Let us help you teach like a ninja!
Despite what some people might know about me, I’m an introvert and as a student, being painfully shy made learning difficult. As a teacher, it’s made me acutely aware that it’s important to support introverts in the classroom. We need to advocate for their needs. Check out some of the ways we support introverts in the classroom.
[Read more…] about 3 Ways to Support Introverts in the Classroom
One of the best parts of being part of the teaching profession is the chance to be a mentor teacher. It can be a tough job, particularly if the mentee needs a lot of support.
Being a great mentor does not come easily to everyone, but these are seven ways we were mentored by great teachers and now try to do the same while we work with pre-service and new teachers.
[Read more…] about 7 Ways to Be a Great Mentor Teacher
Valentine’s Day in upper elementary isn’t quite the same as the little kids or the older ones. It’s this weird time in a kid’s life when they are too old to care about paper cards but also want to be included in getting paper cards. They are just starting to have crushes but their maturity level is all over the place. We’ve spent a lot of time watching our Valentine’s Day ideas flop. But not anymore!
Over the years, we’ve watched students in our Grade 4 and Grade 5 classes to see how they respond to different activities for Valentine’s Day and we’ve settled on focusing on friendship and kindness. Some of these activities can be done any time of year because they are not specific to Valentine’s Day. These are the best Valentine’s Day ideas that were approved by our students.
[Read more…] about 9 Easy Valentine’s Day Ideas for Upper Elementary
Phew! You made it! Christmas is over, but remember how crazy and busy it was? We always get prepared one year in advance. Are we crazy? No, just thrifty. There are lots of benefits to planning out a year ahead. It means you can find lots of deals after Christmas that you can use for the classroom.
While some of these items are used for Christmas in the classroom, most can and should be used all year round.
[Read more…] about 10 Ways to Save Money in Your Classroom After Christmas
We have collected some of our favourite books written by Indigenous authors. It’s part of our commitment to raising the voices of Indigenous People across Canada. Canada is filled with so many wonderful creators that it only seemed fitting to highlight some of the best.
You will notice there are no affiliate links in this post. We ask that you support local businesses and authors by shopping at your local book stores. Teachers in our school purchased most of these books so we could have them in our school library and classrooms. Please be sure to comment below if you know of more books we should add.
[Read more…] about Learn the Truth With Books by Indigenous Authors
Most Canadian elementary teachers teach their own art lessons and most do not have any formal training outside of what they learned while earning their Bachelor of Education. That training can vary from a semester of learning to techniques to an afternoon painting one watercolour painting. Don’t worry, ninjas, we got a collection of art projects that will last all year. No planning needed!
[Read more…] about Art Projects That Will Last All Year
Each year in Canada, we celebrate Women’s History Month in October. This is in line with the International Day of the Girl and observing the anniversary of the Person’s Case, which took place in Canada on October 18, 1929. Women’s History Month was officially declared in 1992 by the Canadian government to celebrate the achievements of Canadian women.
In the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, Women’s History Month is observed in March. This is because many important women’s rights events happen during March in the United States. It took until 1987 for the American government to make it an official observance. International Women’s Day is in March as well.
It doesn’t matter when the month is. Women’s history should be taught as part of your overall history plan. Young girls and boys need to see women represented in all types of jobs and occupations. They all need to be taught that gender does not reflect how a person should be treated, paid, or ruled by laws.
That is why we try to have books that represent women and girls to the students in our classroom.
[Read more…] about Books For and About Powerful Women
We don’t assign formal homework to our students. It’s actually a district policy, but we also don’t believe that homework serves any real purpose other than causing frustration at home and making work for students. Instead, we assign a list of activities students can do at home instead of homework. We get WAY more engagement and everyone loves it.
[Read more…] about Amazing Activities Students Can Do Instead of Homework
Years ago we started keeping a journal of all the funny little things that happen in our classroom. This was a suggestion by one of our cooperating teachers when we were students teaching. Writing down little stories that happen at school each day has been one way to relive the sweetest moments of each school year.
Come read some of our favourites stories from our Overheard in My Classroom series.
[Read more…] about Hilarious Stories You’ll Love: Overheard in My Classroom
While it might seem like schools around the world are similar, education is viewed very differently. Canada and the US are commonly lumped together as being the same, but there are many fundamental differences in schools in each country. Let’s take a look at some of the differences between Canadian and American schools.
[Read more…] about 11 Differences Between Canadian and American Schools
Many French teachers struggle with how to assess French in their upper elementary classes. This is especially challenging for teachers who aren’t feeling confident with their own French skills.
Assessing French is the same as assessing many other subjects that are taught in school, but the degree of progress can vary greatly between students. Here are some of the ways we assess French in our classroom.
[Read more…] about How to Assess French as a Second Language
Mother’s Day tends to sneak up on us every year, so this year, we’ve made an effort to show some of the best Mother’s Day ideas we’ve created over the years. It’s funny how we always know when Mother’s Day will be, but it’s in that rush near the end of the school year, so it tends to be something we can do quickly and fairly inexpensively.
While we’ve called this post “mother’s day,” we are very careful to include all types of parent roles throughout the year. It is important to know who is in your classroom and know if there are parents, guardians or even foster parents. Have these conversations early.
So, what types of projects do we do for any parent or guardian appreciation do we create? Read on.
[Read more…] about Inexpensive and Easy to Make Mother’s Day Ideas
