I’ve recently started working on prep for a free online course (Coming Soon!) and for my fall classes, and I wasn’t happy with most of the course planning or unit planning guides I found online, so I created my own. I’ve included it here as a printable PDF and also a fully editable MS Word Document. Feel free to take this and use it any way you like!
MS Word Version:
PDF Version w/preview:
If you’re currently a content creator or thinking about becoming a content creator, it’s my opinion that teachers and writers are most suited to creating online courses. I’ve also found that online courses are not only fun to create (I always learn something every time), but they are also the most potentially lucrative. Creating an online course can offer numerous benefits for content creators and their audience. Here are some key advantages to working with this medium:
By creating online courses, content creators can leverage their expertise, reach a wider audience, generate income, establish authority, foster engagement, provide flexible learning options, address specific needs, and scale their offerings. It can be a win-win situation for both content creators and their audience, providing valuable educational experiences while creating new opportunities for growth.
I’ll be honest, in the summer I tend to fluctuate between wanting to do nothing but sit on the couch watching Netflix and eating Taco Bell, to wanting to work on projects that I never have time for (like writing my novel), to wanting to do some prep for the coming school year.
It’s important to rest and recharge, but I also find that I get more out of summer, and have a less stressful school year, when I plan to do a little work on projects and prep. I make it fun, by working in a coffee shop or preparing a snack to eat while I work, and I stick to being producting only a few days a week, while the rest of the week I do things with my kids.
Here are some suggestions for things to do to prepare for the coming school year:
By engaging in some of these activities, we can start the school year feeling prepared and inspired.
I’ve been pondering the problem of AI and ChatGPT for writers and teachers of writing, and there is one important, overlooked role of writing in our lives and especialy in the ELA classroom, which is the role of writing as THINKING. It would be valuable for teachers to model for their students a change in percecption as writing as a hoop to jump through or a task to check off. The focus on writing as confined, rigid final product that meets an assignment requirement will only incentivize students to take shortcuts in the form of plaigairism or overreliance on AI tools.
What is writing as thinking?
Writing as thinking is a process in which you use writing as a tool to clarify and develop your thoughts. It involves putting your ideas into words, organizing them on paper or a digital document, and refining them as you go. Here are a few examples of how writing can be used as a means of thinking:
Example: “Today, I felt overwhelmed by the workload at my job. I started journaling to understand why I feel this way and to brainstorm possible solutions. As I wrote, I realized that my lack of time management is contributing to my stress. I made a list of tasks I need to complete and identified areas where I can improve my efficiency.”
Example: “I have been struggling with a decision lately. Should I take that job offer or stay in my current position? There are so many factors to consider: salary, work-life balance, career growth, and personal fulfillment. As I free wrote about it, I discovered that my fear of change and the unknown is holding me back. It made me realize that I need to explore my fears and evaluate the potential benefits of taking the leap.”
Example: “I was assigned a research project, and I started by creating a mind map. I wrote down the main topic in the center and then brainstormed related keywords and concepts around it. As I expanded the branches, I noticed patterns and themes emerging. This helped me clarify the scope of my project and identify potential areas of focus.”
Example: “I started writing an essay on climate change, and my initial draft was scattered and lacked a clear argument. As I revised my work, I realized that I needed to narrow down my focus and develop a strong thesis statement. I also found gaps in my evidence and had to conduct further research to strengthen my arguments. The act of writing and revising helped me clarify my thoughts and present a more coherent and persuasive piece.”
These are just a few examples of how writing can be used as a thinking tool. The process of putting your thoughts into words can help you explore ideas, uncover insights, and gain a deeper understanding of complex topics. It’s a valuable practice for personal reflection, problem-solving, and academic or professional writing.
I’ve been selling on Teachers Pay Teachers (who recently changed their brand and name to TpT) since 2017, but I’ve only recently begun to have a small amount of success. I typically make between $25-50 a month (I made a grand total of $644 last year), but am slowly seeing that number increase as I work to create more products and improve the quality of my resources and product descriptions.
There is a little bit of controversy about TpT in some teaching circles, but in other professions it’s completely normal to sell IP (intellectual property) and consulting services. As an educator, I have found some high-quality resources that have ranged from life-saving to just making my life easier on a Monday morning. That being said, there are some poor-quality resources on TpT, so buyer beware. I never buy or sell anything that doesn’t have a detailed product description and a preview of what I’m buying or selling, but more on that below.
If you’ve never sold on TpT before, here are some tips to help you get started selling lesson plans and curriculum resources.
Selling lesson plans and curriculum resources on Teachers Pay Teachers can be a great way to earn extra income while helping other teachers improve their classroom experience. With these tips, you can get started on the right foot and build a successful business on the platform.
If you’re interested in trying your hand at creating resources, I’ve made a simple product template to help you get started.
This month I will explore, in-depth, five possible side hustles for educators. These are tried and true ways that educators can establish themselves as a brand, create content, and make a little extra money on the side. All five of these are possible income streams, and I will feature each one in its own post, along with my own experience creating and monetizing content and how much success I’ve had with each method or platform.
I have created content and made money, or attempted to make money, on the following platforms:
TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS (TpT)
FIVERR
UDEMY
WORDPRESS
YOUTUBE
This month I will share my experience with each platform, as well as tips and tricks for how to create an audience and make money, as well as my progress on each platform over the next 30 days.
What is a SIOP Lesson Plan?
A SIOP lesson plan is a type of lesson plan that is designed to support the academic and language needs of English language learners (ELLs). The acronym SIOP stands for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, and it refers to a set of instructional strategies and techniques that are used to make content more accessible to ELLs.
The SIOP model is supporting of language learning for ALL students and focuses on vocabulary review and literacy-based instructional strategies.
A SIOP lesson plan typically includes the following components:
Overall, the goal of a SIOP lesson plan is to provide a supportive and inclusive learning environment for ELLs and to help them acquire the language and academic skills they need to succeed in school.
I’ve included two forms of the SIOP lesson planning template below, as both an MS Word format and PDF.
The MS Word version is blow:
MLK Jr. quotes on Twitter are ubiquitous from the middle of January (MLK Jr.’s birthday) through February (Black History Month). Instead of grabbing decontextualized quotes from the internet, do yourself a huge favor and read “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which is one of the most powerful pieces for writing in American history.
Here is a link to the original document, which is archived at Stanford:
Free resources for teaching “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Lesson Plan: Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Power of Nonviolent Direct Action
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/lesson-plans/martin-luther-king-jrs-letter-birmingham-jail-power-nonviolent
A Unit for Teaching “Letter from Birmingham Jail” from SAGE publisher
http://www.stclair.k12.il.us/ccore/ELAShifts/documents/Text%20Complexity/61682_Our_Unit_for_Teaching_Letter_from_Birmingham_Jail.pdf
PBS Learning: Close Reading of “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
https://az.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/engny.pd.ccvs.ela10/close-reading-of-text-mlk-letter-from-birmingham-jail
I’ve been doing a lot of research into active vs. passive learning lately in preparation for my fall teaching.
Active learning simply means that students literally take an action while learning, more formally it means that students take an active role in the learning process. But what does that look like in the classroom? In an active learning classroom, the students are not just taking notes, but are taking guided notes, are stopping to discuss and reflect, and are working collaboratively to learn concepts and solve problems. When students are learning passively, they are simply present and listening to a lecture.
One strategy that helps with promoting active learning is the use of graphic organizers. Here is a great YouTube video with explains what graphic organizers are and how they promote active learning:
Here is resource on active learning from the University of Minnesota:
https://cei.umn.edu/active-learning
For more on active vs. passive learning and graphic organizers, be sure to follow the blog.
Some people prefer to call it ERT, or Emergency Remote Teaching, so as not to normalize the lack of preparation and training many teachers have been given for teaching online this past spring and this fall during a global pandemic. Like many of you, my institution decided to switch to “remote learning” at the last minute, after a summer of promising and preparing to be in-person.
I have some experience teaching online courses and I enjoy it under normal circumstances, but I’ve been exploring different options for course delivery this fall, which includes things like remote synchronous (teaching “live” during scheduled class time), asynchronous (most traditionally online courses are delivered this way) and HyFlex (a combination of three delivery methods when and if in-person instruction is also available). I will be using this post to provide a curated list of resources and links to all three approaches. In helping other teachers, I believe in simplicity, so instead of including an exhaustive and comprehensive list of resources, I’ve included the three I find most helpful. I will also be writing up a few posts about the approach as I plan my fall classes, and will be making up some free resources (such as active learning graphic organizers) to share. Please follow this blog for more!
Hybrid Flexible Course Design by Brian Beatty
“Student Choice, Instructor Flexibility: Moving Beyond the Blended Instructional Model”
A Closer Look at Hybrid Flexible Course Design
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