Blog » Madly Learning

Student Goal Boards

What is a goal board? It is a visual guide used for students that helps them keep track of what their individual goals are for a particular subject area. On and off I have used goal board in my classroom. I first started using goal boards with Daily 5 and Cafe but quickly ... READ the POST

Diversity Matters in Your Classroom

Are your students reflected in their classroom? Are the materials you choose to use in your classroom represent a diverse range of perspectives? These are the two questions that I pose to myself when selecting materials to use for my classroom. It is a question that was ingrained early in my ... READ the POST

How To Use Success Criteria In Your Classroom

Do your students know what is expected of them? Are these expectations posted and clear for students to use? Do they use them? It seems obvious to say that students should probably understand what it is that they are supposed to do each day. They should have a clue about what they are ... READ the POST

Report Cards Made Simpler

Are you writing your report cards right now? Is it taking you forever? Yep me too!!! With a busy life and no extra time I need ways to make writing these simple. I hear the nightmare stories of ineffective report card programs that only make this harder and more difficult than it needs ... READ the POST

Things you should try in your classroom…and some you shouldn’t!

It's a new year so it's a new you You make a personal resolution but do you make a New Years teacher resolution? What are some of the things you need to change, want to try, or what are you going to do more of. Today I've compiled a list of New Years resolutions for teachers Things you ... READ the POST

Helping Students Solve Math Problems

Are your students struggling to understand, work through and correctly solve word problems? Does the method you are currently using fall short of actually finishing the problem or only get your students to understand parts of the problem but not actually how to solve it. This was the problem that ... READ the POST

Gradual Release of Responsibility

How do you get kids to learn? Learning happens gradually over time. We know that content that is revisited over time has a much larger impact over content that is delivered in a 'one and done' style. So what does it mean to gradually release responsibility. This means that we are moving ... READ the POST

But It’s Boring: Using Inquiry to make dull topics interesting

So sometimes we have to teach things to our students that are heavy topics that cover a lot and to get through it is a drag. How do we get our students excited about a topic if we are not very excited about it either. One of the subjects that I need to teach is government. A topic that is ... READ the POST

How To Create a Unit Plan

Do you plan out your units before you teach? Or are more of a fly by the seat of your pants. Unit planning helps me to organize my thoughts and understand the components of the curriculum. So how do you plan out your units? When I plan out a unit the first thing I start with is with the ... READ the POST

Advice I Would Give To My First Year Teacher Self

Sometimes are tough as a teacher. But nothing was as tough as my first year in the classroom (or my first year in a new position) I've been thinking a lot about this lately. What do I wish I could tell my former self. What did I need to hear This year will be rough...it's okay to just ... READ the POST

6 Routines You Need For Inquiry

[et_pb_section admin_label="section"] [et_pb_row admin_label="row"] [et_pb_column type="4_4"] [et_pb_text admin_label="Text"] As we think ahead to back to school we begin to plan out the rules, routines that are essential to set us all up for success. But what routines are essential ... READ the POST

Flexible Seating

Have you heard if it? Well unless you have been under a rock how could you not see this as a wave that is slowly taking over Pinterest. Everywhere teachers are proclaiming they are using flexible seating. But without repurchasing brand new furniture for your classroom how can you dip your ... READ the POST