My students just finished reading “The Monkey’s Paw,” and walked away with mixed feelings. They liked the mysterious mood of it, but HATE stories with unresolved endings! I explained that they must infer the ending, which makes it so deliciously suspenseful! I love that incredibly creepy story with a powerful message: be careful what you wish for! To […]
Teaching
How to submit assignments to JupiterEd from other applications
This is the third installment of my multi-part series on JupiterEd. Last week I covered Juno Docs, and the week prior to that was Basics of JupiterEd. This week I want to show you how students can submit assignments from different apps to JupiterEd. While this tutorial is iPad specific, students can still use the basic […]
How to incorporate a Mystery Location Call into your lessons
We finally did a Mystery Hangout, and it was so much fun! This past Friday my first period participated in a Mystery Location Call with one of the classes at Shawn Churchill‘s school. I originally connected with her via the Mystery Location Call Google+ Community, which has many members and is still growing. We exchanged messages via email, […]
Reflecting on my own progress at the end of the first grading period
I love looking back and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. Like giant shoulder pads didn’t work. Flannel shirts and Doc Martens absolutely did. Today I had my students blog about their grades for this first grading period. I’m trying to encourage them to be more metacognitive and reflective, and this time was no different. For […]
Using Juno Docs for submitting and grading assignments
This is the second installment of my multi-part series on JupiterEd. Last week I covered the basics of JupiterEd, and this week I want to show you how students can submit assignments right in JupiterEd so that you can grade them within the program. Because of the scope of the information covered, I would consider […]
Surprise and delight parents and send praise home
For the past five Mondays, I’ve set my intention on who I’m going to single out for the week. No, not in the negative sense, but with a purposeful one. Every Monday, I pick five students in each class who I will observe that week, and whose parents will receive virtual praise on Friday. Why do I do […]
How embracing change in your workplace can make you a better teacher
Changes This school year has already been such a whirlwind of change, more than any of the other 12 years prior. Too many teachers have left, positions changing, new responsibilities, new teachers arriving…it’s just so much. This seems to be the year when so many of my colleagues and friends decided to leave their comfort […]
A unconventional method to keep an ill student from missing out
I’d like to think that it’s absolutely DEVASTATING for my students to miss a day of my class. I mean, how could they stand not being there for my jokes, random musings, and crazy faces? So when a student misses many school days, I really notice. I know I’m not alone, since most teachers who […]
