There is a common misconception that learning disabilities only start to appear and can be tested starting in 3rd grade at the earliest. Here is the problem with that: students with learning disabilities have differences in the structure and function of their brains. This doesn’t happen in 3rd grade. The sooner students can get help for their learning disability, the sooner the issues can be corrected allowing for students to need less specialized instruction in the upper grades. When is it time to ask for help?

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Below is a list of some of my favorite picture books for elementary school age students as well as books that I own in my own personal library. We read for thirty minutes every night before bed as part of our bedtime routine and some of these books get read multiple times a week as they are family favorites.

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I just finished reading Teaching for Deeper Learning by Jay McTighe and Harvey F. Silver. It is a teaching book on how to teach so that students thrive and learn at a deep level. Let me tell you, the title lives up to the name. Here are some of my takeaways:

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We sell our argument research text sets in our Teachers Pay Teachers store. We have seven engaging arguments topics for middle school students. We have also bundled them all together at a nice discount, too. In addition, we sell our argument writing presentation in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.

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Now that everything we do with distance learning is online, most of the learning and turning in of work is done digitally. There is, however, a significant body of research to show that when texts become more complex, the brain learns and retains information better when it is on paper. So, note to self, when we go back to in person teaching post COVID, remember to bring back the paper.

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We absolutely L-O-V-E using short stories throughout the year to help guide our instruction and to keep our students engaged in their learning. Short stories have also come in handy this year with remote learning. It is pretty much impossible to teach remotely the Core novels that we love to teach. For that reason, we have relied on using even more short stories to enliven our instruction.

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Studies show that students do better on assignments that they have voice and choice in creating. We hope that by giving students several options to show their understanding of the book that they are reading (independently, in book clubs, or a whole class novel) that they will shine like the diamonds they are.

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If you are teaching remotely or in a Hybrid format and have not tried Google Jamboard yet, or if you have tired Jamboard and are searching for more ways to implement this tech tool in your classroom, look no further. This post is for you.

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Trauma is not one problem or experience. Rather, trauma is a connection of challenges and symptoms spanning a duration of time and an array of experiences. When humans experience stress or trauma, it sends stress hormones throughout our body. If this happens sporadically, that is fine, but when it becomes a daily stress, that is when it becomes a problem for anyone. In the case of students, trauma will interfere with behavior and learning.

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The Common Core State Standards may hold the argument essay in high regard. However, it is the expository essay that many students will be required to write for most of their young adult and adult lives. The ability to inform and explain through writing is just not a skill one needs to make it through school. Most jobs have one thing in common: to be a competent employee, one needs the ability to inform and to explain through writing.

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Teacher friends, have you all heard about Parlay yet? We wrote about it in our blog post on How to Grade Class Discussions. If you are teaching in a remote or hybrid setting, this is definitely a website that you need to be checking out! Parlay is a discussion-based learning tool and global community of educators who are reimagining class discussions for the 21st Century.

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Trauma informed education should not just be one more thing added to our ever growing list of demands to our jobs. If it is just a checklist for educators, then trauma informed education can and will make the wounds of trauma even more pronounced and can blatantly ignore other types of trauma.

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