Teaching At Its Best


Helping Students Become Independent Readers: Inspired by Three Teachers Talk

Helping Students Become Independent Readers: Inspired by Three Teachers Talk


Share The Class & Share Power.

Share The Class & Share Power.


The 6th Period I Thought I'd Never Miss. You know that one class you have every year? The one that…

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Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning


It was supposed to be a tough year, and this was, after all, that class of students. That class that derails every conversation -…

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Keeping Students Engaged Through Differentiated Anchor Activities

Keeping Students Engaged Through Differentiated Anchor Activities


Oftentimes, teachers strive to keep the "high fliers" in a subject area engaged and challenged independently while we supply other…

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Music, Math, & The Mind

Music, Math, & The Mind


When you think of math lessons, you probably don't usually think of "The Battle of the Math Bands," Fraction Egg…

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My Strategy Was To Just Be Nice

My Strategy Was To Just Be Nice


As an educator, building a relationship with your students is often the most delicate yet profoundly rewarding challenge you embark…

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A Holistic Approach to Teaching A Drug Free Program

A Holistic Approach to Teaching A Drug Free Program


Many of us in the “visiting teacher” category are from special interest organizations that target a specific subject area. My…

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Getting to the Root of the Problem: Strategies to help students succeed.

Getting to the Root of the Problem: Strategies to help students succeed.


Although I recognize that this institute targets K-12 educators, I find that their content also relates to older students. I…

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Revamping Seating Charts Promotes Community & Growth Amongst Students

Revamping Seating Charts Promotes Community & Growth Amongst Students


How can one design a seating chart with 24 unique students? Do you use rows or groups, or the E…

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Compassionate Listening Skills.

Compassionate Listening Skills.


There is a student of mine named Chris, who has become one of my favorite kids in the school. However,…

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Test Your Students Based On Their Strengths.

Test Your Students Based On Their Strengths.


A focus in my life science class is appreciating our differences and finding beauty in imperfection. I highlight this throughout…

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Decreasing Disruptive Behaviors In The Classroom Using Mindfulness Techniques.

Decreasing Disruptive Behaviors In The Classroom Using Mindfulness Techniques.


In the past several years of my career, especially as we returned to school during the pandemic, my colleagues and…

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Helping Students Feel Safe

Helping Students Feel Safe


As a teacher, it is common to encounter many different kinds of students. It is even more common to meet…

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Teaching Should Not Be A Solo Act.

Teaching Should Not Be A Solo Act.


Last year during our Extemporaneous Speech presentation, one student went awry. This student walked to the front looking super confident,…

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Building Worlds with Backwards Thinking

Building Worlds with Backwards Thinking


     How does a teacher get students to write who don’t want to write? And what I mean is…

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Four Domains of Language Learning:  Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing

Four Domains of Language Learning:  Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing


As a language teacher, I enjoy operating in a field considered an elective but one that I consider imperative. We…

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Centering Wellness in the Social Studies Classroom

Centering Wellness in the Social Studies Classroom


After many years as a special education intervention teacher centering on social-emotional awareness and wellbeing while delivering academic instruction, I…

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A New Semester A New You

A New Semester A New You


Guest post written by Niko Yasui   A successful lesson I have used over the past ten years has been “A New…

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A Noteworthy Success Story

A Noteworthy Success Story


Guest post by Jennifer Wilson I have been teaching at Hood River Middle School for ten years now. I teach 8th grade,…

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Walking For Fitness

Walking For Fitness


Guest post by Alissa Lindeman   As part of our community outreach program, we connected with a JOBS program through the local…

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Why Do They Act Like This?

Why Do They Act Like This?


Guest post by THI instructor Michael Sedler   When students don’t respond to an adult in the manner in which is expected,…

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Intervention Strategies for Kids Who Stop Trying

Intervention Strategies for Kids Who Stop Trying


Guest post by Aimee Paulson Once upon a time, there was a middle school student who had given up on school. He…

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Starting the School Year Gritty

Starting the School Year Gritty


Let's face it teachers are gritty people. From completing a credential program to pursuing advanced degrees, it takes grit. If…

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Getting More Out of Classroom Textbook Reading: The Secret is in Engagement

Getting More Out of Classroom Textbook Reading: The Secret is in Engagement


Most teachers depend on textbook reading to provide the backbone of their subject matter to students. But, how many times…

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Online Interactive Reading [VIDEO]

Online Interactive Reading [VIDEO]


In this short, Tips for Teachers Video, learn from Heritage Institute instructor Charity Staudenraus as she talks about online interactive reading using…

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Back to School with Real-life Experiences: Get Going with Google Tours

Back to School with Real-life Experiences: Get Going with Google Tours


The idea of bringing the outside world of mathematics into a 20 x 40 square foot space to 30 squirrelly…

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Guaging Student Understanding—More Than a Hunch!

Guaging Student Understanding—More Than a Hunch!


During a lesson how do you mentally measure where students are in their progress towards learning goals?   If you are like…

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Do Multiple Ways Matter: Using Tech to Make the Connection

Do Multiple Ways Matter: Using Tech to Make the Connection


  Let's be clear counting in small quantities is a skill most kids do naturally without much prompting or coaching needed,…

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Bringing Math Into the Real World with Technology

Bringing Math Into the Real World with Technology


Okay you know the feeling it's math, and kids come into your classroom with all sorts of prior experiences and…

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Strategies for Attention Seeking Behaviors

Strategies for Attention Seeking Behaviors


It’s frustrating when your students are constantly misbehaving in order to get your attention or the attention of their classmates.…

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A Step-by-Step Guide for Using Puppets to Nurture Your Primary Students’ Reading Development

A Step-by-Step Guide for Using Puppets to Nurture Your Primary Students’ Reading Development


Young children benefit from interacting with the same story again and again. They develop rich story language, learn new vocabulary…

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Avoid “Aboutitus”: Curate Your Classroom with Insiders

Avoid “Aboutitus”: Curate Your Classroom with Insiders


What exactly is “Aboutitus?” It’s our tendency and habit of presenting a subject as bits & pieces, isolated elements, small topics,…

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Then One Day I Decided, “Why Fight It?”

Then One Day I Decided, “Why Fight It?”


In 2015, I started out with a great group of third grade students. I knew many of the students as…

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Common Misconceptions about Socratic Seminars and How to Use Them Effectively

Common Misconceptions about Socratic Seminars and How to Use Them Effectively


I’ve talked to a lot of teachers about using Socratic seminars in class, a lesson format in which students take…

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Helping Students of Mixed Abilities Achieve in the Special Ed Math Classroom

Helping Students of Mixed Abilities Achieve in the Special Ed Math Classroom


There is nothing in the world more that I would want to do as a profession than be a high…

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Tips for Teachers on How to Better Manage Overwhelm [VIDEO]

Tips for Teachers on How to Better Manage Overwhelm [VIDEO]


Teachers have a lot to manage in the classroom and in their lives. Here are some tips for teachers on…

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Ways to Include Student Voice in Your Teaching

Ways to Include Student Voice in Your Teaching


Some of the most impactful learning comes from activities that allow students to speak their minds and volunteer their own…

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Mindsets in the Classroom [VIDEO]

Mindsets in the Classroom [VIDEO]


Mindsets in teaching and learning are being recognized as a core foundation in education according to Heritage Institute instructor Brenda…

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5 Ways to Use Movement in Lessons to Help Students Refocus

5 Ways to Use Movement in Lessons to Help Students Refocus


Getting kids to sit still for six hours a day is an almost impossible task!  In the lower grades, recess…

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Using Personal Maps to Better Get to Know Your Students

Using Personal Maps to Better Get to Know Your Students


Getting to know your students can be a challenge, especially when you see over 100 different kids in one day.…

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6 Simple Ways To Promote An Attitude Of Gratitude In Your Classroom

6 Simple Ways To Promote An Attitude Of Gratitude In Your Classroom


In the wake of school violence, suicide and a host of other social problems that plague children and youth, teachers…

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When All Else Fails, Turn up the Music!

When All Else Fails, Turn up the Music!


As a fourth grade social studies teacher I am often faced with comments such as, “History is so boring! How…

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Building Confident Readers

Building Confident Readers


“I don’t read.”   As a teacher of social studies and English, I’ve heard this more times than I can remember. Every…

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An Experiment in Mindfulness

An Experiment in Mindfulness


When I hit my fifth year of teaching, I felt pretty confident. I’d worked in three different schools, from inner-city…

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4 Questions to Ask Yourself for Successful Seating Charts

4 Questions to Ask Yourself for Successful Seating Charts


“So, when are we moving seats?”   I get this question about once every six weeks, and it works like an unofficial…

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Developing and Reinforcing Responsibility in Your Students

Developing and Reinforcing Responsibility in Your Students


Early on in my teaching career, I recognized that while students were expected to take on more responsibility in high…

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Why You Should Consider Allowing Cell Phone Use in Your Middle School Music Classroom

Why You Should Consider Allowing Cell Phone Use in Your Middle School Music Classroom


The bell rings and the students amble into the room. You stand at your post, greeting your middle schoolers, and…

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A Time Filler Triumph

A Time Filler Triumph


This article is dedicated to my esteemed colleagues who, like myself, belong to the Band Directors Facebook Group. This is…

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A Fresh Look at the First Day of School

A Fresh Look at the First Day of School


The first day of school is fast approaching, and with it, the question of what you’re going to do on…

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Be an Inspiration for Organization!

Be an Inspiration for Organization!


As teachers, we all want our students to be organized. We want them to be able to find any supply…

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