On our Minds

Explicit Teaching – Back to School

Last week I “walked” a group of new faculty through my client High School’s student information system. The week before I supported a colleague in leading a group of new faculty through my Elementary School client’s student information system. Prior to that session, I did a nuts and bolts workshop for new teachers. These are adults, can’t they figure out these systems and protocols? Why…

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Listening is Hard

During a recent client faculty meeting, we continued our discussion on the Power of Teacher language (from Responsive Classroom). One focus was on Active Listening. You may be surprised in a Book Study of language that the idea of listening comes up in every chapter. Active Listening defined by The MINDUP Curriculum:  “Being able to listen in a focused way to what others say and to…

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Short Cuts

Short cuts. We all want to take short cuts. And sometimes short cuts are useful. Don’t we love when we learn a new short cut to drive to our favorite places. But most of the time, a short cut does not help. This is particularly true in school.  Students often love short cuts, like when they use the computer to find math or social studies…

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How to Teach Tenacity? – a revisit

Recently my thoughts have turned again to tenacity. Tenacity can be defined in one of three ways: Each of these definitions really come down to one thing, not giving up. Not letting one thing, one conversation, one event stop one’s forward progress. Why have I been thinking about this? Mostly from some student observations and conversations I have had with parents and colleagues.  A while…

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Picturebooks for a Digital World

The Nantucket Sea Monster by Darcy Pattison A Fake News Story Nerdy Bird Tweets by Aaron Reynolds Social Media Two Truths and a Tall Tale by Sandy Silverthorne Fake News  Once Upon a Time Online by David Bedford Digital Commerce Online Safety #Goldilocks: A Hashtag Cautionary Tale by Jeanne Willis & Tony Ross Social Media Digital Tattoo For the full ever expanding list: bit.ly/etedigcitbooks Or…

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Explicit Teaching

As we start this school year, what are you planning to explicitly teach your students for a successful year of growth? How to line up for recess? Where to find materials in the classroom? How to move from their seats to the community area? I am guessing these and many more. When coaching teachers about the start of the school year, I encourage them to…

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A Letter to Myself

An End of Year Reflection This year for my annual school end reflection, I have decided to write myself a letter.  In fact I am having my whole faculty writing themselves a letter. So let’s start. Dear Me, I found this year harder than last school year. Last year, was tough with plastic shields, masks, no sharing, lots of Clorox wipes. But everyone was mostly…

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