Inquiry-based teaching is something that I always associated with science. When I was earning my undergrad degree, I was a middle grades education major with concentrations in science and English language arts, so half of my classes were science-based while the others were in the humanities. The instructional classes taught two very different approaches: science…
I. Hate. Being. Absent. From. Teaching. …why, you ask? Because I hate preparing for a substitute. It can sometimes even seem easier to go to work sick than to try and get plans together for a sub. The BEST hack that I can share for this substitute prep dilemma is the Substitute Binder. I know…
Every teacher has a list of things that we need to cover at the beginning of the year, but the direct stand-and-deliver approach is tired and boring (for teachers and students alike). When you simply talk through a slides presentation, you can visibly see students’ eyes glaze over and they pretty much tune you out…
What teacher doesn’t want a more organized classroom space?! Here are four simple ways you can improve your organizational system… If you’re anything like me, you have so much stuff that you couldn’t use it all in a million years. I take the term “teacher hoarder” to a new level. I have class sets of…
Summer! One of the best things about the teaching profession is getting to enjoy summer break. It is hard earned and well deserved. But let’s all be honest; summer is our time to catch a little r & r (because we all know it doesn’t happen during the school year), but it can be really…
Yessssss! You did it! You’ve officially completed another year of teaching, so now what? Here’s your initial summer to-do list: And that’s all there is to it! Thank you for reading, and please don’t forget to join my email list here so you never miss a blog update. Please also feel free to peruse my…
End of year teacher stress is truly something special to behold. There’s really nothing quite like it, and unless you’ve experienced it, it’s incomprehensible. If you know, you know. Vulnerability corner… it was probably about five years ago now that the end-of-year stress finally put me into therapy and pushed me over the edge enough…
Backward Design is exactly what it sounds like: you plan the unit by designing the final assessment first (according to the standards), and then craft the unit from there. By beginning with the end in mind, you can assemble a much more meaningful unit where every piece builds on the one before. It may sound…
I am an English teacher for middle and upper grades, and while I love teaching my own students, my passion lies in coaching and uplifting teachers. I started Tricked Out Teaching as a way of supporting teachers with both their professional lives and personal struggles.