

Blended learning is a mix of digital content and face-to-face learning.  Most schools now have one-to-one devices for students.  Many districts require students to use digital programs during the school day.  I'll share how to maximize blended learning for student growth. Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elementary resources @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Wha...

VERY important! In this episode, I share Harold and the Purple Crayon and lessons learned from this childhood favorite. Creativity helps us to ask questions, suggest alternative answers to problems, innovate and invent.  Society-and this includes our current students-will have some very real problems to solve that will require thinking outside the box.   Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com...

An easy system to be sure students have pencils whenever they need them.  It's quiet,  it's efficient, and it helps students complete more work without wasting time finding a pencil to use.  Just for you-a four minute video on the history of the pencil.  https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/11/492999969/origin-of-pencil-lead Online phonics diagnostic @whamphonics.com Additional elemen...