When I was a brand-new teacher, I walked into my classroom expecting to find curriculum. There wasn't any. Not really. So I made stuff. Every night. Worksheets, centers, games, whatever my kids needed. But no matter how late I stayed up, I couldn't make everything. So I had an idea. I'd put a few of the things I'd made into a ... Continue Reading

Here is a scene from my first years of teaching that I am not particularly proud of. I would often pack up a stack of student writing journals and take them home. I would pour myself something to drink, sit down at the kitchen table, and get to work marking up every misspelling, every missing period, every lowercase letter that had absolutely ... Continue Reading

You know that feeling when test prep season hits, and you pull out practice passages? Half your class stares at the blank page like it personally offended them. The other half writes two sentences and declares, "I'm done!" And the brave souls who actually try? You get back a hot mess with zero text evidence and a conclusion that says, ... Continue Reading

Let me guess. Science is on your schedule. It's on your plans. It might even be color-coded. And yet somehow, every single week, it's the first thing to go. Reading ran long. A math lesson flopped and needed a do-over. Someone cried. Someone else needed a bathroom break at the absolute worst moment. And just like that — Friday arrived and ... Continue Reading

I used to think routines were the enemy of creativity. Predictable? Boring. Repetitive? Snooze. I wanted my classroom to be exciting—full of fresh activities and Pinterest-worthy surprises that made my students gasp with delight. So I spent every Sunday creating brand-new reading activities. And every Monday? My students spent half the period ... Continue Reading