I'm an 80s kid. I was born in 1977 and spent the bulk of my childhood in the greatest decade ever. I wore knee high striped socks with my short shorts. I listened to Michael Jackson, Tiffany, and Guns and Roses. My...

We absolutely love walking into kindergarten classrooms. There is a richness in colors that cover the walls, activities, and learning stations can be found scattered across the room, and let's face it, those cubbies...

Imagine a photo of the Grand Canyon, jagged peaks under a summer sky. In the foreground, a father holds a round-bellied little girl in a yellow shirt and sandals. Feet dangling, the girl stares at his collar, while he...

An exploding mixture! A cloud in a bottle! Every student's hand in the air to volunteer. Everyone's laughing. Sounds like an educator's dream. But when the dust (or simulated volcano) settles, it is often difficult to...

Best practices in social studies education have changed significantly over the last six years. With the release of the Common Core State Standards and its state variations, along with the C3 Framework by the National...

As societal pressures intensify and expectations push educators to improve achievement rates, create emotionally healthy environments, and make safety a priority, there is an increasing need to infuse joy into the...

Most teachers actively root for their students to succeed. They are often more committed to student learning than the students themselves. Even with the best of intentions, teachers frequently sabotage their students'...

Perhaps one of the most tenuous places to find yourself in as an educator is the moment a topic is broached in class that has multiple perspectives—particularly when students have an unexpected stance on the...

I hated middle school. It seemed like a cruel joke almost 20 years ago that the only job I could find was teaching remedial English to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. When I tell my students that I hated middle...

Once we've learned to read, reading becomes a tool that helps us learn. Creating a learning experience that incorporates reading deeply, however, can be a challenge for today's teachers. How can we make reading...