Prepping 5 Minute Fillers & Bell Ringer Activities

Every teacher has those times when you need five minutes to take attendance, talk to a colleague, or answer a call from the office. Try these tips so your students aren't sitting around.

Use Your Room Décor
Try using your room decorations to keep students occupied. One high school teacher covered the wall around her blackboard with quotes from literature and famous people. Any time she needed five minutes, she asked students to choose a quote and write about it.

Some teachers do the same thing with images. Post amazing photographs and ask your students to write about what they see in the picture.

You can find tons of quotes and Video Writing Prompts page to help get you started.

Use the Time for Practice
What basic skills/concepts do you want students to master this year? Prepare activities in advance and you can use these five minute intervals for practice. Younger students can drill their multiplication tables or practice their handwriting.

Read Prepping 5 Minute Fillers & Bell Ringer Activities

Using Student Blogs as Showcase Portfolios

I am a huge advocate of blogs as ongoing, reflective portfolios of student work. After using them with students for the last six years in a variety of formats in three different schools, I believe they are the perfect container for sharing, organizing and reflecting on student learning.

For starters, they are so amazingly easy to use. I’ve used blogs with students as young as third grade and it really only takes one lesson for them to understand the basics. Once they get the hang of posting, organizing their work in categories is a breeze and adding links and media are natural next steps. Plus, the inherent organizational structure (categories and tags), if used properly, makes it extremely easy and quick to find anything. The hardest part is ensuring that students remember to organize their posts.

In addition to the ease of use, the accessibility of connecting with other learners around the world, since work is online and easy to comment on, makes blogs a straightforward tool for building a global classroom. Considering how often our students move (usually every two years) the portability of a blog is another strong point. It couldn’t be easier to export a WordPress blog from one school’s MU to another or to the online wp.com. Finally, there’s the fact that blogs are so popular in the “real world” that they have immediate relevance to today’s media landscape.

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5 Reasons Summer Is Overrated for Teachers

My older brother has a tradition. Since I began my first teaching job over six years ago, my brother has made sure to call me at around 6 o’clock in the morning on the first Monday of summer vacation to complain about how unfair it is that I am able to sleep in while the rest of the world has to work. Usually, I grumble back at him that he is free to quit his job and become a teacher anytime he wants to before hanging up on him.

This year, I found myself lying in bed pondering the pros and cons of summer vacation. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love about a ten-week (or so) break from your job, but the more I thought about, there certainly are also reasons why teachers think summer break is overrated…

Read 5 Reasons Summer Is Overrated for Teachers

Reach Reluctant Readers & 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.

After working with remedial learners in the ESL program at my junior high school, I truly experienced the struggle to motivate those borderline students who seemed to be constantly exposed to failure. I also experienced the success that is possible if you put in the extra effort with those students. It was only after experimenting with different learning techniques and personalizing the curriculum to suit my students that I found the key to reaching these reluctant readers.

Roadblocks for Reluctant Readers
Many of these readers have poor reading strategies; others are discouraged by varying degrees of failure; some are too scared to even look at a text. Many of my students became passive when faced with a reading text. Initially, I tried to simplify their exercises, provided easier language input, gave them a choice in their graded assignments, but to no avail. None of these techniques helped me with motivating them to read even a simple text.

My first roadblock with these reluctant readers was my textbook. Many schoolbooks have far more texts than are needed or texts that may not be suitable in one way or another. Some teachers assign supplemental reading materials to make up shortcomings in the textbook, but those extra assignments can further intimate readers. Because of these shortcomings, I look for ways to motivate my ninth grade students beyond the framework of the text.

It became clear to me that creativity and the choice of text would be the key to success with these students. I have experimented with multiple teaching strategies that have reading and language implications in an attempt to engage students in my ESL classroom.

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

Read Reach Reluctant Readers & ESL Students in 5 Easy Steps

Answering Common Core Standards Questions

While teachers and classrooms are doing everything they can to differentiate and personalize instruction for every student, policy-makers are focusing on creating uniform standards across the map.

Are these seemingly divergent paths moving in the right direction?

As a trend or hot topic in education, common core standards have always been one of those ideas that resurface every few years. This time, they are gaining momentum and taking hold across the nation.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative has created college-readiness, career-readiness, and K-12 standards. This initiative has the potential to impact 91% of the student population in this country.

According to its mission statement:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

As of July 2011, 43 of 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards with all the other states except Alaska and Texas agreeing to adopt them, showing that this movement is now a reality. These states will adapt their teaching and learning standards in English/language arts and mathematics to match the rest of the country.

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12 Ways to Bring the Arts into Your Classroom

Arts programs are being cut in schools across the country - a victim of budgetary restrictions or the need for test-prep time. No big deal, some say. But think again.

Students who regularly participated in the arts for at least one full year were more likely to: be recognized for academic achievement; be elected to class office; participate in a math and science fair; win an award for school attendance.

To integrate the arts in YOUR classroom, try one or all of these Top 12 ways!

Read 12 Ways to Bring the Arts into Your Classroom

World Cup Soccer Video Writing Prompts

3-5: Fan Posters
Pretend you are going to the celebration for the US Women’s Soccer team World Cup run or for Japan's win. Create a poster that shows your excitement for how well they did.

9-12: World Cup Headline Competition
Create a headline announcing the results of the Women’s World Cup. Headlines need to be short, under 10 words, and catchy. You’ll be competing with your classmates to see who can come up with the most attention-grabbing headline.

Watch video and find more World Cup Soccer Video Writing Prompts

Hogwarts Teacher Profiles & Harry Potter Lesson Ideas

The day has arrived.... to celebrate Harry Potter Day, here's a repost of the HP special features on TeachHUB:

Evaluating Hogwarts Teachers

As the final film of the Harry Potter series hits theaters, it is a time to celebrate all the things these world famous books have brought to their readers.

One thing that is rarely noticed about these books and movies is how revealing Rowling's work is to the teaching profession. She followers her characters through their school years and shows the readers what does and does NOT make for great teachers.

As a tribute to memory of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, here are 10 teacher evaluations for our favorite magical faculty (in no particular order).

Harry Potter Printables

Language Arts: HP Reading Comprehension Activity Grade: 3-5 | Subject: Language Arts Magic isn't the only thing the cast of Harry Potter can teach your students, but also how to demonstrate applied knowledge and evaluation strategies.

Language Arts: Harry Potter Character Traits Activity Grade: 9-12 | Subject: Language Arts Dive into divinations with a futuristic forecast of Harry Potter's favorite characters.

Language Arts: Word Endings and Syllables Exercise Grade: K-2 | Subject: Language Arts Your studentents won't need wands to complete these wizarding word endings and syllable exercises.

Language Arts: Harry Potter Figurative Language Activity Grade: 6-8 | Subject: Language Arts Relay your own frightening experiences using all the figurative language in your arsenal.

Language Arts: Harry Potter Short Answer Activity Grade: 3-5 | Subject: Language Arts Your kids will say YES to this activity! Enjoy watching your students apply communication strategies while evaluating text.

Harry Potter Lesson Ideas

My excitement has hit a fever pitch for the long-awaited release of final HP installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II!

To celebrate the final film's released and the wonder that this book/movie series brought to us all, here are some Harry Potter themed lesson ideas.

Is Creativity a 4-letter Word in Your Classroom?

Everybody talks about creativity in the classroom, but very few teachers actually embrace it. In fact, some teachers are downright hostile to it, especially in high school.

This is my argument for infusing creativity in the classroom and some fun ideas to get you started.

Creativity’s Downfall

Because in this test-taking, data-driven environment, creativity is like everybody’s favorite eccentric aunt: we all say we love her just the way she is, but nobody wants to actually be responsible for taking care of her. And she’s really inconvenient, immeasurable, erratic, irascible, and unpredictable.

So many teachers are forced to teach to state tests that, little by little, creative projects and critical thinking have been forced to the back of the educational closet. This isn’t because teachers like it this way; they feel it’s a necessary evil given the idea that student test scores equate with professional success.

Read Is Creativity a 4-letter Word in Your Classroom?

Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Lorna Gomes

Lanikai Elementary Public Charter School
Kailua, Hawaii

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
My favorite teacher was Mrs. Cano, my 9th grade English teacher. She got to know me as a person as well as a student.

What are three things every teacher should own?
1.) An iPhone
2.) A camera
3.) Hand sanitizer.

If you could have any person (living, dead or fictional) as a principal, who would it be?
Howard Gardner, the author of Multiple Intelligences.

Learn more about Lorna and our other Teacher Spotlights

Harry Potter Lesson Ideas

My excitement has hit a fever pitch for the long-awaited release of final HP installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II!

To celebrate the final film's released and the wonder that this book/movie series brought to us all, here are some Harry Potter themed lesson ideas.

3-8 Social Studies Activity: Diversity and Democracy

Break into five groups. Each group will be assigned a character....

Read more Harry Potter Lesson Ideas

Final Shuttle Mission: Space Travel Video Writing Prompts

3-5: Space Destinations
You’ve been chosen as a guest on a future NASA flight into space AND you get to choose your destination. What planet or other space destination would you visit? Why?

9-12: NASA Job Application
As NASA considers its new plans for life after the shuttle program, they need fresh ideas from young people. Imagine that NASA is hiring a summer intern to work with NASA scientists and astronauts as they develop new technologies to explore space.

Write a professional letter explaining why you would be a valuable addition to the NASA team. Include descriptions of your character, your interests, your talents and your accomplishments

Watch the video and find all Space Travel Video Writing Prompts

Christmas in July: 12 Days of Teaching - A Classroom Carol

Listen to our rendition of the classic Christmas carol applied to teachers: "The 12 Day of Teaching."

On the 12th day of teaching my new school gave to me...

Listen Now!

Full Lyrics:

On the 12th day of teaching, my new school gave to me:

12 copiers copying,
11 typers typing,
10 kids a-sneezing
9 students testing
8 hands a-raising
7 readers skimming
6 bells a-ringing
5 SNNOOOOWWW Days
4 SMART boards
3 red pens
2 sick day subs
AND A teacher’s pet in the first ROWWWWW

Listen to the 12 Days of Teaching Classroom Carol

Atlanta Teacher Cheating Scandal: Mrs. Mimi's Response

Mrs. Mimi shares her opinion on the recent investigation of the Atlanta public school teachers and administration who were caught cheating on standardized tests.

She looks for the bigger lesson here and how teachers can rise above it all...

This article was sent to me via email today. In a nutshell, it discusses the investigation of the Atlanta public schools in which it was discovered there was rampant cheating on standardized tests.

They say at least 178 teachers and principals, most of whom have confessed, were involved in the cheating. Here's a quote from the article that captures Georgia's Governor Nathan Deal's reaction:

"A culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation existed in the district, which led to a conspiracy of silence" he said in a prepared statement. “There will be consequences."

Consequences like dismissals and maybe criminal charges. And, if I may be so bold as to make a bit of a prediction here, teacher bashing. I mean, it's open season on us teachers lately, no?

Read Atlanta Teacher Cheating Scandal: Mrs. Mimi's Response

Top 12 Summer Must-Read Books for Educators

Summer’s here at last and you’ve been enjoying all those things you dreamed about during the school year - sleeping in past 6AM, watching a TV show without having to grade papers at the same time, getting to all those chores you put off during the school year. But as the days pass, you might find yourself thinking about next year…and what you might like to do better.

With that in mind, here are 12 excellent resources that are guaranteed to give you plenty of inspiration to try something new next year, tweak a unit to make it better, or add something to your classroom to really inspire kids to learn.

They’re all entertaining, easy-to-read, and full of instantly usable ideas. Enjoy!

Read Top 12 Summer Must-Read Books for Educators

Harry Potter Special: Evaluating Hogwarts Teachers

As the final film of the Harry Potter series hits theaters, it is a time to celebrate all the things these world famous books have brought to their readers.

One thing that is rarely noticed about these books and movies is how revealing Rowling's work is to the teaching profession. She followers her characters through their school years and shows the readers what does and does NOT make for great teachers.

As a tribute to memory of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, here are 10 teacher evaluations for our favorite magical faculty (in no particular order).

Minerva McGonagall

Subject: Transfiguration

Prof. McGonagall is known for her strict, no-nonsense classroom demeanor. Despite her mastery of classroom management, she engenders the deepest respect from her students. Her high expectations and project-based instructional approach allow students to try and make mistakes in their learning.

Prof. McGonagall’s only weakness is her avid love of Quidditch. She recruited Harry as Seeker in his first year instead of punishing him for an unsupervised broom flight.

Teaching Philosophy: "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Sample Lesson:
Students are tasked with turning a mouse into a snuffbox for their end of term Transfiguration practical - extra points for how pretty the snuffbox was, points off if it still has whiskers. Ron’s still had a tail.

Read Harry Potter Special: Evaluating Hogwarts Teachers

Talking Books with Harper Collins Children’s Editor Laura Arnold

Reading is the ultimate pre-req for every subject in education. Where would we be without those kids classics and new faves that ignite students' desire to read and to learn?

To get the behind the binding look at children's lit, we sat down with Harper Collins Children's editor Laura Arnold.

What criterion do you use to determine what books will be published?

We look at a multitude of things when we’re deciding what to publish: quality of writing, of course; the strength of the story, of the characters, of the voice; the marketability—is there a hook that will help us to get this book into the public eye? Each book is a risk and we ask ourselves if it is compelling enough in some way to make it worth that risk.

What age level is the most difficult to predict a book’s success?
Children’s book publishing, like all publishing for that matter, is cyclical—for example, a few years ago the picture book market was really struggling and now it’s flourishing. I would venture that, at the current moment, it’s hard to launch a chapter book, because there are already so many successful series out there—such as our own very popular My Weird School series in addition to Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House—that take up most of the bookstore shelf space. But that’s not to say that with the right combination of characters, writing style, and plot, we wouldn’t take a chance on it.

Read Talking Books with Harper Collins Children’s Editor Laura Arnold

Sportsmanship Video Writing Prompts

3-5: Are You a Good Sport?

Think of a time that you lost at a sport or contest. Describe that experience and how you reacted. Did you demonstrate good sportsmanship?

6-8: Put Yourself in Their Cleats

Imagine that you are on the opposing team in a similar situation during an important playoff game. If that home run is the difference between winning and going to the state championship or ending your season, what would you do?

Read Sportsmanship Video Writing Prompts

The True Cost of Replacing Teachers with Computers

If administrators start replacing teachers with computers to save money, I can't help but wonder what the true cost of this "educational evolution" might be.

As I listened to my favorite radio station this morning, the hosts made reference to a CNN article called Will teachers be replaced by computer?” The article debates the merits of interactive learning on the computer and how it can sometimes be more effective than classroom instruction with a teacher. While the hosts made jokes, I took this question seriously.

According to the CNN article:

“As long as schools measure performance simply by rote memorization on multiple-choice tests, no teacher can compete with instant access to the world’s information. Unless schools change, more and more teachers will find themselves replaced by computers.”

While I understand this side of the debate, I can't help but think they're missing the point. We should not measure performance based on rote memorization. As a country, we are always pushing critical thinking. In the classroom, we are all given copies of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and told to encourage higher level thinking.

In reality though, we know what we are asked to do: get our students to pass a test at the end of the school year. The author of this article is correct, a computer can do this. But it raises a number of questions for me.

Read The True Cost of Replacing Teachers with Computers

3 Proven Ways to Land a Teaching Job

Finding a job teaching in this economy is harder than ever, and nothing is worse than spending four years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars preparing for a career that doesn't seem to need you. Though the climate is difficult, don't despair.

Success comes to those who are dedicated and persistent, not those who show passing interest and quit easily. If you really want to find a teaching job, you're going to have to try put full effort into the job search process and try as hard as you can.

Here are three proven ways to improve your chances of landing a teaching position.

Read 3 Proven Ways to Land a Teaching Job

Assessment: 6 Steps to More Efficient, Effective Grading

Ever feel buried under the stack of assignments, tests, and quizzes just waiting for you to grade? Balancing lesson planning and grading can be a challenge for many teachers.

Here is a six-step guide to help you monitor your students’ progress while managing the amount of paperwork.

Read Assessment: 6 Steps to More Efficient, Effective Grading

4th of July Jokes, Fun Facts & Games

To kick off this holiday weekend, we want to spread a little patriotic pride with awesome 4th of July jokes, fun facts and games for all ages.

4th Of July Jokes

What did one flag say to the other flag?

Nothing, it just waved!

What’s the difference between a duck and George Washington?

One has a bill on his face, and the other has his face on a bill.

What would you get if you crossed a patriot with a small curly-haired dog?

Yankee Poodle

Read 4th of July Jokes, Fun Facts & Games