Black History Lesson Ideas Beyond MLK & Civil Rights

Looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month without once again teaching the same lessons about Martin Luther King Junior and Rosa Parks?

Searching for a lesson plan that honors the ethnic heritage of all your students?

Try these lessons that explore heritage and culture during Black History Month or any time:

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Top 12 Ways to Snap Out of a Teaching Slump

It’s that time of year again. The months between winter break and spring break can feel like the longest days of a teacher’s life. But don’t despair!

Here are some ways to snap yourself – or your students – out of that slump.

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Super Bowl Special: Interview w/ 2x Ohio Coach of the Year Steve Specht

Congratulations to Steve Specht for being named as the 2012 Team USA coach for the International Bowl against the IFAF World Team!

Cincinnati high school football coach Steve Specht has been with his alma mater St. Xavier for the last 17 years. After a winning season that brought them all the way to the Ohio regionals, Specht still strives to teach his players to become good men.

Coach Specht, considered one of the best all-around coaches in the country, was kind enough to share his insights what makes a good coach and a great teacher.

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Stretching Ourselves as Educators

Flexibility, as displayed by water, is a sign of life. Rigidity, its opposite, is a sign of death. ~Anthony Lawlor

As a former ballet dancer, a teacher, and a technologist, it dawned on me what incredible power there is in flexibility. It's not uncommon to assume an easily movable object is a flimsy one. People tread nervously across suspension bridges and balk at the thought of buying a camera tripod as silly-looking as this one. And yet, the more I think about it, the more I realize the ingenuity and inherent power in flexibility.

Surveying many educational environments reveals that some of our most powerful assets as teachers and learners are, in fact, the most flexible ones. These assets include the wires beneath our school grounds, the resources we find online, and most importantly, our very selves.

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Snowy Day & Winter Lesson Ideas

We recently had our first Chicago snow storm which meant digging out my car, an unpleasant drive to work and basically feeling soggy all morning. But I am determined to maintain a romanticized winter wonderland mentality this year.

To stay optimistic, I'm focusing on the upside of snow.

1. It's pretty (esp. through the window while you're warm and cozy next to a fire drinking cocoa).
2. Snowball fights and snowman building
3. Shoveling is great cardio.
4. Snow days!!!!
5. And, finally, seasonally sensational learning opportunities.

Here are a few of my favorite snowy school day activities:

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Top 12 Super Bowl Activities for the Classroom

A significant holiday is approaching -- not Valentine’s Day or President’s Day – Super Bowl Sunday. While you won’t get a day off work, the Super Bowl practically counts as a national holiday, especially for your more sports-crazed students.

But how can you take advantage of the Super Bowl enthusiasm in the classroom? And how do you do a Super Bowl activity when some of your students – and maybe you yourself – aren’t really excited about football?

My Top 12 Super Bowl Classroom Activities are guaranteed to bring a winning attitude to your classroom, even if your home team isn’t playing.

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Teaching Math Without Words: Interview with MIND Research Institute

The MIND Research Institute is on a mission revolutionize math education in America by helping elementary and secondary students excel to their full academic potential. With help from their own JiJi the penguin, they are taking an innovative visual approach to teaching math concepts while aligning to state standards.

In this exclusive TeachHUB interview, get to know JiJi the penguin and learn how MIND Research Institute is teaching math without using words.

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We Learn By Teaching

Although I am employed to teach, I consider it something of a disappointment if I don't learn something myself during my teaching sessions.

Sure, it is my prime responsibility to ensure that my students are given the best opportunities to learn, and I take pride in creating the best possible learning environments and experiences I can offer. The real magic occurs when we are all learning together, and I would like to argue that this should be the case in any learning environment.

In his 1968 book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire wrote 'Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.'

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Inclusion Educator Checklist: Sharpen Your Collective Voice

Alto, baritone, soprano, and tenor offer different voices, but together they produce harmonious sounds.

Inclusion, also composed of diverse but valuable collaborative voices, is intended to yield melodic classroom performances. Inclusion occurs through team efforts with scores of players accompanying each other. Each voice is a valuable one that comprises an inclusive chorus.

Administrators, educators, families, students, and related staff are a few of the inclusive collaborators. When educators stand side-by-side to reach and teach students with administrative and family support in place, inclusion collaboration is achieved.

This type of collaboration results in diverse voices honoring one another to produce ongoing quality performances. Ultimately, effective collaboration sets the stage for many academic, social, behavioral, and emotional ovations for students who learn together in inclusive classrooms.

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Student Accountability: 5 Fast Ways to Keep Kids on Track

School may not be a paid position for students, but the positive habits formed by students today are a good investment in their future.

Holding students accountable for their school work isn’t about being a “mean teacher.” It is about teaching students life lessons and helping them understand responsibility. The classroom is the perfect place to learn responsible work habits as well as content.

Here are a few simple ways to lead students toward increased accountability:

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MLK Human Rights Lesson: Top 12 Quote Game

Match the human rights activists to their inspirational words. Then use the quotes to foster classroom discussion!

1. A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.

2. If you're going to hold someone down you're going to have to hold on by the other end of the chain. You are confined by your own repression.

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Co-teaching with Olympians: Interview with Classroom Champions Co-Founders

Olympic gold medalist Steve Mesler knows what it takes to be a champion. After winning the first bobsled gold medal in 62 years for the U.S. at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Steve wanted to give back to those who helped him succeed.

Realizing the importance his education and inspirational mentors had on his journey to success, Steve teamed up with his sister Leigh Mesler Parise, Ph.D., an enthusiastic educator, to support and inspire young students across the country. Together, they created Classroom Champions.

In this exclusive TeachHUB interview, the Classroom Champions duo gave us the inside scoop on how their work brings together Olympic athletes with high needs schools.

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Teacher Evaluation from a Teacher's Perspective

Teacher evaluation is at the top of the list of things to talk about in the education reform world.

While I disagree with its spot atop the Education Reform "To Do" List, I'd still like to share a logical teacher's perspective on teacher evaluations that focuses on teacher improvement and professional development, not firing teachers.

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How to Plan a Virtual Field Trip

“Enjoy your field trip to the state park. Due to the budget, there won’t be any field trips at all next year," my principal said to us during our team meeting last week.

Budget cuts, the need for an ever-increasing number of chaperones per student, and about a million other obstacles educators face every day are making class field trips a thing of the past. It’s a shame, because allowing our students to discover and explore in an environment outside of the classroom can be an amazing way to inspire a love of learning that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

We can whine and complain about not being able to take field trips, but once we’re done with that – what’s next? Virtual field trips can give students a bit of the “field trip experience” without the need for funding, permission slips, and chaperones.

Here are some quick pointers on how to make virtual field trips an exciting and useful part of your lesson plan:

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Top 12 Classroom Fitness Activities

As the New Year inspires people to flock to gyms around the country, you can also apply that fitness fervor to your classroom.

Getting active in the classroom will help students improve their health, their focus and ultimately their academic performance.

Here are the top 12 classroom fitness activities for you and your students to try in 2012.

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Stage Swagger & Swordplay: Adapting Shakespeare for Kids

Brendan Kelso is the mastermind behind the Shakespeare for Kids collection, the book series of Shakespeare plays adapted for children that are creating a young fan base for the Bard.

Learn how Brendan's creative plays are making Shakespeare infectiously fun for you and your students in this exclusive TeachHUB interview.

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Governor, Please Make My School a Prison

“Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are.” ~ James W. Frick

A Michigan superintendent channeled James Frick as he wrote a letter to the governor to request that his school be turned into a prison.

In this ironic argument, Superintendent Nathan Bootz points out how backwards society must be to dedicate more resources to its prison inmates than to educating students.

Below is his letter addressed to Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder requesting that he have the decency to start treating schools like prisons

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Creating Extra Time for Students

As teachers, we all try to establish that all important teacher/student relationship to engage students in learning and growing. Creating extra time for interaction beyond the instructional portion of the day is a great way to strengthen this relationship.

Teachers often think in terms of beginning contract time and ending contract time in terms of their day, causing them to shy away from attending outside-the-school day activities.

Rather, teachers should think in terms of the businessmen and women who meet with clients socially to deepen their relationships and understanding of each other so they can meet the needs of each other within their business relationships. If teachers would also think of their students as clients who are counting on them to help meet the needs that they have, then spending time with them outside of the business day will help all the more to meet those needs.

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5 Classroom Organization Tips for the New Year

Welcome to 2012! In the spirit of the season, I posted a question to my Facebook Fan Page fans about their professional resolutions for the new year. There were lots of fantastic ideas posted, but the one I kept seeing over and over again was the theme of being more organized in the classroom so that he or she would be able to leave after school and actually spend time with loved ones.

The new year brings with it the opportunity to reflect on what works and what doesn’t in our classrooms. While many teachers do that on a regular basis with their teaching methodology, when was the last time you really thought about the effectiveness of your organization patterns? It can really make a difference to you, your students, and colleagues!

Here are five classroom organizational tips and tricks to help you start the new year off right:

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