Twitter Quick Guide for Schools & Districts

The new school year is upon us. You may be thinking, what can you do differently this year? How can you stand out above the crowd? How can your school become a larger part of the school community?

While Twitter is beginning to catch on with many educators, schools are lagging in their adoption of the platform. Twitter is a quick and easy tool to let the entire school community know what's going on with you and your students. Updates can come from anywhere and users don't have to have a Twitter account to follow along.

But where do you start? What are some things to consider?

Here is a quick guide for schools and districts that want to start using Twitter.

Read Twitter Quick Guide for Schools & Districts

9/11 Teaching Resources: 10 Year Anniversary

With the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approaching, now is the time for you and your students to commemorate that infamous day in American history.

We've collected some thought-provoking activities, writing prompts, teacher-recommended resources and lesson plan sites to help you out.

TeachHUB 9-11 Teaching Resources

Video Writing Prompts: Remembering September 11

Science Lesson: Osama bin Laden DNA Activity

Language Arts Lesson: Seal Team 6 Bulletproof Dog Reading Activity

Article: Educator’s Guide to Teaching Controversial Topics

Online 9/11 Lessons & Teaching Resources

PBS America Responds

Valuable resources and lessons regarding tolerance, peace, Afghanistan, terrorism and Amerca at war.

Find all 9/11 Teaching Resources: 10 Year Anniversary

Animal Instinct Video Writing Prompts

K-2: Zoo Animals
What is your favorite animal to visit at the zoo? Draw a picture of that animal. Beneath your drawing, write down what kind of animal it is AND its name.

3-5: Observing Animals
What animals have you been able to observe up close? Take a few minutes to think about how those animals behave.

Identify the animal you’ve observed and at least three things that animal does that set it apart from other animals. How do these behaviors help the animal survive?

Animal Instinct Video Writing Prompts

The Empowerment Approach to Behavior Management

Punishment as a behavior management technique has been around for as long as schools have existed.

Even though teachers know that punishment will not transform troublemakers into well-behaved students, threats of punishment, fear of punishment and punishment itself are still common methods of making children of all ages behave.

Why not take this new year as a chance to empower your students rather than punish them?

Read The Empowerment Approach to Behavior Management

Rethinking Homework

Whether we’d like to admit it or not – the new school year is upon us. For myself, I like to look at the new year as a way to fix what didn’t work and implement new strategies that will make this year even better.

One area that I’ve been taking a stronger interest in and feel needs revamping is homework.

I follow the work of Alfie Kohn which argues that homework is no good (The Homework Myth). Now, yes, some homework needs to be given, but I think integrating certain strategies will make the whole homework situation easier on you and your students.

Here are a few ideas that will help your students understand why they are doing the work, why it matters to them, and how they can gain ownership over their assignments.

Read Rethinking Homework

The Empty Desk: A Story of Classroom Community

As educators, we are often faced with situations that a college education cannot prepare us for.

This story is about an experience that taught me a lesson I could not learn in school and showed me the importance of establishing a community in my classroom. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Sean was a crack-up kid in my American Literature class. The class clown, Sean always had the last say, and thrived on being the center of attention.

While lecturing the class on Romanticism, Mr. Sean was having the time of his life, 3rd row, 2nd desk to my left. When I cut my “momma eye” at him, his smiling eyes met mine. Defusing my emerging anger, he looked at me and said...

Read The Empty Desk: A Story of Classroom Community

Back to School Giveaways

As the editor for a free resource website for K-12 educators, I'd like to invite you to enter TeachHUB's back-to school giveaway.

Enter the Classroom Projector Giveaway

Enter to win one of three classroom projectors!

This fall, we're having 3-times the fun with our latest giveaway.

TeachHUB will give away a classroom projector every month in September, October and November.

Get full details and enter now!

Think you're a super stylish educator? Prove it by entering our Best Dressed Teacher Contest!

Enter the Best Dressed Teacher Contest

You know you're a super stylish educator. Now it's time to prove it!

Submit your best back-to-school outfit that is:
~ Super stylish
~ Work appropriate
~ Makes you feel awesome walking through the halls

Prize: $100 giftcard to the teacher-appropriate store of his or her choosing AND a "spread" of her (or his) best teacher outfit.

To Enter: Email your fashionista photo and fashion motto in 10 words or less.

Deadline: All fashion photos and mottos must be emailed by Monday, November 7th. TeachHUB's style squad will choose five finalists, then TeachHUB visitors will vote on a winner. The winner will be announced Monday, Nov. 21.

Enter the Best Dressed Teacher Contest

Good luck!

While you're on TeachHUB.com, be sure to check out the other valuable resources including free printable lessons, video writing prompts, daily education-related articles and more.

18 Inclusion Strategies for Student Success

If you are a teacher of students within an inclusion classroom, then you are probably a creative, caring, patient, innovative, resourceful, structured, and flexible person. Whew!

The Many Facets of Inclusion Teaching

The many hats that you wear on any given day depend upon the students, subjects, and topics you teach. Schools and families collaborate to assist students of all ability levels to achieve many skills, while co-teachers and all staff collaborate together to teach and reach each student. Planning for successful inclusion includes allocating the time, resources, strategies, interventions, appropriate student supports, and of course, can do attitudes!

At times, inclusion teachers work with the whole class, small groups, and individual students. Baseline levels inform teachers which students need direct skill instruction, practice, remediation and/or enrichment. Inclusion at its finest involves general and special education teachers and related staff forming collaborative respectful partnerships that honor all students’ levels. Overall, the most important thing to remember is to always have high expectations for your students and to highlight their strengths.

Here are 18 practical strategies to turn your inclusion experiences into award winning classroom performances.

Read 18 Inclusion Strategies for Student Success

Tips for Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment

With Open House, Meet the Teacher Night, and Curriculum Night upon many, it is time to survey whether or not your classroom is welcoming.

That first impression really sets the tone for the rest of the year and can affect http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifthings such as student behavior and open parent communication. Make sure your classroom is ready to start off the year with a bang!

Here are some tips on how to use the five senses to guide your classroom environment making it inviting for your new students and their families.

Read Tips for Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment

Top 12 New School Year Resolutions for Teachers

It's time for that yearly tradition of reflection and resolutions for the upcoming school year.

Get inspired with our list of the Top 12 New School Year Resolution for Teachers.

1. Stay Positive
Coming off a much-needed break, it’s time to figure out how to make your classroom a happy place for you and your students in the long stretch to summer. Try these 5 Powerfully Positive Teaching Practices to get started.

2. Spice Up Your Classroom Routine
Try one new technology or instructional technique each month to keep things new and challenging for you and your students. Making a list and assigning one new thing to each month will help you actually stick to this resolution.

3. Build Fitness into Your Curriculum
It wouldn’t be a resolution list without some mention of better health. Make it a classroom affair with healthy eating lessons, integrating movement into your day-to-day activities and just encouraging you and your students to take care of your bodies.

Read Top 12 New School Year Resolutions for Teachers

Start the New School Year Using Social Media

The 2011-2012 school year is just around the corner. My school year will be very different. It will be tough adjusting to life back in the classroom after being out of it for two years.

There are several things that will take getting re-used to: duty schedule, lesson plans, grading papers, discipline, etc. But they are all expectations of being a teacher.

Over the past two years, I have learned a lot about integrating technology in the classroom, but I have also learned about my personal teaching philosophy and what it means to be a teacher. I recognized so many flaws in my teaching strategies when provided the opportunity to be on the outside looking in.

I noticed damaging characteristics of my personality that interfered with my ability to enjoy being a teacher. Hopefully this coming school year will allow me to put in to practice all that I have learned and reflected on.

One of the new strategies I learned about was utilizing social media in the classroom. My last year in the classroom, all these social media tools existed. They were there for me to use with students and parents, but no one was telling me how to use them. Through personal professional development, collaborating online with other teachers, and attending conferences, I learned so much about how to use these social media tools.

This coming school year, I will be working at integrating a classroom Blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter Feed. Here are my tips for using these 3 social media sites for the school year.

Read Start the New School Year Using Social Media

Dos & Don'ts for Building Positive Student Relationships

Teaching is a unique profession because its success is based heavily on knowledge, craft, and relationships. No matter how strong the craft, imparting knowledge will be nearly impossible if the relationship between you and your student is absent.

The teacher-student relationship should be one of trust; the student should not be afraid to show some vulnerability to their teachers. Students and their families should be able to turn to teachers for advice, and see them as authorities on education.

One real struggle in the teacher/student relationship is creating a positive, caring learning environment without getting overly involved with students. Now, I’m not talking about the media-magnetic stories of teachers becoming inappropriately involved with students. Such incidents, but those types of incidents triggered the need for teachers to be more cautious and clear about boundaries when dealing with students.

For a positive teacher/student dynamic to exist, teachers must be reliable, respectful, and empathetic to students and their families. Teachers should take into account each individual student’s background and family situation, considering the whole child.

Read Dos & Don'ts for Building Positive Student Relationships

First Day of School Activities Students Love

The first day of school will be here before you know it. Most teachers face the big day with enthusiasm, but they dread the inevitable challenge: what to do on the first day of school.

Every teacher’s approach is different. Whatever your goal, here are a few things to try to get the school year off to a great start!

Goal: Getting to Know Your Students
How well will your incoming students know you? How well do you know them? How well do they know each other? How well do they know the school? These are important things to consider as you start planning the first day.

If you’re teaching kindergarteners (or high school freshmen, who often seem like kindergarteners), you may need to spend the first day – or the first several days –getting everyone comfortable. There are tons of icebreakers out there, but here are a few different techniques to try:

Read First Day of School Activities Students Love