We here on the Youth Development team at BGCA are SO EXCITED to be rolling out the brand new Program Basics suite! If you haven’t heard, Program Basics is a collection of resources to support…

When you're still technically in school, but the conditions just aren't great for teaching, what do you do to make the most of the time? Here are 30 ideas.

ZENTANGLE, BABY! We had a fantastic time learning to Zentangle with the rest of America...I can see what the hype is all about! W...

Difficult students provide the greatest challenge for most teachers. Learn just seven rules to transform them into valuable members of your classroom.

Given the challenges of memory overload young adolescents face, strategy instruction is crucial to success. See how UDL provides the tools to lighten the load.

Find the latest teaching resources and ideas for the elementary and middle school classroom. Interactive notebooks, classroom management, and more

Are any of these ineffective teaching methods still part of your practice? Time to reconsider.

5 Activities to Teach Angles

Hey-O friends! How do you manage changing classes (my class doesn’t but I’m curious), or even moving from subject to subject within your own classroom? I teach in a self-contained classroom and it’s easy to shift subjects down the schedule a little when things don’t go as planned. #WhoopsWritingWasSupposedToStart20MinutesAgo? ahahahaha #NoShame When it’s time to check morning work, I play a song When it’s time to come to the carpet for a lesson I play a song. Subject change & it’s time to get out a different interactive notebook and folder— YES, I have a song for that! I keep a slew of songs on my iTunes and iPhone/iPad and I just click depending on what I need! It’s easy to say that it’s time to start something new and kids take that task as, “Okay I can chat with my friend now for 1049813582305 minutes”. If they’re singing—they’re on task and still able to talk–but they’re singing to a tune. When the music stops they must be ready! Beginning of the year I introduce a song for a new subject/idea slowly. I want the kids to get used to it and understand the rules that follow when the song […]

Learn the simple, quick strategies cognitive scientists say can boost student learning in any classroom.

How can you adjust your voice, posture and other nonverbals to give yourself more presence and confidence in the classroom?

Many alternatives to a classroom gig.

Young women activity ideas for class activities or combined mutual activities. Cheap, fun, and easy activities to put together.

We need to teach kids the connection between how they feel and how they act.

Once you learn how to recognize decision fatigue, you can find ways to simplify your teaching life, take back your energy, and do your job better.

Behavior charts that include goals, a rubric, and help facilitate student and parent involvement will work wonders in your classroom.

FUNdamentals of Youth Running These guidelines are designed to assist parents, teachers, coaches, and race directors to encourage youth runners. Make Running Fun First and foremost, running should be fun. Do not use running as a punishment. Encourage children to participate and try their best. Emphasize Good Form Teach youth good form early and help […]

Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.

A digital curation project is a fast way to engage critical thinking in any content area. Here's how it works.

So cute!

I love, like really love, teaching the Bill of Rights. Our 5th grade study of the Bill of Rights leads to the most amazing, thought-provoking discussions and debates. First, it’s important to point out that I

Skill and Drill in Math without the Worksheets

United States History: Movements for Latino Rights Organizational Chart. This graphic organizer / organizational chart helps students organize the significant people, purposes, and impact of Alianza, Crusade for Justice, Mexican American Youth Organization, La Raza Unida Party, Brown Berets, Boricua Movement and More! A great supplemental tool to utilize when teaching the Latino Rights Movement. This product is also sold as part of the Vietnam & Post War America Unit Bundle. Each bundle from High Altitude History saves you 30% off of the retail price! Check it out here: Vietnam & Post War America Unit Bundle

You probably know the main components of a lesson. You may even be required to write them all down in your lesson plans. Whether it's a lesson you've created from scratch or a plan laid out in your curriculum's teacher manual, whether it's a lesson you've done every year since the beginning of everything (you know, an oldie but a goodie), or one that is fresh and new, these four ideas can help you teach it more effectively. I'm not here to list the obvious. These ideas may not be generic, but they are rooted in solid, effective teaching practice. Ready to amp up the way you teach? STOP TALKING One day a few years ago I lost my voice. Woke up and it just wasn't there. Too much work to make sub plans, so I trudged into school, not sure how I was going to get anything done with my class when my throat was raw and I couldn't talk. It turned out to be one of the most productive days students had in awhile. And it wasn't because I gave them a bunch of work to do while I sat at my desk sipping hot tea. No, no. I just had to get a little creative with my delivery. I remember during my math mini-lesson, instead of verbally teaching, I wrote it on the doc camera for students to read. I couldn't write down every single thing I would have said, so I was forced to boil things down to what was really important. I also gave more responsibility to students. Instead of me explaining how to work through a problem, I had a student take over. We instituted a simple set of signals to help communicate certain things: a ding of the bell meant to pause so I could point something out; a flash of the lights prompted students to check the screen for a written direction. I'm not literally telling you to teach silently. But I do want you to make your words matter and to remember that an effective delivery doesn't always consist of you talking and students listening. I often catch myself rambling or taking a tangent too far and remind myself of that day when students learned a lot without me saying a thing. BONUS TIP: Use the volume of your voice to your advantage. Don't get stuck thinking, "What I'm about to say is really important, so I better say it really loud to make sure everyone hears it." The key is to have students tuned into what you're about to say. Then you can say it in a calm voice. And sometimes, raise your voice, even when it's not necessary. The last thing you want is a colorless voice that becomes wallpaper. MAKE IT KNOWN You may already write objectives into your lesson plans, but do students ever know what the objective is at the outset of a lesson? Putting an objective into student-friendly language, and making it known to your class, does a few things. It shifts away from a "one single keeper of knowledge spewing forth information" mentality toward one in which everyone is heading in the same direction. Plus, having a student-friendly objective posted and visible gives you an anchor to refer back to, a measuring stick to check with, a reminder to what the focus should be. I call these student-friendly lesson objectives learning targets. I start with a target symbol and then write the target as an "I can" statement that tells what the student should be able to do by the end of the lesson. For me, I've found learning targets to be most helpful when they are (1) simply said, and (2) actionable... where students can show to me and to themselves that they've hit the target. BONUS TIP: A side benefit of using learning targets is the built-in focus it gives you as you move through a lesson. Still, sometimes there are other key moments to your plan you want to be sure to remember and to get right. I like to jot down a short list on a sticky-note of these points... sometimes just a trigger word or phrase for a certain transition or question I wanted to include. The sticky note serves as my little cheat-sheet to help me stay on track. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? Oh, the dreadful, pointless question... "Does that make sense?" I'm as guilty as anyone for asking it, but what does it accomplish? We explain something to the class and then we ask them if it makes sense. The majority of students lack the self-confidence to admit in front of their peers that something doesn't make sense, and many students want to please you so badly that they will agree to anything. Let's try to cut down on how often we ask students if what we just said makes sense. Instead, ask students to show you that something does indeed make sense, through a formative assessment. You might have students write/do/solve something with whiteboards/markers, or have students engage in a quick turn and talk while you circulate and listen in, or maybe use an exit slip. BONUS TIP: Use your learning target to help you focus your "check-in" on what really matters to the lesson. PLANNED UNPREDICTABILITY Routines have their place, don't get me wrong. But an element of unpredictability to a lesson creates instant engagement (or re-engagement). In a way that still makes sense to what's at the heart of the lesson, try to add something students wouldn't expect. It could be as simple as a different location where students sit (e.g. bring them to a gathering area on the floor; have them swap seats with someone halfway through; etc.), incorporating a unique task or scenario, or changing the way in which students perform a task (e.g. with a partner; in a notebook; through a drawing; etc.). We're often taught that a lesson's "hook" is a perfect spot to do something surprising in order to engage students. Let's just be sure that we don't assume that a tidy little hook will carry students' engagement through the entirety of the lesson on its own. Be mindful of particular students who may not be as successful with the unexpected. Students who rely on order and predictability benefit from (and deserve) a "heads-up" about something that might throw them off track. BONUS TIP: If everything about a lesson is unpredictable, your pacing and focus will suffer. Train students on certain procedures to help cut down on wasted time. For example, you might have a designated spot on your board, outlined with a rectangle, where the page number is posted of whatever textbook is being used during a particular lesson. Find lots of other time-saving tips in my Steal Back the Minutes! post. * * * Let these ideas give your whole-group instruction a boost. And for easy, practical ways to differentiate your whole-group instruction, check out my post HERE.

using Desmos in the High School Math classroom

This back to school "snowball" fight activity will have your students getting up and out of their seats moving around the room to get to know each other.

Classroom hall passes that are unique to your room. These handmade bathroom passes are made for a classroom that needs a pass that will hold up over time while giving a room a classic look. - Add this listing to your cart, you are ordering ONE pass + clip at a time. * Please note that not specifying a pass type and color you will be sent a yellow hall pass. *You can also request a proof of your custom name sign, just please note that requesting proofs will add to the processing time, as I’ll need to create your mockup and wait for your approval. Processing & Shipping: - All signs ordered without a proof request will ship out. - Orders are sent via USPS and/or UPS and typically arrive within 2-3 business days.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of handing in my resignation, leaving a secure and financially stable teaching job to head out on my own and start again. Like the thousands of teachers who leav…

Many churches in the United States and around the world have multiple age groups together in one class for Sunday School. Here are some tips for that situation.

Background: At the May 26, 2015 Portland Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education meeting, four Irvington School students and Oregon NOW president Lisa Frack testified on the need to review and revi…

Great ideas, printables, and study resources to help you teach Galatians "Walk in the Spirit" (September 23-29).

Help students hone their knowledge of different angles with this eighth-grade geometry worksheet about parallel lines cut by a transversal.

Do you use Whole Brain Teaching in your classroom? I experimented with using it and melded the Super Improvers Team Wall Cards with my Goal Setting routines