The Reflective Educator

Teaching, reflecting and learning. Ideas and inspiration for elementary teachers.

[reflectiveeducator]

Ready for my 20th year of teaching! #backtoschool

[reflectiveeducator]

Great visit to the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield! Learned a lot and got another DVD to show my students about this historic event in Missouri's history. #civilwar

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The Shiloh Methodist church from which the Battle of Shiloh got its name. #civilwar

[reflectiveeducator]

Sleeping right through the thunder storm! #adogslife

[reflectiveeducator]

My summer professional development reading arrived today! Hope these books live up to their impressive titles... #teachersworkallyear

[reflectiveeducator]

White Haven was once owned by Ulysses S. Grant. Very interesting to tour the site and learn more about a key figure of the Civil War and his roots in Missouri. #civilwar

[reflectiveeducator]

Next stop - paying our respects at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery. The cemetery has more Civil War graves than any other in Missouri. #civilwar

[reflectiveeducator]

Learned a lot about the history of the Civil War in Missouri! Highly recommend this great museum! Can't wait to show my students the DVD I bought about the many historical sites associated with the Civil War in the Show-Me State! #civilwar

[reflectiveeducator]

The Reflective Educator turned 1 today!

[reflectiveeducator]

Whiteboards are Fun!

I’ve been teaching at my school district for 19 years now, and can honestly say my colleagues are an extension of my family to me. I spend more time with them than I do with many of my actual family members. We share our triumphs and disappointments with each other, which creates a strong bond of love and support. During American Education Week, one fellow teacher in a higher grade than my own…

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Response Cards

I’m getting ready to watch my St. Louis Blues take on the Winnipeg Jets. I love the fast pace of a hockey game. No long timeouts like football or waiting forever for a pitch in baseball. Plus, what other professional sport requires their players to sit in the time-out box for not playing nicely? An elementary teacher must have added that rule to their playbook! :)

Response Cards

Response rate…

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Response Chaining

Response chaining is quickly becoming a regularly used technique in my classroom…now that I know what it is! When I first began researching how to use questioning to increase response rates, many of the techniques were ones I already used with my students. These included wait time, calling on students randomly and last’s week’s topic of paired response. However, response chaining was a new one…

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Paired Response

It feels a bit strange to be taking a “snow day” while the sun is shining brightly and there’s nary a snowflake in sight. But that’s exactly what The Reflective Educatoris doing today! Our high school soccer team is playing for the state championship waaaayyy on the other side of the state later today. My district is taking a “snow day” and has cancelled school so we can travel to the big game. I…

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Wait Time Techniques

What a difference a year makes! A year ago I was presenting to a friend’s class of college students about the Big Seven in Whole Brain Teaching. One thing led to another and – bam! – I opened a store on Teachers Pay Teachers. I never dreamedI would have the success I’ve enjoyed. Even better than the monthly payouts (and that’s pretty awesome!) is the sense of fulfillment I get helping other…

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Random Calling

Whew! I made it through Halloween! Fortunately, the holiday fell on a Friday so I sent all my kiddos home to gorge on candy all weekend long. And it was a long weekend because I got to set my clock back one hour. Woo-hoo! An extra hour! It’s like being able to wear jeans on Friday – having that extra hour just energizes me. :)

A New Model of Evaluation

Another way I gain energy is by thinking.…

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Sentences Roll-and-Write

Happy Halloween! I’m ready for my students to bring in loads of treats and candy…in spite of the fact that I’ve never ONCE promised them we would have any kind of celebration. If today holds true as in years past, we will be flooded with delicious, sugary snacks. Fine. My plan? First, we work. If you want a treat, then you can earnit. We will gorge ourselves on these treats about 30 minutes…

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You Can Learn Anything Last month I met with my students' families during our fall parent-teacher conferences. I was encouraged by how much they wanted their children to be challenged in school.