Is the task of grading student writing draining your time and energy? Check out these quick-score rubrics (for free!) to grade student writing faster!

Each school year, I like to create a name book for my preschool students to use. I put them together with all kinds of materials but to simplify things for my readers, I created this little name book template. Getting Started I create a book for

Plot Generator. Use the plot generator with 1 million plot combinations to help inspire your next plot. We think this tool is so cool and are blown away by how

by Stephanie Morrill Stephanie writes young adult contemporary novels and is the creator of GoTeenWriters.com. Her novels include The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series (Revell) and the Ellie Sweet books (Playlist). You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and check out samples of her work on her author website including the free novella, Throwing Stones. Well, that was some amazing word warring over the weekend you guys! I loved seeing all the support and encouragement you gave to each other. Those of you who are participating in NaNoWriMo may want to save this post for after November 30th, because now is certainly not the time to look through your manuscript for words you can cut. As I read through the entries for last round's contest (the finalists will be announced tomorrow on the blog) I sometimes came across entries that were interesting scenarios with good pacing and smart dialogue, but they seemed a little ... something. After studying the writing for a bit, I realized that the problem was unnecessary words kept the story from shining like it could. What kinds of words clutter up sentences? Cliches Unnecessary descriptions Vague words Passive words Telling words Quantifying words (little, very) To help illustrate what I mean, I wrote a few sentences of a story to critique: John gave the door a quick glance. It was deathly silent in the room, and he almost felt like maybe nothing was really chasing him. Suddenly the door opened, and John started to run for his life. His heart was pounding very fast in his chest as he stumbled clumsily down the yellow hallway. Let's get out our mental red pens and go sentence by sentence. John gave the door a quick glance. I see sentences like this all the time (not just from beginning writers, but in my first drafts too) and it's a needlessly complicated way to say: John glanced at the door. A glance by definition is quick, so we don't need the extra word to describe it, And he doesn't need to give the door anything, he just needs to do the thing. Same as John doesn't need to give the door a swift kick or a hard punch or a fresh new coat of paint. John can simply kick the door, punch the door, and paint the door. Editing challenge: Run a search in your manuscript for the word "gave" (or "give" if that fits your book's tense) and see if you've over-complicated any actions. It was deathly silent in the room, Starting a sentence with "it" usually isn't the right choice. In my final drafts, I always seek out "it" in sentences and ask if I can replace the word with the intended noun. Doing so doesn't always make sense, but I like to check. In this case, "it" refers to the room. So it's better to start with "The room was deathly silent" But I don't like that passive voice, so I would drop our unnecessary adverb and change this to, "Silence filled the room." If you want to describe the silence, I'm sure you can do better than deathly. Maybe unsettling silence? Uncharacteristic silence? Hair-raising silence? Revised sentence: Silence filled the room. Editing challenge: Check your manuscript for "it" and "was." Can you replace it with a specific noun? (You can't always, but it's good to check!) Same with was. Unless it's continuous action (i.e. Jane was stirring the soup when I arrived) then you'll want to cut was and just have the character do the action. and he almost felt like maybe nothing was really chasing him. I see the phrase "almost felt" a ton. Even in my own drafts. I don't know why I do that. What's this almost business? Does the character feel it or no? But usually the word "felt" is a red flag that I'm telling my story instead of showing it. So I can scrap the phrase altogether and show this instead. How could you show this? Sometimes I do it by asking the question: Maybe nothing was really chasing him? Another option is to show what he's listening for: No footsteps echoed behind the door, nor did any chatter. Let's focus now on that "maybe nothing was really chasing him" part. Do we lose anything if we revise this to, "Maybe nothing was chasing him"? We don't, right? I think we could also make a case for changing this to, "Maybe nothing chased him." It gets rid of the passive structure, which I like. But if you're suggesting continuous action, you could leave it. Revised sentence: Maybe nothing was chasing him? Editing challenge: Run a search for "felt" in your story and see if you're using it to tell your story rather than show it. Also run a search for "really" and "actually" which are often needless words. Suddenly the door opened, and John started to run for his life. If you see the word "suddenly" in your manuscript, it can almost always be cut. Writers fall back on it when they're trying to convey sudden action, but you usually don't need it. Instead of trying to have "suddenly" do the work of the sentence, I would focus on the word "opened" when trying to communicate the immediacy. The door could spring or fling open. The phrase "John started to run" implies that John began something he didn't finish. So instead, John can just run. "Run for his life" is a tired phrase that is being used to show that John is running with immediacy. Instead of pulling out a cliche, I say we pick a more interesting verb. John could dash away from the door, He could also spurt, rush, or dart. Revised sentence: The door flung open, and John dashed away. Editing challenge: Search your manuscript for the word suddenly. Is it a word you can cut? Run a search for "started to" or "began to" and see if they can be revised as well. His heart was pounding very fast in his chest as he stumbled clumsily down the yellow hallway. His heart was pounding very fast in his chest: The first thing you can do here is cross out "in his chest." By default, that's where hearts pound. And "was pounding very fast" is a complicated way to state that his heart raced. If you think a racing heart sounds a bit tired, his heart could also hammer or thunder or something more creative. In an action scene, however, you want to be careful about the kind of phrase you pick. If you pick something so fresh that your reader gets distracted and pulled out of the story, that's bad for your pacing. "Stumbled clumsily" can be simplified to stumbled. I would like to see someone stumble in a way that doesn't appear clumsy. Now for the yellow hallway. This isn't outright wrong, but I question that this is the right time to showcase the color of the hallway. Readers certainly like to "see" where action is taking place, but I think it's clunky during a getaway scene to throw in the color of the hall. Here's our new sentences all together: John glanced at the door. Silence filled the room. Maybe nothing was chasing him? The door flung open, and John dashed away. His heart raced as he stumbled down the hallway. While I think these could be improved upon, they've at least lost the cluttered feeling If you would like to, pull a cluttered sentence from your manuscript, clean it up, and share it in the comments section! **Quick note: For those who don't already know, my 4-year-old son, Connor, suffers from epilepsy. We enjoyed 6 months of seizure freedom, but in the last month his seizures have returned. I'll be gone all day and tomorrow for an overnight hospital stay. That means I probably won't be able to respond to as many comments as I normally do. Thank you for understanding!

We are about to start our Fiction unit in 3rd grade where I teach. I always find that kids love fiction much more than non-fiction--probably because it is more imaginative. Fiction is fun to teach as well! There are so many wonderful books to use with fiction units! Here are a few we use to introduce (or reintroduce) the students to fiction! We use many more books, of course, but these are some of my favorites! They are full of wonderful characters, great changes with the characters and other amazing uses of the fiction story elements. We always start with an anchor chart--explaining what a Fiction book is! Here is an example: Fiction books have many different parts (elements)--Here is an anchor chart that I found on pinterest, it shows the basic story elements! We have our students create one of these to glue in their reading spiral notebook! I also love this page for the kids to put in their notebook! It is an easy way to remember that the elements are all part of the big "fiction" picture. Here is a link to it! After we do the initial teach of fiction and the different elements, we have students practice all year through responses and graphic organizers. The more they are familiar with the different story elements, the more comfortable they are answering questions about them. Here are a few of the graphic organizers and links to print them--some are younger level (for differentiation) and some are on grade level. Story Map-1st Grade Response I haven't made this yet--but I love it! Story Map--Any Grade! (Take out Theme for lower grades!) I have used this graphic organizer for enrichment activity before--the kids really enjoy it! Or they can use a friend instead of themselves. (Nice words only though!) :) Another great enrichment (or even whole group if you have them time) activity is to create a foldable with the different fiction elements. We are going to do this at the end of our unit--so I don't have any pictures yet...but I know the kids will love it! We will use this tool to assess the student's learning of fiction elements. The students will create the foldable--label it with the different parts, then fill in the parts from a book we have already read in class. Learning made fun! Yay! :) Here is one last resource that I hope you will enjoy! Our principal is huge into technology--which is great! He is in the process of trying to get an ipad in every classroom. The process is slow because they are expensive--but I believe there are at about 20 or so on the campus now, not too shabby! I do not have a school one, because I have a personal one (no need to have two.) But, this is a free educational ipad app called Toontasic! It has a lot of different features, but one thing you can do is create your own story map--and create your own characters, problems, and solutions for the characters. This is new for me...but looks like FUN for the kids! I am going to try it out next week with my kids! As you have noticed--character is a huge part of fiction so we actually teach those two concepts in the same week! We try to tie it all in together. There are a TON of resources out there...too many to list. I hope this helps you in your classroom though! I always believe that the more resources you have...the less likely the kids will get bored. :) Have a great weekend! 

A kindness tree activity is a fun and effective whole school project to build community!A kindness tree bulletin board is a beautiful and creative way to encourage and acknowledge acts of kindness

In this post, you'll learn about four meaningful structures you can use to help students give each other feedback that really helps. By the way, you can sign up for the pack of four free guides featured in the upcoming photos in the free resources section of this site.

This week I tried something new with the vocabulary in the story. I got the idea at a First Grade Conference in December. The student writes the vocabulary word in the middle of the sheet and then there are four things to do with the word. We completed two of the boxes together as a class and they finished the last two boxes independently. The kiddos sure had a great grasp of the vocabulary after this. When we read the story they had fantastic comprehension.

Writing, I believe, is one of the most vital skills we can teach our kids, whether we homeschool or not. It is so poorly taught in modern education, yet

On A Peach for the Teach on Facebook, I invited people to ask their most challenging behavior questions. We got some great questions, each of which really tied together. Dona asked, I have a student that comes to me from second grade (I teach 1st) for my entire reading block, who likes to shout out talk back and just shuts down when you ask him to do something. He then treats his 2nd teacher with severe disrespect when he goes back to class. Rebecca asked, I have a class of 25 this year. 1 student is below K level (I teach 1st grade), 2 are identified as ADHD, we are working towards another student getting identified as ADHD, and I have 2 students who have really disrespectful attitudes. I have tried talking with parents, I have changed their seating, I have tried encouraging them and pointing out the positive......nothing seems to be working. Ideas? Lindsay asked, I need motivation tips for kids who can do the work but basically refuse to... These are such common issues that teachers face daily. I think they all tie together and have similar interventions, which led me to write this blog post-- How to Help Calling Out and "Class Clown" Behavior. "If you put a kid in the position of choosing between looking bad or looking dumb, he will choose to look bad." - Rick Lavoie, Motivation Breakthrough When a student is performing at a level lower than his peers, he is often aware of that. That could be part of the reason for the acting out. Maybe the child is embarrassed and would rather be seen as a class clown than struggling. It allows the child a sense of control over a situation where he would otherwise feel out of control. Try giving him some control in a positive way. To intervene, start with an informal play meeting. Meet with the student individually when he is calm, to play a preferred, non-academic game at the beginning or end of the day. He may be more likely to open up honestly in that type of setting through informal conversations (e.g., favorite TV shows, games, etc.). Casually ask what he likes and doesn't like about school, and "admit" to him that you always had a hard time with [insert his least preferred subject]. Try not to make it obvious that this is the whole point of your conversation. He might give you some insight into what's causing this. It's also great for establishing rapport, which will help you to get the student on your side. Give him some sort of task with which he can be successful, and give him positive attention for completing it. Avoid patronizing him or making it obviously at a level lower than the other students. Instead, try non-academic leadership positions, like a class helper, teacher's assistant, etc. Maybe give him the opportunity to call on students with questions. "Class, today we are going to try something new." Next, set limits. Start by telling the whole class that today we are going to try something new. Starting today, the teacher will no longer answer any calling out. Explain that we need to practice raising our hands and not calling out. Demonstrate, practice, and ask for volunteers to show you what hand raising looks like. Establish a non-verbal cue (e.g., a cue card with an image of a hand, or simply hold up your hand), and completely ignore calling out. Instruct the class to also ignore calling out. Have students practice calling out while you ignore it. Explain why you're doing this, so the student knows it's not just him being ignored. Ignore the behavior, not the child. You might want to give one verbal cue, such as, "I'd be happy to answer you when you raise your hand." This is your new procedure that will happen every single time a student calls out. You could still say it in a positive tone of voice, but it's all you will say. Give a Little, Get a Little Use positive language to elicit positive language. If a student is using disrespectful language, being threatening will teach the child to talk back with threatening language. Think about your reaction when somebody confronts you with doing something wrong. You initially feel a little attacked, so you want to react. Give the student the opportunity to save face. For example, instead of, "How dare you speak to me that way?" try a, "Whoops, that sounded disrespectful. I know you could ask me using nicer words," and only respond when he uses nicer words. If he doesn't, say, "I'll be over here when you're ready to use nice words to ask me." Dodge the Power Struggle To nip disrespect in the bud, we need to avoid power struggles-- even when a student questions what we're doing. That's the part that really tricks even the most skilled behavior interventionists. We want students to believe in, trust, and respect us. When they question what we're doing, we want to tell them. Please don't. You don't need to justify yourself in this moment. You may be skilled with planned ignoring, but when the child asks, "Why are you ignoring me?" it's too tempting to reply with an explanation, but resist the urge. If you planned and practiced this procedure previously, the child already knows why you're ignoring him. He may try to get you to give him anything other than the ignoring. Stick to the ignoring, and he will eventually try using nice words to get you to reply. It may also be helpful to teach a lesson on the words "disrespect" vs. "respect." Teach the meaning, and explain situations and words that are unacceptable. Teach this with empathy, and practice it. If the child uses negative language in class, prompt with a, "Please use your nice words if you need me to respond to you." Completely ignore anything else. I know that using a firm prompt followed by planned ignoring sometimes feels like you aren't doing anything to stop the behavior, but that's the best thing about it-- doing "nothing" stops the behavior. It completely eliminates the power struggle and argument. The child will be forced to use kind words to get any type of reaction out of you and to gain access to his wants/needs. This also works with whining. I told my little ones that my ears can no longer hear whining, and they all stopped whining. Now if only I could use planned ignoring on messes to make my kitchen clean itself! Words of Caution Sometimes when implementing planned ignoring, the child may initially test the limits and engage in more attention-seeking behavior. This is typical and should pass when he sees that he won't get a reaction. I got a comment on this post that really made me think and add another word of caution about this strategy-- exercise caution when using this for students with bonding and/or attachment needs. We certainly do not want to intensify feelings of abandonment, and we want to be sure that we are responding to their needs. It is vitally important to make sure that we are ignoring the behavior, not the child. Give the child plenty of positive attention for positive behavior. Make giving positive attention during appropriate behavior part of your behavior protocol for this child. When the negative behavior ends and the child begins acting positively, give positive attention. No need for a lecture at that moment. After the Procedure is Learned Once you are sure that the student understands how he will appropriately gain access to wants/needs, you can begin to address the calling out caused by impulsivity and habit. Make a T-chart, and write the positive behavior on the left and negative on the right (e.g., "Called Out" and "Raised My Hand"). Instruct the student to tally when he does each. This alone is often enough to curb the negative behavior. Other times with more severe behavior, it helps if tallies are tied to reinforcement. For example, the student can earn [something preferred] if he has more positive than negative tallies at the end of each block. You could also set goals based on baselines. For example, if the student reduces his calling out by ___% or does not exceed ___% incidents of calling out, he can earn [something preferred]. Class Dojo is another fun way to track this! The teacher can track the behaviors throughout the day, or the students can self-monitor behaviors on their T-Charts and plug them into the Dojo at the end of the day. Establish a procedure that students must earn more green (i.e., "positive") than red (i.e., "needs work"), or a certain percentage of green, in order to earn a reinforcer, positive note home, etc. Another helpful strategy is bonus free time. It's often harder for a student with ADHD and/or behavior needs to attend to instruction for a given length of time, so plan three breaks in the day. I call them "five minute free time" to play with something fun, and I end each of my subjects with it. It gives me five minutes to clean up or correct work, and it gives the students five minutes to regroup. If you're strapped for time, you could have students complete exit tickets, assessments, etc., and give the student with ADHD the special free time. It also gives him something to word toward, as he has to earn the free time. If a student engages in negative behavior or work refusal, I ask if he is earning his free time or if he is to make up his work during free time. Never underestimate the power of a question instead of a demand. A simple, "Are you earning your free time?" is often enough to set the behavior back on track. An additional motivational tool is a task chart where students rank their tasks by preference. They earn little reinforcement for easy/preferred tasks and high reinforcement for non-preferred tasks. You can download that chart for free here. What are some ideas you use in your classroom to help calling out and "class clown" behavior? Do you have any questions about behavior challenges? Please share in the comments below! A Peach for the Teach

Learning to write a summary can be a tricky skill for students. It is not always easy to pick the best information to include. Try google docs for an easy summary.

Download a Free Roll-a-Story Writing Printable

4 Games to Help Kids Think Critically about Vocabulary Guest Post by Rachael Parlett from Classroom Game Nook Blog.

Sometimes it's really tough finding the right tactics(actions) to assign to your acting beats. Jess DeGroot put together this awesome list of verbs to use when you do your beat work. When my students assign tactics to their acting beats, it really takes their work to a whole new level. Enjoy this helpful list!

Masturbation is awesome for so many reasons! Whether you’re single or have a partner, indulging in self-loving from time to time can do wonders. Pleasing yourself not only helps you learn more about your body and what works for it but it also helps relieve stress, relaxes your mind, drives away cramps and makes you a happier person. If you haven’t tried masturbating yet or don’t know how to do it right, here are our tips.Image courtesy:©Thinkstock photos/ Getty images

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...

Picking a profitable freelance writing niche can mean the difference between going broke and making tons of cash. Learn how to do it here!

Wondering how to use algebra tiles to solve equations? In this post there are 3 examples for using algebra tiles to solve equations, a free set of paper algebra tiles and a free algebra tiles worksheet solving mat. Algebra tiles are awesome for making algebra visual, hands-on and help introduce students to new difficult topics in a fun way.

Free worksheet generator for kids to practice writing, Create your own worksheets,

This writing activity is great to pair with the book "It's Okay to be Different" by Todd Parr, which helps children to see that being unique is a good thing and should be celebrated.It is an awesome back to school activity to learn about students and help build a positive classroom environment.If yo...

This post shares what happened to assure me I had roundworms and the natural remedies I used before having a stool test to reassure me I was parasite-free.

Find activities and tips on how to build a classroom community, so each student feels welcomed, loved, and comfortable coming to school.

Make the walls of your classroom work for you and your students! Ideas for planning a Writing Wall that will truly support your little writers.

This post contains affiliate links. One of the most popular posts on this blog is called Fair Isn’t Equal. In it I include a wonderful graphic that helps to illustrate the difference between the concepts of fairness and equality. Most people believe that “fairness means that everyone gets the same”; whereas in reality “fairness means that everyone gets what he or she needs.” Further, fairness is one of the most commonly used arguments against inclusion. “Teaching students of different abilities in the same class isn’t fair to those who can move at a quicker pace,” or “It’s not fair to hold back some students to prevent others from falling behind.” The best way to accommodate students of varying abilities in the same learning environment is through differentiated instruction; a methodology which enables students to progress at their own pace via activities that are developmentally appropriate. I also firmly believe in transparency. I think that the methodology and the premise behind it should be shared with students, enabling them to understand and support one another more fully. "The Band-Aid Activity" is not something that I created; but it is a successful way to help students understand the concept of fairness (versus equality) in a differentiated classroom. The Band-Aid Activity Distribute “injury cards” to students (index cards with various injuries listed one per card). Ask students, one at a time, to share their injury, giving each student a band-aid (regardless of the injury). If anyone complains or questions the band-aid, simply say that it would not be fair if everyone did not get the same thing. Questions for discussion: Was it equal that everyone got a Band-Aid? Was it fair that everyone got a Band-Aid? Why or why not? (Everyone getting the same thing wasn’t fair because it didn’t help most of the students. Sometimes students will do different things in class, but everyone is learning and getting what they need. It is important not to make anyone feel bad about doing something different.) Depending upon the age of the students: What other things in the classroom are our “injuries” like? What else can the Band-Aids be compared to? (The Band-Aids are like getting the help you need in class. When a teacher is working with a small group or individual student, interrupting or distracting them is like taking away the student’s Band-Aid.) **Variation: Give all but the last student a band-aid. Add in a discussion of how it felt to be the only one without a band aid. There can be other variations of the activity depending upon the age of the students, but this can certainly be used in a discussion format with middle school students and teens. And here is a terrific link to a blog explaining this lesson in action with young children. Do you have any great activities for teaching fairness? Sign up here to be sure you never miss a post from Removing the Stumbling Block:

My professional life before blogs & Pinterest seems like a long, long ago, dark, desperate time. I've been thinking a lot recently about ho...

Need tips on how to make peer editing run seamlessly in your classroom? Try these simple ways to help students work together with ease!

I knew when I wrote my original Getting To Know You: Special Needs Student Resume post that I would need to revise it as the years went by, because our kids have this sneaky habit of growing up and changing on us. So here we are again, staring down the start of a new school year. Most of us are have a shiny new pile of fears about how our kids will handle the transition to new schools, new teachers, new aids, new therapists, new classmates. Heck, I wasn't sure how mine would handle needing a new backpack (pause to thank the Powers That Be for Angry Birds Star Wars)! Each year we face the daunting task of communicating who they are and what they need to new instructors, plus updating familiar staff on how their needs have changed. But we accept the challenge because we want everyone in their lives to understand what wonderful people they are, and what they need to thrive. For our part, my older son is moving from his Gen Ed placement with a 1:1 to an outplacement at a school with a dedicated curriculum for autistic students, which we are both happy and sad about, for all the predictable reasons. And we're in EI transition planning with my younger son, which means moving him into the district in which my older son has been crashing and burning. So no worries there, right? He'll be getting his own version of this resume just in time for the dreaded 3rd birthday. All of this is why I developed the special needs student resume. And why I decided to share it with all y'all. And since I get most folks would rather chew off their own arm than write a resume, why I also created a free template to make it faster and easier to make your own. Go forth and advocate! View and download a PDF of this 3 page sample special needs student resume (1st Grade) View and download a PDF of a 2 page sample special needs student resume (Kindergarten) Download a dotx Word template for creating a Special Needs Student Resume Socials I pinned this post to my Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder board. "Introduce your Special Needs child to school staff with free student resume template by @ShesAlwaysWrite - http://bit.ly/1rdzCPd #Autism" Tweet this!

Some students press too hard during handwriting tasks. Here are 10 suggestions to reduce pencil pressure when writing from Your Therapy Source.

I have a quick and simple tip for you today. Another teacher gave me this tip a few years ago and I love it! (I wish I remembered who gave me this tip and where they got the idea from so I could give the credit.) Do you ever start to give directions and you ... Read More about A quick classroom management tip

Are your kids learning how to write research papers? Do they find it hard to remember the steps and what is

Engaging, fun ways to teach your students summarizing skills. Strengthen their reading skills and provide practice with this challenging concept.

Teacher observation tips that not only change what your administrator sees when completing a teacher evaluation, but also changes the dynamic of your classroom.

When you walk into an interview for a teaching job, you want to feel confident in your skills but also your ability to show them off! In some careers, a resume’ listing experience might be enough, but in teaching, I think it’s a huge boon to go into an interview with a portfolio that really shows the details of that “elementary teacher” position you’ve had (or student teaching). It’s been awhile since I added my On The Hunt for a Teaching Job series, but I know seeing others’ portfolios really helped me (especially as a new teacher!) so I want to share mine. For my portfolio, I picked up a professional binder. Yes, it’s expensive, but you want the cover to say, “I’m credible and you need to look at me!” I used a pre-made Word template to make a cover page and added a photo of me with my class as well as my contact information. In the pocket, I include a resume, and the inside has a matching cover page that works sort of like an informal cover letter. I started with my favorite teaching quote, and used it as a springboard to describe my passion for teaching. I didn’t rehash my resume’ here- but instead wanted to get them interested in me. (Note: Please feel free to use something similar, but please DON’T copy exactly what I wrote. You want it to be unique to YOU!) Another option is to make a brochure. This is really great to leave after an interview, especially if it has a picture so they remember which face goes with which name! Inside, I use dividers to make it clear where I can find certain things. Notice that I said “I can find,” not “the administrator can find.” Administrators may never ask to see your portfolio or have time to do much with it, but if you happen to be in for an interview, a portfolio can be SO helpful! You can see my dividers here, now that I have a few years of experience: Here, you can see my dividers before my last update, when I hadn’t taught in my own classroom. In the past, I just stuck in pages of things I’d done. Most were printed out worksheets, assessments, parent notes, etc. And that was okay, but this time around I decided to show a little more. One HUGE benefit of blogging is that I take lots more pictures of the things going on in my classroom. So, for instance, when I wanted to show my creative lessons, ta – da! I wanted to showcase classroom management, and again, I already had the photos. It’s a great way to not just tell what I would do, but show it. I want principals to be able to imagine me and my classroom in their school! I still kept examples of work and other things behind each section, but these pages made it look really polished. Even if you’re not going to post them on a blog, I’d recommend finding a cheap point-and-shoot camera (or even a smartphone, if you have one) to take photos of your classroom and projects you do. It really helps when a principal wants to imagine you not in a suit, sitting in the office, but in classroom working with students. What’s really great about these pages is that you can print another copy (or go to FedEx Office for more color copies if you just have way too much money) and leave a mini-portfolio at schools without having to leave your nice binder. I used these mini-portfolios when I dropped off resume’s in person, too! When you consider what to include, make sure you think about the basics (classroom management, reading, math, engaging instruction, differentiation, assessment and data, organization), but don’t forget to include a section with your credentials and any honors/ certificates/ professional development/ licenses you may have! (Page protectors will keep you from having to hole punch those important papers.) Think about what makes you unique as a teacher. When they say, “What are your strengths?,” what will you show them? Don’t be afraid to make it unique and bright! For some other professions, you might not want to add color or any element of cute, but I think as long as it looks professional, colorful works really well for standing out. If you’re new here, be sure you check out the rest of this series and my new teacher tips! Next in the On The Hunt series: How to Stand Out (Even Before a Teaching Interview) Thanks for visiting!