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ATTENTION TRAVELING TEACHERS

A big part of my teacher identity is my pink cart, my shadow, my personal assistant, my little fashionista.
​Here are some tricks of the traveling trade!

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1. To prevent yourself from running over toes, I suggest getting a bell.
*Pro Tip: a bike bell fits perfectly on your cart's handle.  I purchased mine on good ol' Amazon: here is the purchase link)

2. Teacher's need coffee, but drinking coffee while mobile can be difficult. This handy dandy cup holder, which is  originally intended to hang on a suitcase or luggage pull, works perfectly with any sized cart.

3. Traveling teachers must stay organized and only pack the essentials.  I have seen some traveling teachers buy bigger organizers  from Ikea or book carts that librarian use, but I recommend a smaller cart that forces you to only bring items that matter most. 

4. Try your best to go paperless. I am fortunate to be at a school that has Chromebooks in every classroom, so I have 99% of our assignments and information online. Because of this, I do not have many papers  that need grading or handouts taking up precious space in my cart. 
5. Decorate, decorate, decorate! My cart is my classroom, and classrooms that are beautifully decorated and full of color spark joy! My students look forward to each holiday's decorations, especially when they light up. I have found almost all of my cute, affordable decorations in the Target dollar spot.
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36 QUESTIONS THAT LEAD TO LOVE

Getting to know each other


​This activity is a great way to build community, so I like to have my students ask/answer these 36 questions during the first week of school. This lesson would also be fun to do on Valentine's Day, or as an introduction to any text that has themes regarding love or friendship.
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Psychology professor Arthur Aron wondered if intimacy between two complete strangers could be created through a conversation based on series of personal questions. 36 questions (see below) were created in order to conduct this study.
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The theory behind the creation of the study is that mutual vulnerability creates closeness, and I have witnessed this to be true. Although this activity is initially uncomfortable for many, students have shared that they feel closer to one another afterwards.
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SILENT COLLABORATION

You read that right.

Students are engaged and remain silent throughout the whole activity. 
Silent discussions are one of my favorite activities to do with my high schoolers. Silent discussions can be done in any class with any text.

The text is broken up into chunks and placed placed around the room. Students move from station to station, annotating the text or answering questions. Before each student adds a new piece of information, he/she must have a (silent) "discussion" with the person who was sitting in the desk prior to their arrival. Once finished with one chunk of text, the student moves to the next piece of text. 

After every student has responded to each piece of text, we share out as a whole class. Finally, time to talk out loud!