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How to Keep Kids Off Their Phones While Homeschooling
By: Scott Wilson | Sep 2, 2026
The most reliable way to keep kids off their phones while homeschooling is to agree on a spot where the phone goes during schoolwork, out of reach and out of sight. Set a clear return point, keep the work surface phone-free, and switch off notifications before the session starts.
Teachers have been working on this problem for a long time. Now it's your kitchen table.
Eyes down ...
6 Questions to Tackle When Engaging Students in Learning
By: Jon Konen | Dec 18, 2017
Argumentatively the most important aspect of teaching today: keeping students in engaged. Others would argue that classroom management is the ticket, while myself and others would state, “If you have effective engagement strategies, you do not have classroom management or discipline problems.” It is true, effective instruction can cure a ...
Questioning and Discussion Techniques: 5 Questions for Danielson 3b
By: Jon Konen | Dec 17, 2017
Questioning and discussion techniques make up component 3b of the Danielson Framework. Distinguished places greater emphasis on students initiating questions, extending one another's thinking, and taking responsibility for participation, while at Proficient more of that work is carried by the teacher. Check which edition of the rubric your district uses. No ...
10 First-Year Teacher Struggles That Catch Veterans Too
By: Amy Konen | Nov 27, 2017
Ten first-year teacher struggles that can resurface even for experienced teachers. A 25-year veteran who returned to her own classroom found herself facing an empty room, no materials, an unbuilt schedule, and long stretches without adult conversation. These are the ten she wrote about not being ready for. As I reflect ...
6 Questions to Tackle When Communicating with Students
By: Jon Konen | Nov 27, 2017
Communicating with students is the Danielson Framework component covering expectations for learning, directions and procedures, explanations of content, and use of oral and written language. The 2022 revision renamed it Communicating About Purpose and Content, though many districts still evaluate on the earlier version. Either way, the work starts with ...
Managing Student Behavior: 7 Questions for Exemplary Classroom Management
By: Jon Konen | Nov 27, 2017
Managing student behavior comes down to two things: preventing problems before they start, and transferring ownership of the classroom culture to the students themselves. The strongest classroom managers build clear, student-created rules, use verbal and non-verbal cues consistently, and lean on tiered behavior plans (Tier I, II, III) when a ...
Classroom Seating Arrangements: 5 Questions Every Teacher Should Ask
By: Jon Konen | Nov 21, 2017
No single classroom seating arrangement works for everything. Match the layout to the activity: rows for independent work and testing, pods of four for cooperative learning, a horseshoe for whole-class discussion. Check each student’s IEP or Section 504 plan for any required seating accommodations, then plan for safety, sight lines, ...
10 Note Taking Strategies for Students That Actually Work
By: Amy Konen | Nov 21, 2017
The most effective note taking strategies for students go beyond copying what a teacher says: they encourage students to process, summarize, and revisit information. Techniques like the Cornell Method, guided notes, and picture notes work because students physically write much slower than teachers speak, which makes word-for-word transcription impractical. Pairing ...
How Can Parents Explain Episodes of Gun Violence to Very Young Children Without Filling Them with Fear?
By: Jon Konen | Nov 14, 2017
I am a principal of a K-6 school in Great Falls, MT (65,000). We are a rural state with many conservative (Republican) viewpoints on gun legislation. In the city I preside, predominately Democrat, there are different viewpoints than the rest of the state. This has been a question we have ...
Managing Classroom Procedures: 6 Questions for Danielson 2c
By: Jon Konen | Nov 14, 2017
Classroom procedures are the taught, repeatable steps students follow for everything from lining up to turning in work. Rules set expectations for behavior. Procedures set the mechanics. On Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching, they sit in Domain 2, Component 2c, and the exemplary rating goes to teachers whose students run ...
11 Total Participation Techniques That Involve Movement
By: Amy Konen | Nov 8, 2017
A Total Participation Technique (TPT) is a classroom strategy that engages every student in responding at the same time, rather than one volunteer answering while the rest of the class listens. Movement-based classroom activities can increase physical activity and may improve attention and on-task behavior, although evidence for immediate improvements ...