Teaching With Inquiry

Are you having fun in your science classroom yet?  You should be!   Science is supposed to be full of problem-solving, exploration and discovery. Yet too often we simply skip all that in favour of trying to get it all done quickly using dull worksheets lesson after lesson.     Science class shouldn’t be about worksheets   So It’s time we level up our science lessons. Creating a science unit that is chock-full of a variety of lessons rooted inquiry-based learning, doesn’t have to take more time.  Stop wasting time waiting at the photocopier, managing bored kids or marking pages and pages of worksheets.  In the same amount of time, you can create an easy STEM unit that has you excited about teaching science, without additional prep, planning and marking time.  Let me walk you through some simple ideas you can use for low prep science experiments in your classroom.   If you are ready to say YES to transforming how you teach science then join me for my free workshop  Ditch Those Boring Worksheets For Good and Lev

Sometimes when teachers think of using inquiry in their classroom they think of the most impossible situation.  Something that most teachers would struggle to accomplish.   But Inquiry can be simple.   In this episode, let's look at breaking down what we think inquiry should look like and challenge our thinking to see that inquiry can be simple.  Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

Hello, hello!   I wanted to share with you a little about my time teaching split grades (which has been the majority of my teaching career!). Unlike probably the majority of teachers I actually do enjoy teaching split grades and over the years I’ve picked up a few tips & tricks along the way to make it more enjoyable and easier!   So here are my strategies that make teaching split grades more manageableRemember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

Hello, hello!   Today I wanted to share some ideas about leveling up your science and social studies lessons using four different methods!   Let’s get to it.   These subjects can be two of the most difficult for teachers to wrap their heads around because there's SO much content to cover. So, sometimes we think, let’s just grab a workbook so students can work through that and hit all the expectations.   Sure, you can do that and hit all the expectations. But you’ll also probably end up creating a rather boring, uninspired science and social studies program.   Luckily I’ve got four ways for you to create a fun and engaging curriculum...Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJo

Hello, hello! Let’s talk today about differentiating. Specifically with ELL students. We’re gonna look at the planning, implementing, and assessing stages of your regular classroom and how you can modify and plan lessons that simply and easily integrate your ELL’s. One of the things I do not support is a complete separate program for ELLs in the classroom. These students need to be integrated as much as possible.Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

Hey, hey! Today I wanted to talk a little about books. Particularly picture books. Or really any material we are reading in our classroom. My challenge for you is to think about fitting the literature in your room into 3 different categories: Windows Mirrors Prisms If you’re looking for more book examples go to: https://www.ml-go.com/ilbooklistRemember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

Hello, hello! I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! Sooo raise your hand if you use choice boards…

  Hello, hello!   I hope you are all having a fantastic week so far! Today I wanted to talk a little about assessing student’s work in this digital world.   Most of us are probably marking or grading work that students have completed remotely. That means we may be using new tools to grade the completed work.

Hello, hello!   So, it looks like we’re in this whole remote teaching thing for the long haul. Whether that’s a month, two months, I’m not sure. But I don’t want you to wait a second longer when it comes to getting some of your time back.   That means I am going to do everything I can to support you and help make your remote teaching experience less stressful. We’re all in this together.   My guess is you’re probably spending more time prepping and planning as a remote teacher than you were in the classroom? (I can say that is definitely the case for me).   I wanted to share my 4 strategies to reduce some of the prep that you are experiencing right now. Basically, we need to make sure remote teaching doesn’t completely consume us.   Here are the 4 areas that I think are key to helping you reduce your remote teaching workload.Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conve

This week I want to talk all about your home teaching space! Because the reality is, I think we’re going to be doing this whole remote-teaching thing for just a little bit longer. There are 3 areas we’re going to want to look at in the home classroom. Tech Space Demo Let’s jump in!Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

Hi, Teachers! I hope you’re having an awesome week so far. I wanted to talk to you today about setting realistic goals and aligning priorities. For most of us, the new challenge in our career is remote teaching. We can set realistic goals for ourselves when it comes to taking on this challenge while at the same time making sure it doesn’t take over our lives. I want to talk to you about 6 different areas of our lives. Teaching Family Friends Fitness Hobbies Fun So what is most important to you? I want you to rank these 6 things in order of importance.Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

I hope you have all had an okay start back into the second half of the school year. Now, I know this is not what we signed up for. In fact, it is VERY different than what we signed up for. So I wanted to share some tips today to help you break through the overwhelm and stress that comes with being a “digital” teacher.   First, take away all the noise and chaos and get down to the very basics...Just TEACH!   Believe that you know how to do this. Because you DO!Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

I’m popping in today to talk all about student teacher writing conferences!   Whether you already have these one on one sessions with your students or not, I wanted to share the structure I use in my Ignited Literacy Program and how these conferences help students gain confidence in their writing skills.

Hi friends! It seems to me that there are two distinct types of teachers. Those that use Literature Circles and those that use Literature Centers. Now over my career, I’ve used both Literature Centers and Literature Circles (we’ll get to my personal favorite at the end

Raise your hand if Lesson Planning feels like the biggest time thief.

Today I wanted to take a little trip down memory lane. I’ve dug back through the Madly Learning Archives to gather the very BEST teaching advice for the junior grades. So let’s jump right in, shall we?! Here are my favorite teaching tips through the years!Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB

Know something we don’t talk about much around here?

I want to start off this week with a quick story. Recently, my daughter woke up with a runny nose, congested, sore throat, and a sore stomach. This meant she would not be going to school.

This week I wanted to tell you about a FREE program that I have been LOVING. I use it to track student assessments and communicate with parents.

There are SO many factors that can impact our students and their ability to read. The reality is, we may be teaching in Grade 5, but not every student is going to be at that Grade 5 reading level - the range can sometimes even be huge. So, let's talk about ways we can modify and accommodate for our students who are reading below grade level.Remember to Subscribe for more insights on how to navigate the complexities of teaching with efficiency and impact. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments to join the conversation with fellow educators.To find our highly effective, time-saving resources Checkout our Madly Learning Store at www.madlylearning.com/storeCheckout our Teachers Pay Teachers storeJoin our FREE Facebook community for teachers here: https://bit.ly/IYT-FB