The Resourceful Teacher's Blog (23)

I am a firm believer in consistency. Consistency with your students is fair and every one of your students knows what the rules are, and what the consequence is for breaking the rules.

I like to have my students complete cooperative learning activities.  One activity the students LOVE is when I break them into research groups. Click…

This is one of my longer blogs, but trust me, it’s worth the read!…

I have some exciting news to share (it may not be too exciting for you, but I sure am excited about it).  I’m writing a book!  This will be the first book I’ve ever written.  My family has been telling me for YEARS that I need to write a book and now it’s finally the right time.…

I am so excited to announce the launch of The Resourceful Teacher’s Community.  The community offers a place for teachers to share ideas and collaborate with other teachers around the world.  You could think of it as Facebook for teachers!  

Click hereto join the community and start sharing today.

I am going to start a monthly blogging contest.  Here’s how it will work.  On my website I have a section set up for writers who wish to become guest bloggers on The Resourceful Teacher. 

Each blog will be published pending approval.  Each month I will choose a “Guest Blogger of the Month” whose photo or button will be featured on my main page.  It’s not too late to get your…

You can consider this blog Part 2 from my previous blog on color changes.  You may want to go back and read that one…

Here’s how I responded to the Nancy the Enabler.  I first took a deep breath.  Ok, I took about 5 deep breaths, and prayed a short prayer called, “Lord help me not strangle this woman.”  Then I told her in the calmest voice I could muster, “Your child needs to remember to get his work done without my prodding.  He had the…

Don’t you just love how parents like to have important meetings at the spur of the moment? You know, like you’re prepared for anything and have all the answers without preparation for their questions? Well that’s what happened to me today.



Here’s a little back story before I tell you about the Enabling Mom. One of my students didn't finish his math assessment yesterday. We took the assessment in the morning and he was the last student still working on his test, so I told him he…

Many teachers know that to one of the keys to successful teaching is parent communication.  There are many ways we can communicate with parents: conferences, phone calls, emails, and/or notes sent home.  The easiest way for me to communicate with parents on a consistent basis is by sending…

One of my teacher friends shared a story with me today that saddened my heart.  She has a student who has a pretty rough home environment.  His parents are divorced and part of his difficulty stems from the fact that he is continually pitted in the middle of his parents and is never allowed to voice his opinion or…

Here’s a quick tip for how to keep all those papers organized when a student is absent. When…

Check out these cute monsters the…

Click here to read about some cooperative learning strategies that have worked out well with students of all ages.…

I recently had my students create board games.  I gave them a list of Game Board Instructions that you can download.  The students worked in groups to create a game about something they are learning about.  I gave each group a different subject, and their job was to create a learning game involving concepts they're…