Now that spring has sprung, it’s the perfect time to get outside and try some fun educational activities. Science, technology, engineering, art, and math—collectively known as STEAM—are at the forefront in education today, and can sometimes be overwhelming when trying to figure out ways to implement these concepts.

But it doesn’t have to be! Here are six fun ideas for STEAM activities this spring: 

It’s midyear and time to really evaluate your students’ progress. What kind of growth have they made? What goals still need to be met? What about those state assessments that will be here before you know it? Here are some easy tips for increasing personalized instruction and maximizing your students’ growth: 

The proverbial hamster wheel is a constant in a teacher’s life. We take on everything and anything that comes our way: new curriculum, standardized tests, lesson planning, paper grading, bulletin boards, classroom supplies, technology, etc. But most teachers will tell you that the absolute hardest part of teaching is a challenging student. There are varying definitions of a challenging student, such as talking incessantly, not being able to sit still, or being apathetic, unfocused, disruptive, or defiant. This year I have three—it can make for a long year, but here are some strategies that can help you with the challenging students in your classroom:

Today’s classroom has many English Language Learners (ELL), once referred to as English as a Second Language (ESL) or Limited English Proficiency (LEP). There are over 4 million students in public education classified as ELL—and these numbers continue to rise. In the 1990s, there were 14 million immigrants who moved to the US, and there were 14 million more between 2000 and 2010. In fact, ELL students are the fastest-growing student population according to the National Council For Teacher Education (NCTE).

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is critical in today’s classroom. Students need to be taught how to handle their emotions in order to be contributing members of society. Students don’t always come to school equipped with these skills, which makes our job of teaching them even more important.

Teachers deal with many challenges throughout the year. The top five, which you can read about in a previous post, are having too many masters, budget constraints, time, student needs, and teacher burn-out. And on any given day, these challenges can come at us all at once! I wish I could wave my magical pointer and make these challenges disappear. We teachers may be superheroes, but we unfortunately do not have superpowers—another challenge to add to the list. What I can do is offer some suggestions to help make these challenges a little less challenging:

Here we go—off to another year! We’ve got the bulletin boards up, pencils sharpened, desks arranged, nametags labeled, and we feel well-rested after the summer break. We come into each year with a renewed sense of energy, ready to tackle all of the challenges that come our way. Here are the top five challenges we commonly face in the classroom as teachers:

August: It’s BAAAAAAACKKKKK! I always marvel at how fast the summer goes. It doesn’t matter whether you have been teaching for 20 years or if this is your first time at the rodeo, the first few weeks of school are the most crucial. You are setting the tone for the entire year, and it is imperative to have a great start. Good classroom management is one of the most important qualities of being an effective teacher. So, as you soak up the last few days of summer, here are some tips to ensure a successful year.