Why Max Elliot Anderson Writes For Tween Boys

Max Elliot Anderson grew up as a reluctant reader. After his own experience and surveying the market, he sense the need for action-adventures and mysteries for readers 8 – 13, especially boys.

Using his extensive experience in the production of motion pictures, videos, and television commercials, Anderson brings the same visual excitement and heart-pounding action to his stories. Each book has completely different characters, setting, and plot.

Anderson has published eight books so far with many more on the horizon. He shares how his distaste for reading as a boy led him to writing childrens books in this TeachHUB exclusive. Read More

Staying Sane Admidst School Insanity

Lately it seems as if every time I turn around, someone (It doesn’t really matter who the someone is...although it always seems to be someone who has never taught before.) is pointing their finger at, blaming or ridiculing the work of teachers.

Yet we still need to slap a smile on our faces, get up at the crack of dawn and troop into our classrooms to do actual, meaningful work. Despite the pervasive Debbie Downer spirit which seems to be all the rage right now. Here are some tips to stay sane admist the education world's insanity.

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Online Learning Games Students Love

With kids obsessed with video games and every other flashy technology, teachers and parents have a lot of competition when it comes to educational materials.

Rather than fighting a losing battle with video games, it's time to start brining gaming into learning. There are a ton of free interactive gaming sites with serious educational value.

Read more of Online Learning Games Students Love

Reaping Reading Rewards with ReadWriteThink

Some websites offer so much it could take all month to investigate the site, then another month to write about all the wonderful features.

ReadWriteThink is one of those amazing websites, so hopefully my exploration can lead your way!

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5 Ways School Counselors Support You & Your Students

As every teacher knows, standing in front of the classroom can feel like an insane one-man-show (or one-woman-show) in which you're juggling far too many concerns and standards for your students. Don't fear, there is help out there!

School couselors are an often under-utilized division of the staff. They are there to support the academic achievement, career development, and personal and social well-being of students.

By outlining the five main ways that school counselors support teachers and students, I hope to help you make the most of the services and staff available to you and reach students on every level.

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Top 12 Must-See Teacher Movies

After polling teachers, checking box office numbers, critical reviews and teacher forums, we've compiled a list of the Top 12 must see teacher movies.

They appear in no particular order.

1. Dead Poets Society (1989)
Robin Williams gives a shockingly understated, touching portrayal of a teacher who brings inspiration to the lives of his straight-laced prep school students. A little saccharine but mostly sincere, Dead Poets Society is guaranteed to infuse poetry into the most prosaic days.

2. Teachers (1984)
Teachers taps into the realities of teaching with over-the-top satire, including disappearing desks, a brawl over the copy machine and a star substitute who is actually an escaped mental patient. Nick Nolte stars as the slacker hero who brings heart to this spoof.

Read more Top 12 Must-See Teacher Movies

Avatar & Imperialism Writing Prompts

6-12: Historical Influences

What historical groups/nations have been victim to colonialist or imperialist invasions? Name one examples of colonialism/imperialism and describe the major parties involved and how the invasion resolved itself.

Watch video and see other Avatar-inspired writing prompts for K-2 and 3-5

Are Students Being Wounded by Schools?

In Wounded by School, Kristin Olson describes what she learned after interviewing 100 students on the margins. She realized that the conventional classroom fails to serve 70-80% of modern learners who are “incredibly wired, connected and collaborating and used to doing a lot more self-learning.”

Kristin shares her experience and her theories on how to heal these wounds and prevent them in the future.

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Where is Tech Taking Our Students?

As a techie, I couldn't be more excited for the iPad, but as a teacher, I wonder if its an anti-learning technology.

I am excited by the way the iPad can revolutionize the reading of books (and comic books!), surfing the web, watching TV/movies, and even just "living room" computing in general. While it is not a replacement for a full laptop, the iPad is a fantastic tool for the storage and consumption of media... And that's where my concern kicks in. Read More

Does Teacher Tenure Have a Future?

As we look to what the future of teacher tenure may be, it’s important to recognize a few key issues that will shape the discussion and form of tenure in the years to come.

If you pulled aside your average non-educator American citizen and inquired about his support for tenure, I would venture that such support would be fairly low. In other words, I think it is safe to say that regardless of whatever benefits there still may be for teacher tenure, those arguments are losing in the court of public relations.

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Earth Day Prep: Recycling with Students

Recycling: everyone knows they SHOULD do it; not everyone does. What better place to start green habits than in the classroom?

We’ve all heard (and used) the excuses: it's not a practical option in all areas; it takes more energy to recycle some materials than it does to create new ones; the sorting process is too confusing, or takes too long; my students need to be the priority, not their garbage.

Though it may not be a question on standardized tests, recycling, energy conservation and green living are crucial factors in our world. Students need to know about these issues in order to be informed citizens, as well as responsible Earth-dwellers.

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Hello School Accountability, Goodbye Student Responsibility

Gone are the good ole days of teacher ultimatums that could hold their own against student apathy.

“If you are absent 10 days a semester, you can’t pass the class.”
“If you fail this class, you’ll have to go to summer school.”
“If you fail summer school, you won’t graduate.”

It seems now there are endless options to still succeed even after failing to heed the warnings of educator after educator.
Read more

Announcing Ed Tech Contest & Lit Lesson Giveaway

TeachHUB is excited to announce its next round of contests and giveaways just in time to close out the school year.

With great prizes such as an Optoma portable projector with integral DVD player and sound system or an eNotes premium subscription (valued at $500) on the line, how could you not enter?

Our Ed Tech is Busted Contest
From now through Monday, May 17th TeachHUB is looking for the most pathetic, compelling and entertaining Ed Tech stories. (And trust me when I say the sadder, the better!)

Finalists will be chosen and a winner will be determined by TeachHUB visitor voting. Enter now!

Literature Lesson Giveaway

eNotes has donated a premium subscription (valued at $500) with instructional materials on thousands of books including literature study guides, test templates, engaging student "activity packets", and critical essays.

TeachHUB visitors are invited to enter daily until noon Tuesday, June 1st when a winner will be randomly chosen. Enter now!

For complete rules and to submit your entries, please visit: http://www.teachhub.com/teacher-tips/contests/

Dispelling Myths about Math

Remember struggling through math class? Remember learning fractions? For most people, it was not a happy experience. For new teachers facing a room of young faces, teaching math can be just as intimidating.

The first step is to set aside any emotional reactions based on your personal experiences and approach your adult math experience with a fresh perspective and an open mind.

More than any other subject, math seems to inspire the most myths and misconceptions. Hopefully, this article will dispel these ‘myths about math.’

read more Math Myths vs. Reality

Should School Switch to 4-day Weeks?

Who wants EVERY Friday off? I DO, I DO… or do I?

Schools around the country are considering the four-day work week to deal with extreme budget cuts. With a shorter week, these schools can save thousands of dollars a year on busing costs and building utilities.

There has been a mixed reaction to this drastic change to the school schedule. In order to maintain required instructional hours, schools will likely extend the school day and/or have shorter summer breaks. Some educators, educators and even students worry that the 4-day schedule will be too much for students and hurt overall achievement and learning in schools.

read more

and

take the poll

3 Tips to Tackle Classroom Organization

Welcome to the end of the school year! We are officially in the home stretch! (Insert a pat on the back for yourself here.) I know there are still two, perhaps three months still to go, but after spring break, doesn’t it always feel as if the end is near?

As exciting as this is, it also means there are (at least) two HUGE tasks you have staring you in the face. read more

Mississippi Prom Overcomes Racism Video Writing Prompt

Mississippi Prom Overcomes Racism Writing Prompt

9-12: Some students worried about their parents reaction to an integrated prom. Think of a time when obeying your parents' (school's or other authority's) wishes conflicted with what you thought was right. What did you do?

Watch video and see more writing prompts for K-12 students!

Inside Camel Jockey Go Home, Diary of an Iranian-American Teacher

Camel Jockey Go Home shares the story of Payman Jahanbin, an Iranian ex-pat who found himself teaching American English (as in grammar) to American kids in the Salt Lake City School District immediately following the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

With an air of satire and ever-present quick wit, the story follows Payman from his college days through his politically-charged experience in the classroom, both beginning and ending with Payman at school on 9/11. Despite the heavy subject matter, Payman’s memoir is a colorful, truly human story of a caring, talented teacher. Both Payman and his book have enough humor to make his teachers at clown college (he has a Street Theater degree from London).

Payman shares his unique perspective on education in this TeachHUB interview. read more

Digital Note Taking with Adobe Reader

Reading and note-taking on paper is so web 1.0… thanks to the new features on Adobe Reader.

PDFs have always been a valuable tool for sharing documents digitally, but now Adobe Reader makes it easy to adapt, highlight and comment on PDFs on the computer. This saves the hassle of printing, making notes and potentially losing those notes in a sea of other papers.

From a teaching perspectives, this is also valuable because you can you add notes, additional direction or other adaptations to ready-made worksheets and reading materials for your students. You can even post them to the class website or blog for easy access.

Since some of these features are “hidden,” I am going to take you on a tour. read more

Shakespeare Doesn't Blog

Somewhere out there is the mind that will produce the next great American novel. If, however, that would-be author is under the age of 18, the words they write may be more of “SOZ” and “TGGTG” than beautiful, flowing prose.

“We have a whole generation being raised without communication skills,” says Jacquie Ream, former teacher and author of “K.I.S.S. Keep It Short and Simple” (Book Publishers Network). She contends text messaging and the internet are destroying the way our kids read, think, and write.

Read more

Reach Reluctant Readers and ESL Students in 5 Easy Steps

There are few things more challenging than motivating a student who doesn’t want to learn. But as all good teachers know, no such student really exists.

Here are the 5 foolproof tips to motivate even the most reluctant student.

Effective Co-Teaching Strategies

With inclusion on the rise, teachers are sharing classrooms more than ever and becoming an effective co-teaching partner is a teaching essential.

Several collaborative teaching approaches have proven to be successful to guide educators who work together in co-teaching partnerships to differentiate instruction.

The approaches include: read more

Winners Announced: School Spirit Contest & Spa Giveaway

We're very excited to announce the winners of the TeachHUB School Spirit Contest and Spa Giveaway that wrapped up yesterday.

In a real nail biter that came down to the final moments...

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What made you smile today?

We're sharing smiles on the TeachHUB Question of the day page...

"My students accepted a challenge and asked for extra time to work on it! The room was quiet with only the sound of pencils moving across the paper. Almost every student wanted to share their answer!" - Christin Williams

Read more and/or share your smile

Last Weekend to Enter Spa Giveaway

It's the last weekend to enter the TeachHUB Spa Giveaway, so get your entries in now!

Details

It’s that time of year when testing has teachers tense, students are trying your last nerve and the summer countdown hasn’t yet begun. To provide some much-needed stress relief, we are launching the TeachHUB Spa Giveaway.
The winner will be chosen Monday, April 5. You must be an educator or school employee to win. Prize will be mailed to your school address.

Enter now!

Don't forget to vote for the School Spirit Contest while you're at it. Winners for both will be announced Monday!

Tax Man Turned Teacher

Tom Bloch spoke with TeachHUB.com to discuss his transition from CEO of family company H&R Block to inner-city teacher, charter school founder and author of Stand for the Best.

In the last five years, all but two students graduated from the charter school you founded, University Academy. What is the secret of the University Academy’s success?

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Single Sex Education: A Return to Segregation?

There is a lot of talk about single sex schools these days, but we already have more sex segregation than most of us realize:

Watch children at recess in a playground – do you see the boys play on the field as girls congregate by the swings?

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