These nine 21st century life skills our children need will prepare them for a future of constant technological and environmental change.

A new school year always brings about new ideas and hopeful ambition for teachers. However, it's almost 2015. Gone are the days when we can use the excuse tha

Explore these 21 things every 21st century teacher should be doing right now in the classroom

Storytelling is a critical life skill! Throughout life we use storytelling to make friends, find jobs, and resolve conflicts. How to teach storytelling.

I’ve posted about The Other 21st Skills and Attributes. This post provides links and resources about these skills as well as an educator self-assessment. This assessment contains questions …

Whether via classroom discussions, analysis of written text, higher-order questioning, or other strategies, learn and share ways to help students go deeper with their thinking.

Do you want to bring a 21st century classroom design into your classroom? The key design elements of a literacy-rich 21st century classroom include..

From critical thinking and collaboration to adaptability, influence, and imagination, here are 7 skills students will always need.

Upgrade your KWL Chart to the 21st Century @langwitches #edchat #aussieED #whatisschool #nyedchat

We'd like to share this critical thinking skills cheatsheet for you to use with your students. Get them asking questions on any topic!

Homework can be useful to help students learning, but isn't always the best strategy. Here are alternatives to homework: a chart for teachers.

The four pillars of #FLIP #21st Century #teaching and #learning #technology in the #classroom =)

In a recent blog post, we talked about the capacities that a Waldorf Education offers students. We want to talk today about the skills that a Green Meadow

These nine 21st century life skills our children need will prepare them for a future of constant technological and environmental change.

Habits of Mind in the classroom.

Making It As A Middle School Teacher welcomes Barbara from The Corner on Character for her December Sunday visit where Barbara shares a printable for Tag.

We are a Leader In Me School and talk a lot about using the 7 Habits of Happy Kids in our everyday lives. I love the idea of encouraging kids to act as leaders in the classroom and beyond. What I have noticed, however, is that sometimes "leadership" comes off as "bossypants" and that is not the route we want to take! I know you've probably heard of Sheryl Sandberg (of Facebook fame) and her campaign to end the word "bossy" (read or listen to an NPR story HERE), but I was hesitant to come straight out and use that word in our class. Instead, I wanted them to think on terms of "boss" and "leader" to recognize the differences between the two and to think about their own language choices in the classroom, in small groups, on their sports teams, and more. We first looked at this picture and talked about what we noticed: (source) This led to some discussion about leadership versus boss behavior. While the kids were discussing, I was passing out example cards to their table spots. Before I dismissed them, I shared this leadership quote from John Quincy Adams: They were then given instructions about our activity. I had printed example cards on two colors: blue for boss and green for leader (although they didn't know that yet) and they needed to read their card and find someone with an opposite color card and opposite example (good time to incorporate the word antonym, too!). I dismissed them to their tables and first had them converse with students in their table group to ensure they understood the word or phrase on their card. When they gave me the thumbs up, I told them to find their match and them meet to discuss why they went together and be able to give examples. We then began assembling our Anchor Chart. Each pair would come to the front of the class and would explain which card was descriptive of a "boss" and which was descriptive of a "leader" and why. They gave examples and I elicited a lot of help from the classroom for additional examples and language that both a boss and leader may use during that example. I would tape the cards to the Anchor Chart and we continued through each pair. There were two groups of three (with two leaders to one boss) and that worked out perfectly with my class (definitely feel free to adjust if you have lower numbers). Our completed anchor chart looked like: It was so powerful to see how often kids may think they are helping, but instead find themselves on the "boss" side of the chart instead of the "leader." I know several of the examples are repetitive, but we really talked through these and used examples from our own lives to recount when using "leader" words and language set us up for success. I also explained the "me vs. you" mentality of bosses versus the "we and us" mentality of leaders. Overall, it was a very powerful lesson and I look forward to referring back to this Anchor Chart this year, especially when "bossypants" behavior leads to conflict. I think these concrete examples can help guide the naturally strong leaders in my class to make better language decisions that can help grow them as leaders and really inspire others, just like the Adams quote! If you'd like a copy of these cards and quote, you can download this as a *freebie* HERE. How do you address bossy vs. leader behavior in your class? Share in the comments, I would love to build on this lesson!

Parenting is a journey filled with joy, challenges, and countless questions, one of the most common being, “How can I effectively guide my child’s behavior?” In our search for answers, we often turn to the expertise of seasoned moms, neighbors, or maybe even good ol’ Google. One of my friends, Ginger Hubbard, joined me on […]

A strategy for assessing the 21st Century Skills while holding students accountable for their behavior.- a classroom management miracle!

We’ve created the following 32 characteristics of high-performing classrooms to help you spot the opportunities for growth in your teaching.

These effective de-escalation strategies help parents, or caregivers, defuse meltdowns & outbursts in children. These de-escalation strategies will....

By: Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE. Four years ago, I entered the realm of social media for the purposes of professional learning. It has been an amazing experience as I have expanded my knowledge, my ne…

Order Now: About the Book Knight training started out as a way to equip the warrior class in medieval times. It soon became so compelling that all nobles sought to have their sons embark on this training and take up the chivalry challenge. The principles are timeless and ready for a new generation […]

These books about learning present t a well-rounded look at learning and education, rather than strictly pedagogy or ed-reformy perspectives.

This graphic gets at the idea of modern teaching through a simple checklist for teachers today. We've added a extensions for each item.

Are you adequately preparing the children you work with to be successful in the 21st century? These life skills checklist for children ages 3 to 18 will help you determine if you are and what areas need improvement. If you like this product you may also like: Helping Children Cope With Stress Character Education: Teaching Children How To Show Respect The ABC's of Calming Down Please follow my store for future product launches and freebies. Remember to visit kiddiematters.com for additional counseling and parenting resources. Thanks for stopping by!

Many of us have fond memories of growing up in the 80s and want our kids to experience that. A few research-backed tips for fostering it.

To kick off Children's Book Week, I'm offering up Caldecott Children's Book Awards Winners of the 21st Century plus naming our favorites!

An article in Business Insider proclaims: "Homeschooling is the smartest way to teach kids in the 21st century." We unpack this in our blog post.

Here are eight great games, activities and tech tools to help your students learn to collaborate in the classroom. Build your student community!

Critical thinking is an essential cognitive skill that entails the ability to reason, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. It goes beyond mere acquisition of knowledge. Instead, it involves deep, reflective thought, demanding us to question our assumptions, weigh evidence, and consider consequences. It's about making clear, reasoned judgments. In essence, critical thinking is thinking about thinking, in a manner that allows us to improve the quality of our thinking.

I’ve posted about The Other 21st Skills and Attributes. This post provides links and resources about these skills as well as an educator self-assessment. This assessment contains questions …

As a hearing aid wearer, I got ridiculously excited when reading Ross Montgomery’s ‘Max & the Millions’. Over time I’ve been researching other inclusive books so …

The face of education is changing more in current times than perhaps it ever has before. Children need not only to learn information and academics, but