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Classroom Spaces

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I know that flexible seating is a buzzword of the moment and that there isn’t a lot of definitive research done on the topic, but two events this school year have me thinking about my classroom space, the intentionality behind it, and the effects on student learning. This is my third year in my current classroom and each year I think about the environment I want to create, both in terms of functionality as well as inviting opportunities to read and collaborate. Three years ago I shifted my thinking for classroom design beyond what I put on the walls. I used a Donors Choose project to fun two lounge chairs and four Hokki Stools. My sons were three or four at the time and I saw lots of fun seating at the libraries and children’s museums we visited that made me wonder why there weren’t similar options for older students that balanced movement and inviting spaces for reading. The next year, I moved rooms to one I had coveted for its built-in bookshelves that ran below the windows. I ma...
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Analysis Paralysis

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This past week I focused on analysis with my junior classes, both the AP Language and Honors American Literature classes. Both classes had summer homework that guided this instruction as I read too many sentences declaring that “This quote shows” without much further discussion as to “how,” or “why,” or “So what?” Students reflected that they knew they had to explain the quote and connect it back to their thesis, but that they often felt repetitive as their essays progressed. I was on the hunt to find ways to articulate the difference between “explain” and “analyze” and how to facilitate a deeper discussion of evidence. I have this book on my shelf to read and hope it might help. Until I get to it though, I found a resource that I tried and think it was a move in the right direction. It was created by a teacher in Massachusetts whom I follow on Instagram (@thetownieteacher). She offers links to her products from her profile (instead of selling them on Teachers Pay Teacher, which...
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Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

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I’ve come to understand my life as a trifecta of sorts. I see three priority areas: home and family, teaching and school, and health and wellness. I love my job and want to do it as well as I can. I value time with two sons and want to have healthy meals ready for us to sit down to at dinner or to pack in their lunch boxes each morning. I value running and time outdoors if I want to maintain my sanity and any sort of patience with others. I know that life is a balance - there highs and lows, gives and takes - and that helps make it a bit easier as I come to realize that I can’t be on top of my game in all three of these areas at once. Look! In these pictures, I am apple picking with my family. It was a beautiful late summer day and my to boys are always thrilled to spend time with their cousins. Before meeting at the orchard I had gone to my running group, emptied the recycling, and cleaned the bathrooms. After the orchard, we all went to lunch at an awesome local cafe . This is...
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Week in Review - How a Document Camera is Transforming My Teaching

Last Spring I was lucky enough to be able to attend a conference with Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher at Kennett High School in North Conway. Penny Kittle’s books have instrumental in thinking about how I teach. I appreciate her ideas and that they are given with the understanding that teaching is a process, that turning long time reluctant readers into lovers of books will not happen overnight or with one magic shift. After the conference, I read her most recent book with Gallagher, 180 Days , and loved it. I have been working to incorporate techniques and routines in my classroom. I wanted to reflect weekly about the practices I’m trying and the effects I’m seeing. For context, I teach five classes total including two sections of AP Language and Composition, three sections of Senior Topics in Lit (our college prep level course), and one section of Honors American Literature. In total, I have 86 students. Our schedule is an alternating block schedule with 72 minute periods. Wed...
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The First Blog

I’ve been a reader of blogs for years. I appreciate the glimpse into other’s lives, the inspiration, the articulation of things I had been thinking and feeling but often unable to articulate or admit to myself. I read blogs to be a better runner, parent, and teacher. To slow down and make sense of life as it often moves too quickly around me. I have often felt that taking the time to reflect and write on my own would most definitely add to this, but have been hesitant to do so. Now, as I take the leap to start this blog I have to think about the purpose and direction it will take. I know that I do not want it to be a venting space. I do not want to complain without being constructive in considering ways to move forward from a problem. I do want to add to the conversation around teaching practices, issues affecting schools, and school culture.  I do want it to be a reflective space to gather my thoughts about teaching as well as other aspects of my life, such as the balance betw...
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