Category Archives: Teaching Diary

These are posts about my teaching in a sort of stream of consciousness style. As the title says, it is a “diary” of my thoughts on teaching.

No Superman – When Tests Scores are Human

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Low standardized test scores are not an indicator of talent, either by the student or the teacher. Rather, they indicate incorrect focus. Continue reading

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What Teaching Strategies are You Using This Close to the Test

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You know I write these posts to archive the good teaching stuff I have run across. But more than that, I selfishly love getting your comments. Many times I find reader comments more helpful than my own material. PLEASE COMMENT. … Continue reading

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Backward Map Review – A Great Way to do Test Prep

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If you want your kids to feel comfortable with all the material, you need to get them familiar with it now. Using the past test to go over and review with the kids is like gold. Continue reading

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20 Days is 20 Days – Musing on an Upcoming Test

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The California Standards Test (CST) is banging at the front door. It’s been an arduous year preparing for it and I must admit, it seems like it came faster than ever. But 20 days is 20 Days and a lot … Continue reading

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Seriously Considering Growing a Beard as Motivation for the Standards Test

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Call me the David Blaine of education. I’m thinking of growing a beard to get my students excited about the Standards test. We are in the midst of pretty rigorous test prep and Perhaps my facial hair endurance test will … Continue reading

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Assess the Entire Class in an Instant

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White dry-erase boards are an excellent way to check for understanding (CFU) during and after a lesson. They are also a great way to avoid wasting paper in your lesson plans. Of course, they are also very useful when stating … Continue reading

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Using Google Calendar as a Lesson Plan Tool and Syncing With Work

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This is not meant to be a tutorial but rather a heads up to a tool I am using to assist my productivity. I usually write my lesson plans in a book each week and that becomes the basis of … Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Diary | Tagged test prep | 1 Comment

Goals Help Set up My Classroom

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If you have clear and concise goals, your priorities and actions will be predicated upon them. After that, when review measurable progress toward goals, you decide if you are a success or not. Don’t let other people decide if you are a success or not in your classroom, only you should determine that. Continue reading

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Tip for Improving a Professional Teacher Evaluation

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Professional evaluations for teachers can produce stress. However, focusing on the criteria for evaluation can alleviate much of that while also aiding professional growth toward becoming a more accomplished teacher. In this article I share a simple tip. Continue reading

Posted in Teaching Diary | Tagged teaching materials, the teaching career | Leave a comment

Less Paper Lesson Planning

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I had a rough day recently where I realized paper was not a good foundation for a week of lessons. Our copy machine is hit and miss. Some days it will work perfectly, other day it will be the primary … Continue reading

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