This post is inspired by the book The Best-Kept Teaching Secret: How Written Conversations Engage Kids, Activate Learning, Grow Fluent Writers . . . K-12 (Corwin Literacy) by Harvey “Smokey” Daniels and Elaine Daniels Learning and Shifting Over the last year, every educator on the planet has learned a great deal about themselves, their students, …
Continue reading 4 Ways to Spark Written Conversations with Dialogue Journals
This Time Last Year My first full week of the 2020-2021 school year is in the books! And although I have had 15 first weeks in education... let me tell you something, this particular first week was WILD!!!!!! If you would have told me this time last year, “Lauren, this time next year, you will …
Swiping the Calendar I think it is safe to say that I have stared at the calendar this week more than any other app on my phone. When I open the calendar app to get the full view, I immediately begin swiping backward. First I count how many months it’s been since March 13, 2020. …
Not the Typical Summer Summers… they are usually a time to exhale, a time to rejuvenate, a time to focus on self-care, a time to engage in meaningful professional learning, a time to reunite, and spend quality time with people you hold dear. In my family, summers are for birthday celebrations, attending sporting events, gathering with …
The Cornerstone of Connections Relationships are the cornerstone of the meaningful connections we make throughout our lives. They are the bridge between who we are, how we can meaningfully impact others, and make a difference. When I look back on the best learning experiences I have had throughout the course of my life, I remember …
Beacons of Hope There are certain people within your community that represent beacons of love, hope, positivity, and light. And whenever you see them, you feel their warm, genuine spirit wrap around your heart. Their presence alone immediately lifts your mood and makes you feel at ease. It’s like watching the sun emerge from the …
The Epicenter of Learning I left the classroom many years ago, and until this very day, I can still feel the grieving and empty feeling of not having students to call my own. It is the kind of feeling that makes your heart pound and twists your stomach into knots. The thought of not being …
Continue reading Leaving Footprints in the Hearts of Students
A Galaxy of Shooting Stars Entering a classroom that embraces the reading and writing workshop model is like walking into a galaxy blanketed in magic. Each learner is like a shooting star that heats up and glows as new learning orbits through the classroom atmosphere. You could feel a sense of wonder, observation, and exploration …
Continue reading Reimagining the Magic of the Workshop Model
Feelings of New and Hard Starting something new can be hard; so hard that thinking about the experience itself feels heavy, daunting, exhausting, complicated. I’m not just talking about the big things that life may bring your way, but it could be small things too. Sometimes, the feeling of “new” is so uncomfortable that before …
Empower. Collaborate. Connect. 