If you’re working towards making your classroom more inclusive and reflective of the wider community, pictures books can be a great tool to showcase diverse families and home life set ups. In addition to using more inclusive language, teachers can use read alouds to help students both see their family and other family make ups. It’s a great way to…
How do we talk about the people who take care of our students in an inclusive way? The default mode for most teachers to is refer to the adults who take care of students as parents. However, not every child lives with our is taken care of by a mom or a dad. So, a few years ago I made…
Being a teacher is hard, but so is being a student. As teachers, we often become so focused on the outcomes we’re expected to produce that we forget many things about how hard it can be to be a student. Here are 7 things we often forget about being a student. They’re trying their best. One of my favorite quotes…
Student jobs are a staple of elementary classrooms, but are they really worthwhile? The answer is yes, for a number of reasons. Here are 6 reasons why classroom jobs are important. It helps students take ownership of the classroom The first reasons classroom jobs are important is that it helps students take ownership of the classroom. If we want our…
If you’re lucky enough to work with a teaching assistant or helper teacher in your classroom, the possibilities are endless. It is such a gift. However, it can be daunting if you’re not sure how best to manage things or work together. It can feel awkward telling an adult what to do, and it can feel uncomfortable if you don’t…