The IgnitED Teacher Blog

Making Project Based Learning Accessible to ALL Learners

Two years ago I attended a school district workshop on Implementing Project Based Learning. The two presenters were educators from the more affluent part of our school district but that didn’t matter to me. Although the presenters and I didn’t teach the same demographic of students I still stayed for the entire presentation. The information and resources they provided during their session was phenomenal! When I left the session I … Read More →

How to Actually Teach During Test Preparation

This year I decided that I wasn’t going to test prep my students to death by making them do endless amounts of math word problems during every class period. And yes, I do question whether or not this will be an epic failure. But I have to keep reminding myself that I went through the same thought process when I decided to transition from a 100% paper based classroom to … Read More →

What Can Test Preparation Teach You About Data Driven Instruction?

The second semester of the school year is absolutely the worst part of the school year for me. You’d actually think that I’d be excited because school is close to being over, but nope that’s not the case. The only two words that I can ever think about from January to May are TEST Preparation. If you’re not an educator or don’t teach a testing grade level the second semester … Read More →

How to Scaffold Project Based Learning Implementation

Every time I stand in front of my students my goal is expose my students to different instructional methods so that they will able to compete with students in and outside of our district. I have always wanted to implement Project Based Learning but never had the opportunity to do so until last year. So during the summer I attended a session on PBL at a conference in my school … Read More →

3 Ways to Reinforce Place Value Concepts Using Number Disks

If you ask any fourth or fifth grade math teacher what is the most important foundation concept most would probably say place value. In kindergarten the teachers focus on the making a 10 concept.Then place value is introduced in first grade using ten frames, Base 10 blocks, or counters. Grade levels 2-4 build on those place value concepts through addition and subtraction with regrouping, rounding, multiplication and division. In my … Read More →

The Ultimate Guide To Managing Student Behavior

Teachers are increasingly faced with challenges stemming from the intensity and scope of student needs in the classroom. If you ask a new teacher what’s their number concern they will probably mention classroom management or student behavior. Most teachers look at classroom management as this huge monster. When in fact it is a taxonomy of different topics. Student behavior is one of the most neglected areas of classroom management. Most teachers … Read More →

3 Keys for Managing a Difficult Classroom

I have seen so many new teachers struggle with classroom management for a variety of reasons. Some teachers either try to bribe the students and others try to implement ineffective strategies that they taught in their education classes. By the middle of the school year many of these teachers quickly realize that the students don’t respect them and have no control over their classrooms. A teacher’s classroom management can be … Read More →

5 Steps for Getting Started with Google Classroom in a High Poverty Classroom

Technology integration for high poverty schools is a luxury for most teachers. The teachers either have some outdated technology or none at all. As a math teacher integrating technology honestly was not a priority until after an intense conversation with my son about 3 years ago. He was so disappointed because he felt like school had not prepared him for real life. Our conversation really bothered be so much that … Read More →

Hurricane Harvey: Who Will Care for the Teachers? (Part 2)

It’s been almost 6 months since Hurricane Harvey’s torrential rains flooded Houston. Life has not been the same since the 40-50 foot Pine Tree fell on my house. One would think that in 6 months my life would be back to normal. Nope! I moved into a duplex and slept on an air mattress for 3 months. Then I hotel hopped for 2 weeks before I decided that I couldn’t … Read More →

Scaffolding Instruction to Support Diverse Learners

The concept of scaffolding can actually be tied to Lev Vitgosky’s Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky believed that a learner’s developmental level consisted of two parts: the “actual developmental level” and the “potential developmental level. Scaffolding can be described as the bridge that is used to connect what a student already knows to the new learning that he or she will acquire. It is essentially connecting the new to the … Read More →