After three weeks in Sierra de la Ventana, Argentina, I have been reminded how powerful a change of scene can be. Spending time surrounded by nature, away from the usual routines, creates the kind of mental space that allows for both rest and reflection. The slower rhythm of the days, the quiet, and the landscape […]
At the end of the day, grammar’s real magic shines when it lets students create writing they’re proud of. Here’s how to make that leap from practice to performance (and have a blast along the way). Mad Libs — But make it meaningful This classic never fails! Tailor your Mad Libs for your current grammar […]
Ready to move past textbook exercises? Your students are! Here are hands-on classroom ideas that sneak grammar in through the back door—often disguised as play. Sentence builder showdown Divide kids into teams and give them cards with sentence subjects, verbs, adverbs, etc. Each team draws cards to build silly (but grammatically correct!) sentences: “The enormous […]
A reflection on Voices of Change — Day 2 There is a question I keep coming back to, in training rooms, in classrooms, in conversations with colleagues from Salamanca to Jakarta: how do we keep thinking alive when everything around us is designed to do the thinking for us? It is not a new question. […]
Let’s be honest: most students don’t exactly jump out of their seats for grammar lessons. In fact, you may feel the same way if you remember endless drills from your own school days! But what if grammar didn’t have to be a grind? Start with oracy—If you can Say it, you can write it Many […]
Week 4 of the December Series: Creating sustainable change without the January pressure The calendar is about to flip. You’re somewhat rested (or at least you’ve stopped grading). And here comes that familiar whisper: “New year, new you! This time everything will be different!” Stop right there. Before you create another list of resolutions […]
Week 3 of the December Series: Your recovery isn’t optional—it’s professional development You made it. Winter break has arrived. Now comes the hard part: actually resting. If you’re like most teachers, you’re already planning to use this break to catch up on grading, redesign units, organize your classroom, and maybe—if there’s time—rest a little. […]
Week 2 of the December series: What this year taught you (even when it was hard) Before you start planning for 2026, pause. Look back. Not with judgment or regret, but with honest curiosity about what this year actually was—not what you hoped it would be, not what it “should” have been, but what […]
Week 1 of the December series: Making it through the chaos with your sanity intact December in the classroom feels like trying to teach during a festival, a tornado, and the countdown to New Year’s Eve all at once. Students are buzzing with energy (or completely checked out). Your to-do list has somehow tripled. […]
We’ve all been there. The last week of term arrives, students are restless, you’re exhausted, and the temptation to just put on a movie and call it done is oh-so-strong. I get it—I really do. But here’s what I’ve learned over the years: those final days are actually a golden opportunity. Students are often more […]