If you’ve ever asked students to read aloud from a text and suddenly watched everyone avoid eye contact, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The fidgeting, the staring down at the page a little too hard, the quiet hope that someone else gets picked; it’s a very real kind of stress in the classroom. And for a lot of my students, especially those who struggle with reading, it can completely take over their ability to focus. That’s why Anita Archer’s “Me or We” approach h

There’s something really powerful that happens when students stop just doing the work and start teaching it. This is something I’ve been intentionally building into my math block, and it’s had a bigger impact than I ever expected; not just on math understanding, but on student confidence, especially when it comes to speaking in front of others. Every day, we start math with whiteboard practice. It’s a quick, supplemental routine I use to build in repetition and cyclical r

One of my favorite professional conversations this year happened when a partner teacher asked me a simple question: "Can you teach me how to use ChatGPT?" I was ecstatic. As educators, we are constantly looking for ways to save time, increase engagement, and better meet student needs. Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of that conversation. Unfortunately, many discussions around AI tend to fall into one of two extremes: either AI is portrayed as a miracle soluti

One of the biggest things I’ve learned in my teaching so far is that students don’t fully understand content until they can experience it. Hands-on extensions are not just “fun extras.” They are often the moments where learning actually sticks. In my classroom, I’ve intentionally built in opportunities for students to connect their learning to something tangible, especially during our CKLA units. For example, during our Reformation unit, students created their own “printing p

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how my experience with Girls on the Run, specifically the Bold Heart curriculum, has shaped the way I show up in my classroom. When I first started coaching, I knew it would be meaningful, but I didn’t expect how much it would impact my actual teaching practice. The Bold Heart curriculum focuses on confidence, emotional awareness, goal setting, and building positive relationships. Those things sound simple, but seeing them play out with