Roxanna Elden's Blog, page 13
August 3, 2016
The Bathrobe Dream… and Other Common Teacher Nightmares
I’m a believer that images from a night’s sleep can provide insight into daytime thoughts, so it’s always been interesting to me that so many teachers report having similar dreams — or, in many cases, similar nightmares. With the help of my yellowed copy of Tony Crisp’s Dream Dictionary and conversations with a few colleagues,... Read more »
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How Can Teachers Get a Good Night’s Sleep the Night Before School Starts?
A good day of teaching takes a good night of sleep. But how do you get to sleep?Many teachers can relate to that Sunday night stomachache that keeps you staring at the clock, or the “New School Year’s Eve” feeling of panic as wakeup time creeps closer and closer and you haven’t fallen asleep yet. Here are a... Read more »
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August 2, 2016
Classroom Procedures Every Teacher Needs
If there is something that students do every day or every week in your classroom, you should have a procedure to make it happen with minimum drama. These don’t have to be perfect from the first day, because you can make small adjustments as you go. The important thing is to put some advanced thought into... Read more »
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July 24, 2016
New Teacher Organization 101: Planning for Paperwork
You know your students will turn in plenty of papers once the year starts. What you may not realize is you’ll also get lots of paperwork from your school early in the year – including some things you may not need to look at until May. Luckily, there are a few ways to plan ahead... Read more »
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July 22, 2016
A Trick for Memorizing Students’ Names on the First Day of Class
You probably already know that there are lots of benefits to learning students’ names as soon as possible. In elementary school, where the seats are labeled and you only have one class, memorizing names is a breeze. In high school it’s a lot harder, but still worthwhile. Here’s a system I’ve used to memorize the names...
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July 16, 2016
The School Year Starter Kit (Or, Everything You Should Have Learned at New Teacher Orientation)
Often, New Teacher Orientation events mix fire-hose levels of information with inspirational parables, set to a soundtrack of Wind Beneath My Wings on repeat. In fact, taken together, the messages teachers receive right before they walk into their first classroom sound like this: Yet orientation events often leave out the number one subject on teachers’ minds: The first day of school.... Read more »
The post The School Year Starter Kit (Or, Everything You Should Have Learned at New Teacher Orientation) appeared first on Roxanna Elden.
The School Year Starter Kit (Or, Everything You Should Have Learned in New Teacher Orientation)
Most New Teacher Orientation events mix fire-hose levels of information with inspirational parables, all set to a soundtrack of Wind Beneath My Wings on repeat. Taken together, the messages teachers receive right before they walk into their first classroom sound like this: Yet orientation events often leave out the number one subject on teachers’ minds: The first day of... Read more »
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July 15, 2016
Two Ways to Assign Seats on the First Day of Class
It can be hard to label permanent seats in before the first day of school because your class list will change throughout the first week. The first week may also provide some clues about which students should sit together, and – more important – which students should definitely not sit together. If you don’t think... Read more »
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July 13, 2016
Three Easy Ways Administrators Can Support Teachers
In See Me After Class, I discuss the four things most administrators want from teachers: “Do your job. Do your job well. Do your job independently and with as little drama as possible. Make yourself, your students, the school, and, yes, your principal look as good as possible.” In a recent interview, however, EdWeek’s Larry Ferlazzo asked an... Read more »
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Your Principal Vs. Your Principles: How to Speak Up to Administrators. And When to Shut Up.
Your administration is like a bra: if it offers the support you need, you both look and feel better. If it fits poorly, it can get in your way and even become painful. This makes it understandably scary when you have to approach your principal directly, but a tough conversation doesn’t have to mean making... Read more »
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