Every teacher knows the struggle of those first few minutes of class. Students wander in like they’ve just emerged from hibernation—half-awake, half-talking, and entirely unsure what century they’re in. That’s where minds-on activities come in. A minds-on task is a short, engaging warm-up that activates students’ thinking, gets them focused, and connects their prior knowledge…
Many teachers have experienced the frustration of delivering well-planned lessons only to find that students don’t retain the material later on. After weeks of instruction, test results can be disappointing – not because the content wasn’t taught, but because it never fully transferred to students’ long-term memory (edutopia.org). One major reason for this is a…
It’s the end of the school year, and (honestly) my patience is wearing thin. Looking around at other teachers, I envy their seemingly calm demeanor. But when we chat, I realize they feel the same end-of-year fatigue as I do. It seems the summer itch has struck early this year, or perhaps it’s just my…