• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lepre's Learning Log

Beginning Teacher Coaching | Strategies for New Teachers

  • Home
    • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • FB Group
  • Contact me!

Let’s be social!

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • mail

Teaching Strategies

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares
5 types of data

5 types of data you must collect to move your students forward

Posted: August 9, 2018

The beginning of the school year is probably right around the corner for you. You might be thinking about how you want to decorate your classroom, looking for back-to-school activities and getting-to-know-you ideas, and making copies of your syllabus. You may meet with your school and/or department prior to that first day, and then proceed […]

4 comments

How to ensure that your summer planning prepares you for success

Posted: May 15, 2018

As another school year winds down, many teachers are envisioning all of the things they want to do (or NOT do) over the summer. With an extended student-free block of time and no assignments to grade, lessons to plan, or parents to call, the time off during summer offers so many opportunities for catching up! […]

1 comment

How to keep your students from going insane after finals

Posted: May 1, 2018

We’re fast approaching the end of the school year, and for many districts, this means a week of finals/end-of-course exams (EOCs). Since my school is already on a block schedule, we don’t modify the classes at all. However, I know that some non-block schools change to two-hour blocks for each period to allow extra for […]

1 comment
lesson plans | lesson planning | classroom management | student behavior | how to plan a lesson

How to plan a lesson that will keep your students engaged and on-task

Posted: March 12, 2018

As a beginning teacher mentor, I have the privilege of helping our future educators wrap their brains around the many components of teaching. This requires me to get my own brain back into what it felt like to start out – the details I would miss, what I struggled the most with, and the mistakes […]

5 comments
lesson plans | classroom management | teaching tips | student behavior

Why effective lesson planning leads to good classroom management

Posted: March 5, 2018

The average teacher probably handles classroom management and lesson planning as separate entities. I know I do, especially since it seems like once you have your classroom management plan in place, you just have to worry about enforcing it. This leaves open the mental space to tackle everything else involved with teaching. I was recently […]

5 comments
first year teacher | first year teaching | beginning teacher | beginning teaching tips | first year teaching tips | how to survive your first year of teaching

6 foundations of teaching to focus on in your first year

Posted: February 28, 2018

I’ll bet that some of you are reading this blog post in an attempt to distract yourself from the crushing amount of work you need to do. Perhaps it’s 10:00 PM, and you still don’t know what you’re teaching tomorrow. Even worse, it’s now 11:00 PM, you don’t know what you’re teaching tomorrow, and you […]

4 comments
parent emails | parent communication | angry emails | angry parent | solving conflict

What to do when you get an angry parent email

Posted: February 12, 2018

Like many of you reading this, I’m both a parent and a teacher. Wearing these hats has given me a unique perspective while also a disadvantage – I just might think I know more than my daughter’s teachers. Admittedly, this sounds terrible, but every parent/teacher is guilty of this. You look at the work they take […]

10 comments
grading assignments | grading papers | grading essays | how to grade faster | kaizena | google drive | google docs | giving feedback | effective feedback

How to conquer assignment grading and take back your weekends

Posted: February 5, 2018

So we need to talk…about grading. You’re thinking, AGAIN? Didn’t you tell me how to grade less while improving student outcomes, and then how to attack that pile of grading? I sure did! But in the past month or so I discovered yet another amazing tool that has cut down the amount of time I spend […]

7 comments
Student effort | make students work | don't give up | first year teacher | first year teaching | teaching tips | teaching strategies

Why now is the time to ramp up your grit and MAKE your students work

Posted: November 28, 2017

On a sleepy Monday morning, I pause at my desk to quickly input attendance. After two clicks, I slowly walk toward the room while peeking at different students’ journal responses. The class, collectively hunched over their desks and silently crafting their response, doesn’t notice as I weave through the groups to where Eric sits. He […]

2 comments
new teacher mistakes | first year teaching | first year teaching Mistakes | classroom management | classroom management strategies

The biggest mistake new teachers can make

Posted: October 25, 2017

You may have noticed from my previous posts that I’m a fairly reflective teacher I’ll admit when I make a mistake in teaching I like to pass on the wisdom gleaned from those mistakes. I especially feel a sense of duty to share everything I’ve learned these past 16 with new teachers. I mean, let’s […]

0 comments

The ONE THING teachers can do (but refuse to) that will instantly improve their teaching

Posted: October 10, 2017

If you’re a teacher, then you’re probably familiar with the idea of teaching being compared to acting. On any given day, teachers may be tired, depressed, anxious, or generally unhappy, but when the students walk in, they have to be “on.” You might hear the teacher’s voice and energy go up, a smile plastered on […]

2 comments

5 things I wish I knew when I started teaching

Posted: October 3, 2017

Every seasoned teacher will tell a new one that the first year is the hardest, and understandably so. First-year teachers face an insurmountable challenge of trying to balance classroom culture, classroom management, teaching to the standards, assessment, professional development, staff responsibilities, and home life, to name a few. However, part of surviving that first year […]

3 comments
7 reasons why your students won't do their assignment | classroom management | first year teaching | misbehavior | failing students

7 reasons why your students won’t do their assignment

Posted: September 20, 2017

Picture this: you’ve planned out the perfect unit, and today is when students really need to buckle down and get down to work. You disseminate the assignment, give the students directions, and send them off to learning land. While 30 sets of heads hover over their worksheet, you notice one looking out the window. Another […]

5 comments
two hands putting a puzzle piece together, representing putting the pieces of student data together to complete a picture

Digging into data: identifying the needs of struggling students

Posted: September 5, 2017

This is my final installment of my Digging into Data series, so I’m going to give an example of how this data has helped me identify struggling students, and how it helps me differentiate for all of students. If you haven’t already read the other posts in the series, I encourage you to do so, […]

0 comments
Diversity represented in people of different colors holding hands

Digging into data: two teachers’ perspectives on demographic data

Posted: August 29, 2017

In my previous post, I discussed the merits of administering a baseline assessment and how I interpret that data. Today, I’m looking at student demographic data as another way of creating a complete picture of who my students are. While it doesn’t sound like the most exciting way to spend an hour of planning time, […]

1 comment
Using pre-assessment data | assessment | back-to-school | back to school | collecting data | how to know if your students are struggling

Digging into data: your pre-assessment data is the rudder to your ship

Posted: August 22, 2017

We are a month into the school year, and my data collection is coming along quite nicely. In fact, I’m elbow deep in it, a.k.a., grading my first pre-assessment. I usually take my time with the first one because I’m really trying to learn my students and their writing styles. It’s definitely a labor of […]

2 comments
How lexile levels work | how to use Lexile | student reading | reading level

Digging into data: how Lexile scores can help to inform educational decisions

Posted: August 15, 2017

It’s time for a vlog post! This week I’ve taken to video format to show you how to use students’ Lexile scores and reading levels to inform educational decisions. I’ve included a breakdown of two of my classes’ Lexile scores and how I plan to use them for groups and seating charts. A quick note: […]

1 comment
individualized learning plans | IEPs | how to support students with IEP | how to read an IEP

Digging into data: Analyzing IEPs to be an effective teacher for students with disabilities

Posted: August 9, 2017

In my previous post, I discussed the 5 types of data that every teacher needs to collect to move their students forward. Today, I’m going to focus on one type of data mentioned in that post – Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). All teachers – whether they teach accelerated or special education students – will come across […]

3 comments
data drives

When ignoring data drives teachers down the wrong path

Posted: July 25, 2017

Data. Analyzing data. I remember that I would literally groan and face palm when I heard an administrator mutter those words. At my previous school, the discussion of data was always paired with bad news regarding test scores. Or targeted populations. Sometimes the doom of program improvement, and teaching to the standardized test. At the […]

0 comments
paper | worksheets | printables | digital learning | educational technology | traditional education

Why I choose to strike a balance between paper and digital learning

Posted: June 23, 2017

Are you someone that uses worksheets in your teaching? I am, despite the fact that I’ve read different blog posts and articles from educators that eschew the practice for more “hands-on” and “real” learning experiences. Don’t get me wrong – I believe that much of the learning should be a real-world experience for an authentic […]

0 comments

How to overthrow in-service days and up your professional development

Posted: September 21, 2015

Ah, the joy of back-to-school in-service days. The long meetings with agendas set by administration. At least an hour poring over the staff handbook (again).  Being the passive receiver of content rather than engaging in or creating it. The double-standard of constantly being told to not teach this way, while enduring it year after year. This […]

3 comments
teaching | educational philosophy | education | making mistakes | first year teacher | first year of teaching

What to do when it seems like nothing you’re doing is working

Posted: September 14, 2015

Educators know that all-too-familiar feeling of desperately trying to teach an important skill or concept, only to be faced with a sea of blank and/or confused faces.  We try and try again, convinced that we found the right angle, and nothing changes. It’s as if our teaching has suddenly become ineffective, even if we’ve taught for […]

0 comments
reflecting | progress | setting goals | reflecting on goals

Reflecting on my own progress at the end of the first grading period

Posted: September 3, 2015

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 […]

0 comments
parent communication | classroom culture | virtual high fives | sending good news

Surprise and delight parents and send praise home

Posted: August 31, 2015

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 […]

0 comments
education | school | being absent from school | being ill and missing school | missing school | educational technology

A unconventional method to keep an ill student from missing out

Posted: August 27, 2015

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 […]

0 comments
student cheating | dealing with students cheating | academic honesty | nature of cheating

When students cheat – and why it’s hard to fix

Posted: August 24, 2015

Folks, we have a cheating problem on our hands. I know it’s naive to think that my students WON’T cheat, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. About two weeks ago I was helping one of my students email me an assignment from his iPad.  Doing this required him to open his Gmail app […]

0 comments
standards based grading | grading methods | how I grade | why I grade | what is the point of grades | how to grade

Making a case for standards-based grading

Posted: August 22, 2015

I received an email today at 7:09 AM from a parent: Mrs. Lepre, why aren’t you using the traditional grades in your class? What does a “3” mean? It’s easiest for me to look at A B C grades to keep up with how she’s doing. I never agreed with pretending WE ARE ALL DOING […]

0 comments

Gamify Open House, Back-to-School Night, or Parent Night

Posted: August 14, 2015

Another Open House came and went (#13!), but this time with a twist.  Since I’m looping with my students (this is my second year with them), I’m also looping with their parents!  I couldn’t do the SAME thing I did last year for Back-To-School Night because THAT would be boring. So I decided to mix […]

0 comments
first year teaching | beginning teacher | teacher advice | tips on teaching | teaching strategies

An open letter to myself as a first year teacher

Posted: August 13, 2015

Dear Kim, Congratulations on making it through college and your credential program! I know that you’re going to be a fabulous teacher and really change the lives of kids in a positive way. Also, high five for landing your first teaching job! As your future self, I want to give you some friendly advice for […]

4 comments
Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Kim! I help new and beginning teachers navigate through their crazy first few years of teaching so that they can THRIVE instead of survive.
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Tweet
Instagram
Pinterest
Pinterest
Pin Share

Learn more about

  • Assessment and Grading
  • Beyond Teaching
  • Curriculum
  • Digging into Data Series
  • Educational Technology
  • Podcast
  • Student Blogging Series
  • Teaching
  • Teaching Strategies

What are you looking for?

My most popular posts

Footer

Categories

Let’s be social!

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Tweet
Instagram
Pinterest
Pinterest
Pin Share
Contact Me!
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2018 Lepre's Learning Log - All Rights Reserved | Sitemap

Beginning Teacher Coaching | Strategies for New Teachers

 

Loading Comments...