Teacher Michelle Russell likes to have some short activities on hand, in case she needs to fill extra time during math class. Here she shares several fun fillers that are easy to access, don’t require prep, and increase students’ math fluency, logic skills, or number sense.
We are living in an uncertain time with significant stress on institutions, including schools. Leaders play a critical role in helping their school community weather change and continue their commitment to serving each student. Williamson and Blackburn offer actionable advice.
Artificial Intelligence / Artificial Intelligence / New Teacher Tips / Technology
by Curtis Chandler · Published 04/15/2025 · Last modified 05/01/2025
Just like Top Gun Maverick had to trust his jet’s tech while employing his instincts and training, teachers are learning how to fly with AI as a co-pilot. The responsibility lies with us to adjust AI’s suggestions. Curtis Chandler offers dozens of teacher-tested prompts to get started.
Mechanically Inclined is more than a book on teaching grammar, usage, and style; it is a well-written, funny, and a smart glimpse into the classroom and inner landscape of a master teacher. The best of Writing Workshop coupled with intentional instruction, writes Jeny Randall.
When you need a bit of inspiration in your teaching life, Stephanie Farley encourages you to watch some or all of School of Rock. Perhaps, like her, you’ll find yourself wondering how you can create a project similar to “rock band” in your own classroom for a little while!
Instead of letting students take a nosedive into mindless games on screens when you have extra minutes at the end of the class, entice your learners with brain boosters that have them wanting to return for more. Sharon Ratliff shares several favorites with tips and examples.
Eighth grade teacher Sarah Cooper shares a class snapshot to show how much our students can understand. She believes it’s the obligation of social studies teachers (and others) to explore imperative issues of the past and present, “even when it would be infinitely easier not to.”
To boil “theme” down into a testable statement is to compress the wild, wonderful world of literature into a parking meter. This is far less than useful to our students, especially in our fraught and confusing times – and it is far less than they deserve, writes teacher Dina Strasser.
Communication, adaptability, and problem-solving are among the “soft” social-emotional skills that are behind-the-scenes champs of the learning process. Literacy interventionist Kelly Owens shares 10 ways she is weaving the “intangibles” employers prize into existing lessons.
By revealing and humanizing stories from the past, historical fiction fosters curiosity, inspires empathy, stimulates critical thinking, and helps develop understanding of complex issues. Kasey Short shares questions, activities and titles to help students benefit from the genre.
