A smart brain helps you reap greater benefits in work, relationships, and social life. Check out 7 hobbies that make you smarter and more intelligent.

These leadership smart goals examples will help you make measurable progress toward becoming a more effective leader in any role.

I’ve been writing here at SCM for 15 years. 748 articles. 12 books and e-guides. Above all else, this takes focus. Which, in this day and age, I have to protect like a rare orchid. Otherwise, I’ll lose the ability to shut out distraction ... Read more

Ready-to-use in minutes! Get these critical thinking preschool worksheets and help your child develop such important life skill.

One of my favorite engagement strategies is partner sharing. Another term is think-pair-share. Partner sharing is so important because it’s a way for students to think independently and then collaborate their thoughts with a partner. It automatically gets all students engaged with learning and holds everyone accountable. These are some of the strategies I use in …

Here at SCM, we’ve talked a lot about the importance of keeping your cool when enforcing consequences. We’ve covered how it helps ensure that the offending student takes responsibility for their actions. We’ve covered how it causes them to reflect on their mistakes. We’ve ... Read more

From the moment your child is born, they are nothing short of extraordinary in your eyes. Each milestone only serves to further reaffirm your beliefs that your little one is surely a genius but, while they are definitely gifted in your eyes, are…

Hi all! The big day is Tuesday! That's my first day back with my little sweeties. I'm getting excited and nervous. Yeah, can you believe after all these years of teaching I still get excited and nervous! I'm starting again this year with 30 firsties and I'm sure it will increase. I guess I should be used to it but I don't think I ever will. I thought I'd share with everyone some little tools I print to have on hand when I'm working in guided reading with my kiddos. I print several copies and have a stack of each of these by my reading table so I can quickly grab some for my lessons. Let me start by telling you that I tell my firsties they are 'smart readers under construction'. We talk about what that means and I tell them I am going to help them in every way become a smart reader. I love the word 'smart' more than 'better'. It seems more positive to me. When I think of 'better', I think well maybe I'm not very good to start with and I want my kiddos the think of themselves as good reader and I'm just going to help them be smarter reader. The first is sorting pages. I have 2, 3, 4, and 5 way sort pages. I use these a ton of ways. I might have them list short vowel words, long & short vowels, word families, inflectional endings, root word and ending, suffixes, prefixes, characters and describing words, who & what, hard & soft c or g words, the list can go on and on. Sometimes I give the words, sometimes they find the words in their reading. You can use it with the low, middle and high kids. It's open to whatever you can think of to use it with. It's a fun, quick easy practice or assessment for your kiddos. I don't make them into a booklet because I want the kids to take them home so parents can see what we are doing. The next one is the character sheet. I use this one a lot especially after I've taught describing words. I can generally use this one at the beginning of the year with my high students too. Another one I use is Did You Know. This one is great for non-fiction books. These sheets don't have to be used only in guided reading. Sometimes I'll use them with the whole class like when I read Boxcar Children. We fill out a 4-way sort on the four characters and what we know about them. There are so many possibilities, just use your creativity. If you'd like a FREE download just click HERE. Oh and some super GOOD NEWS- I have a new grandson!! This is Elijah Ray Robison. Born August 15th. He was 10 lbs. 5 ounces. My daughter has BIG boys! I just LOVE all the dark soft hair! Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a terrific week!

Tattling is annoying. It’s disruptive. It’s petty. It wastes time and gets on your nerves. We think of it as something students do to gain attention or get others in trouble. So we wave them off. We send them back to their seat. We ... Read more

What to look for in determining gifted vs smart kids. This post outlines 6 traits and what those traits look like in smart vs gifted children

Whew! The first two days of school went by in a blur! I think I can recite my rules and procedures in my sleep now! I always kind of actually dislike the first two days. They're so boring because we don't get to do much art! I broke up the "lecturing" I had to do by using a powerpoint to display my rules with pictures and the grade levels participated in different tasks...K-2 participated in a scavenger hunt to find the different materials around the room and I had 3-6 take a quiz. I know what you're thinking...a quiz?? A following directions quiz. And let me just say, I LOVED seeing the expressions on their face when they answered all the questions and realized that they didn't actually follow the directions! The last question stated, "Do not answer any of the questions on this test. Turn your paper over and draw a picture while everyone finishes!" Ironically, only about 6 kids followed directions all together, and they weren't even the students I expected to follow the rules! The kids really seem to like and are responding well to the changes I've made to my room this year (table jobs, table supply bins, Artist of the Week, etc.), which makes me feel really good about this year! This year, we have a new principal as well who has laid down her own "law" about consequences, which is good. She is asking that if we have students who don't turn in homework, or refuse to work, that we call home first. If they do it again, it's an automatic write up. This was different from our previous principal, who allowed us to send students to the office for refusing to work, and accepted write-ups on the first offense. Now, I have to admit that I haven't really been one to call home that often with behavior issues. Usually, I talk with the classroom teacher, they take away recess time, maybe use it with a discussion with the parents when they call home for another situation with the student... Therefore, I really thought about my rewards and consequences during staff development days and came up with a concrete consequences checklist. Our previous principal was pretty easy going with handling write-ups and such, but our new principal wants us to take a little more control first...which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Students will receive a warning, then a seat change (if needed). If that doesn't work, they will fill out a "Making Smart Choices" sheet that must go home to be signed and returned by their parent. I've seen various ways teachers have done this on Pinterest, and here's my version: I have to say, the counselor is thrilled with this idea, just because it's more documentation! Next week will finally start pre-assessments and art projects, so hopefully I'll be able to start adding more pictures of projects! As for me this weekend...this is who I'll be lounging and relaxing with! "Mom, we're soooo glad you didn't have to go to work this morning!"

Smart and creative punishments for kids for when time out no longer work. For when kids need consequences for poor behavior.

I am so excited to launch my first "series" of blog posts! It's making me feel all grown-up and blogger-like :)My first series is going to be on increasing student engagement in the classroom. Over

Smart and creative punishments for kids for when time out no longer work. For when kids need consequences for poor behavior.

Teaching children to think about their thinking, to use metacognition, is essential to their learning. This is because when children can use metacognitive strategies to...

This was one of the first books in the series of Superflex books from Social Thinking® and Michelle Garcia Winner. Out of all of the Superflex books, I like it the best.

There is great freedom in consistency. Because when you follow your classroom management plan to a tee, you remove the guesswork. You eliminate the stress of lecturing, correcting, and trying to convince your students to behave. You wipe away the friction and resentment. The ... Read more

Most teachers agree that having students reflect upon their learning is important. But how do you incorporate this valuable reflection time into an already busy day. I've gathered a few ideas of how you can give your students time for meaningful self-reflections and not take up too much of your instruction time. Hand Signals I've found hand signals the quickest and easiest way to give student time for a quick reflect on their learning. 4 fingers mean . . . I know everything that was taught so well I can teach it to others. 3 fingers mean . . . I know and can do everything that was taught without mistakes. 2 fingers mean . . . I can do most of the things that were taught but need help with the harder parts. 1 finger means . . .I don’t know what was taught and can’t do any of it. Number Scale If you'd like to keep the reflection a little more private you can have a reflection strip on each desk. Students can point to their number. You can see their reflection pretty quickly as you walk around the room. This number scale is available for free in my TPT store. Click here to download it to use in your classroom. Stop Light Colors Another simple self assessment that gets students thinking about their learning are stop light cards. Each student can have a set of cards, one red, one yellow and one green. Through out the lesson a teacher can ask a question about student understanding and the students can display the appropriate card. Green: I got it! Yellow: I almost have it. Red: I don’t understand You can use 3 Stoplight Cards (green, yellow and red) held together with a book ring. Students flip to the color to show their understanding of a skill or concept and hold it up for the teacher to see. Or you can print and use these Stoplight Desk Tents. Simply print cut, fold, and tape. Now you have something to set on each desk. Students turn it to show what they think of the skill or objective. (Click on the picture to download this free printable.) **June 2020 I updated these desk tents. Now you have a choice between the full color or the ink-saving style. I also included two editable slides so you can change the colors or the text to match your need. The new file is a PowerPoint, so make sure you have that program. (If you prefer a noneditable PDF version, email me at debbie@crockettsclassroom and I'll add a link to this post.) Written Reflections While not as quick as the first few ideas mentioned in this blog post, written reflections are also a valuable way for students to spend thinking about their learning. You can have them write in their reading, writing or math journal. Or write a reflection at the end of the week, looking back at the entire week of learning. While researching for ideas on written reflections I came across an excellent website, Copy/Paste, by Peter Pappas. He's come up with reflections levels based on Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking Skills. I love the way these reflections make students go deeper and deeper about their learning! You can post these questions and have students answer each question at the end of a lesson. Since this reflection would take longer I wouldn't have students do this type of reflection more than once a week.

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2.7M views, 81K likes, 1.4K comments, 5.7K shares, Facebook Reels from Jefferson Fisher: you think you’re so smart don’t you. #alwaysright #communicationskills #arguments. Jefferson Fisher · Original...

Genetic analysis revealed that Jo Cameron has a previously unidentified mutation that may affect pain relief, memory and mood

Today I am sharing 7 normal things that now seem weird as a minimalist. I wasn't always a minimalist. Thinking about some normal things...

Happy Monday everyone! Is it just me or does it feel like this is going to be one of those weeks? Well, you may have noticed this litt...

Do you have a kid who is fascinated with architecture? Click now to find amazing ideas and resources to include Architectural Engineering in your homeschool.

Save some dough by taking care of loose or missing buttons yourself; there’s no need to pay the dry cleaner to put them back on for you. All you need is a sewing kit and five minutes of concentration to do it RIGHT, so they’ll stay put and work well. And if you think you already know how to do this, you might want to read up on it anyway, unless you already know about the toothpick trick, and the proper direction to stitch your buttons… ThreadButtonNeedleScissors 1.

 View from front door Computer Station Guided reading table...this is also where I have my mailboxes for kids and guided reading s...

HI — I no longer update this page ~ but “MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES in COMICS ED” is available at my NEW COMICS WORKSHOP site HERE >>… ~ Marek … AND ALSO: Psst! Tea…

Social emotional IEP goals provided via ready to go lessons and printables to make it easier for you to assist your students.

Decorating ideas for designing a beautiful bedroom with sloped ceilings. Sloped ceiling bedroom design ideas for storage, decorating, and space utilization.

Notice, Think, Wonder - Critical Thinking Worksheets This activity has 20 quality photographs that provoke curiosity and one blank one to add your own. It is a great way to encourage a critical thinking conversation! NOW AVAILABLE IN PDF, POWERPOINT, AND GOOGLE This activity works well on the smart board for whole group discussion, printed off for group discussion or sent electronically to work on independently before a discussion. You will be amazed at how much students will notice, think, and wonder about one illustration. Notice Think and Wonder is a great tool to encourage Critical Thinking! NOTICE:  What do you notice in the image? Look closely at all the details. What do you see?  THINK: Think deeper. With the things you noticed in the image, what are you thinking about? What may be happening when the image was created? WONDER: Think even deeper. What do you wonder about the image? What does it make you question? What needs more clarification? ***A blank template is provided to add your own image! Thank you for visiting my store! Rockin Resources Pam ★★★ GO TO ROCKINRESOURCES.COM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS AND HOW I TEACH TO MOTIVATE, EDUCATE, DIFFERENTIATE. DON'T FORGET TO JOIN FOR THE EXCLUSIVE FREEBIE VAULT! GRAB TEACHING TIPS FROM: INSTAGRAM PINTEREST FACEBOOK

What is one thing that is common among Albert Einstein, John Dewy, and Abraham Lincoln? It is their critical and rational thought process. Along with their unique personalities, their unique thinking pattern and view toward the world make these individuals creative and different. Critical thinking is the ability of

Bruce Lee was an expert martial artist, but he was also a very wise man. Here's how one of his quotes influences my coaching style.

The Trust Equation is now the cornerstone of our practice: a deconstructive, analytical model of trustworthiness.