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Practical, self-paced professional development and college credit
for secondary ELA and general education teachers
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Nov 29, 20232 min read
5 Ways to Handle the ELA Workload
There’s no doubt that English teachers have to manage a ton of work. Students have to practice writing frequently and gather as many quotes
355 views
Nov 1, 20233 min read
10 Whole Class Discussion Strategies
With every passing year, it seems harder and harder to get students interested in whole class discussions. But there are creative ways ...
382 views
Aug 2, 20232 min read
More Fun, Less Stress
July has come to an end and it’s that time when the thought of school starts to plan its seed in every teacher’s mind. What will this year
140 views
Jan 24, 20233 min read
The Best Engagement Strategy: Scaffolding and Guided Notes
It feels like it’s getting harder and harder to keep the attention of our students. Every teacher knows that if a student doesn’t use ...
564 views
Nov 22, 20222 min read
Learning and Exercise: A Conversation with ActivEd Founder Dr. Julian Reed
Every teacher is familiar with the kind of student who struggles to pay attention for a long period of time...
188 views
Nov 17, 20222 min read
How to Avoid Teacher Burnout: 3 Solutions
For me, stress always hits at the end of a marking period. I suddenly realize how much I need to grade . . .
1,900 views
Jul 8, 20225 min read
Classroom Routines: 5 Simple Hacks
There’s no feeling quite like when you discover a small classroom routine that makes your life easier.
911 views
Jan 10, 20223 min read
New Year, New Habits: Reflecting on Reflecting
It’s a new year and this will be my 100th blog and podcast, so I’ve been thinking about reflection, the mental process of looking back and t
156 views
Nov 11, 20213 min read
What If We Treat Students Like Athletes?
What if we treated our students like we treat athletes? What if we taught like a coach at halftime? What if we could recreate the same...
368 views
Oct 27, 20215 min read
How Students Learn: 7 Engagement Techniques
When we ask our students to pay attention, we’re competing with five to ten second video clips on television and social media apps...
778 views
Oct 18, 20213 min read
5 Easy Ways to Motivate Students
Every fall my students seem a little sluggish from the summer. Over the course of a few weeks in September, I see their brains turn on,...
339 views
Sep 2, 20214 min read
5 Ways to Establish Great Relationships in Your Classroom
If you look back on being a student, I’m sure you remember not the specifics of what you learned, but your teachers, the people tasked with
570 views
Aug 5, 20213 min read
Symbolism Ice Breaker
We are all familiar with the first few days in our classroom. It’s a little tense because our students don’t know us ...
753 views
Jul 2, 20213 min read
The Keys to Organizing an ELA Classroom
A well-organized classroom reduces stress and helps everyone focus on what’s most important, the literature.
530 views
Jun 26, 20213 min read
The Path to Easy, Exciting, Excellent Teaching
My school year finished this week, and as I watched my seniors graduate, I felt like we all deserved something special for making it...
92 views
May 25, 20213 min read
New Year, New Ideas
It’s hard to imagine that anything positive will come out of this year, but I’ve been thinking about what, if any, lessons I’ve learned ...
296 views
Apr 14, 20214 min read
7 Methods to Finish the Year Strong
If you have been teaching remote or hybrid you know that students don’t turn in as much work as they usually do. You’re not alone ...
333 views
Mar 12, 20217 min read
Meaning-Making in the Secondary ELA Classroom
It’s easy to say to our students that literature should be meaningful. It’s easy to ask students … what does that line mean?
211 views
Feb 13, 20213 min read
Why Do You Want to Be a Teacher?
Introduction to Teaching the Magic of Literature: Using Imagination to Shape the Future It was one of the simplest, yet most complicated...
289 views
Jan 19, 20214 min read
What Makes a Superteacher?
This has been a challenging year for any teacher. Even during a regular year, teachers work hard to meet the many demands and...
315 views
Jan 11, 20213 min read
Teaching the Novel in a Remote or Hybrid Classroom
I’m trying to get as creative as possible when it comes to being flexible with students. After finishing a few units ...
628 views
Dec 23, 20206 min read
10 Creative Projects for Remote Learning
My colleagues and I recently had a conversation about the rest of the year and what we could do to keep our students engaged....
225 views
Dec 11, 20203 min read
50 Songs to Start Class
This year, the start of class is that awkward time when we’re saying hello and waiting for everyone to virtually trickle in. When...
1,338 views
Oct 19, 20204 min read
5 Tech Tools for Small Groups and Presentations
Under normal circumstances, we try to steer kids away from socializing so they can stay on task and so that we can give our assessments and
320 views
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