Heidi: This is episode 272 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give research-based and
teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily: Hey there, thanks for joining us today. This episode
is a little different. Our Teacher Summer Talks summit
kicks off next week, and so we pulled together an exciting
sneak peek. Eight of our summit speakers each recorded a quick
tip to share with you.
Heidi: So, this is basically a sampler platter of the summit.
If a tip makes you want to hear more, you're in luck, because
that speaker has a full session waiting for you.
Emily: Yeah, so let's start with our good friend Jessica Ivey,
lovingly referred to by Jivey, by most of us, by many of us.
She's got a grammar tip that's really a writing tip in
disguise.
Heidi: And this is such a clever way to work smarter. She's got
one tiny question that does more than a whole worksheet, so let's
hear what she has to say.
Jessica Ivey: Hey, teacher-approved listeners, I
hope your summer is treating you well, and you're soaking up some
rest before the planning season kicks back in. I'm Jessica Ivey
Smith, also known as Jivey from Ideas by Jivey. I spent 10 years
teaching in the elementary grades, and I've spent over 15
helping teachers implement research-based strategies and
building literacy curriculum. My whole focus is to take that
stuff the research says works and make it simple enough to
actually pull off in a real classroom.
My teacher-approved tip is one small question that will stretch
your students' grammar further than any worksheet. That
question: How do you know? Most of us teach grammar by having
kids identify things, circle the noun, underline the verb, point
to the adjective, but here's the catch nobody warns you about. A
student can nail every one of those and still not reach for a
single strong word when it's their turn to write. Identifying
a part of speech and actually using it well turn out to be two
very different abilities.
So try this instead. When a student tells you a word is a
verb, resist the urge to just confirm it and move on. Stop and
ask, How do you know? Make them put the reasoning into words.
You'll see those gears turning. Instead of, raced is a verb,
you'll get, raced is a verb because it's what the boy did,
it's the action. You've nudged them from memorizing a label to
explaining how the word actually does its job in the sentence,
and that explaining is exactly what carries over when they
write, because now they don't just recognize a vivid word,
they get why it works and how to choose one themselves.
That question is just one piece of a bigger routine, and I'm
walking through the whole thing in my teacher summer talk
session, launching the mentor sentence routine in your first
two weeks. I'll show you a simple weekly rhythm that ties
grammar directly to writing, how to get it going in the opening
weeks of school so it sticks all year, and I'm even giving you a
ready-made lesson to start with, completely free. Now, I'd love
to connect with you at the summit, and you can also find me
anytime at Ideasbyjivey.com or over on Instagram @ideasbyjivey.
Come say hi, and let me know how your students respond the first
time you ask them, how do you know?
Emily: I love that, because this is how you turn a kid who can
label a verb into a kid who reaches for a strong one when
they write.
Heidi: And it's really so simple. I love an idea that's so
versatile. You could use this question daily, and every time
it would surface different kinds of thinking.
Emily: Speaking of the power of questions, our next tip takes
that same move into much trickier territory. So, here's
Shelby from Little Justice Leaders on what to do when a kid
asks something hard and you freeze.
Shelby: Hi, Teacher Approved listeners. I'm Dr. Shelby Kretz.
I'm the founder of Little Justice Leaders, and I help
teachers build classroom communities where all kids feel
seen, valued, and affirmed. For all of us as educators, there is
some point when a student is going to bring up a hard topic,
whether that's a question about gender, an inappropriate comment
about race, or some other remark about identity or diversity, and
you're frozen in front of the class. So, here's my
teacher-approved tip.
When these hard questions or comments come up, instead of
trying to respond right away or sweeping it under the rug and
panicking, we're simply going to ask a question. And here's why:
asking a question gives us a few seconds to figure out what the
right course of action is, and it also gives you a chance to
understand why your student asked the question or made the
comment in the first place.
So, the question is, what to ask. Of course, this depends on
what the student said, but here are a few good questions to have
ready. That's a good question. What made you think of that?
We're going to ask this if maybe it's a question about identity
that we don't know how to answer right away, but it's not exactly
offensive. Now, if they're saying something offensive or
potentially inappropriate, then we're going to say, "Hey, I want
to ask, where have you heard that before?" or "What do you
If you're still not sure how to handle the situation after the
think that word means?" or "Do you know what that means?"
Again, we're giving ourselves a beat to think about how to
handle it, but we're also giving the student an opportunity to
give us insight into what they meant.
student responds, you can always say, "Right now, I'm going to
continue with what we're working on, but we're going to come back
to this later." That buys you even more time to think about
it, while clearly signaling to your students that you're not
ignoring the question or comment.
So, why does this work? It keeps the door open, we're not
sweeping it under the rug or changing the subject. It tells
our students right away that we're not going to let harmful
behavior or harmful language pass by, and it also tells them
that our classroom is a safe place to ask hard questions.
We're not going to ignore it just because it makes us
uncomfortable. So that's it. It really is that simple. Just
start with a question, you buy yourself a little bit of time to
think, you gain insight into what your student was thinking,
and you clearly demonstrate to the class that you aren't going
to sweep things like this under the rug, and that you genuinely
care about what they think and what they have to say.
So, remember, responding well in these moments is so much easier
when you've already built a classroom where kids feel safe,
they feel known, and everyone understands what fairness looks
like. So at Little Justice Leaders, we help educators build
classrooms that are affirming and rooted in belonging. In our
teacher talk session, I'm sharing even more strategies and
our exact framework for creating a classroom culture where every
student feels like they belong. So, please don't miss it. We
share so many more resources for educators and families online,
so come find us at Little Justice Leaders on Instagram and
other social media, that's @littlejusticeleaders, and best
of luck creating a classroom culture that is truly rooted in
belonging this year. I'm so excited to connect with you
during the summit.
Heidi: Shelby is so right. In a tough moment, what you need most
is a few seconds to think, and a thoughtful question gives you
that buffer.
Emily: And it keeps the door open instead of shutting the kid
down, so it helps you stay in control of a moment that feels
like it might spiral out of your hands, but while still keeping
the connection open with your student.
Heidi: Our next tip is for everyone who's ever stared their
schedule wondering where on earth more writing is supposed
to fit. Here's Leigh from the Applicious Teacher.
Leigh: Have you ever looked at your schedule and thought, I
know my students need more writing, but how am I supposed
to fit it in? It's a challenge that I hear all the time, and
honestly, it's something that I struggle with too. Hey there,
I'm Leigh Langton, and I'm a third-grade teacher here in
Central Florida, the creator behind the Applicious Teacher,
and a lifetime advocate for helping teachers implement
research-based practices in ways that are actually realistic for
basic classrooms, just like mine.
One of the biggest misconceptions about writing
instruction is that it has to happen in this special dedicated
writing block, and the truth is some of the most powerful
writing can happen in just a few minutes throughout the day.
Here is a quick tip that you can try literally your first day
back at school. So, imagine for a second it's your first week of
school, and you're about to read a classroom community building
book, like "Our Class is a Family" or something like that.
Before reading, ask your students to spend a couple
minutes responding to this prompt. What are some things
that you do to help take care of your family? Now, let your
students write whatever comes to their mind, then you can share
what they wrote, read the story, come back to that same prompt,
and ask students to revise their thinking using the text that
they just read, as well as how they could apply it to their
classroom family.
And there, in just a few minutes, students have activated
prior knowledge, engaged deeply with a story, they reflected on
their classroom expectations from previous classroom
experiences, and they practice some very meaningful writing,
all in one simple quick write. That is the power of quick
writes.
In my teacher summer talk session, I'm going to show you
how to use quick writes to help build the bridge between the
science of reading and the science of writing, and you'll
walk away with practical, low prep ideas that naturally fit
into your reading, math, science, and social studies
times without adding another program, another resource, or
hours to your day, or hours to your planning. So be sure to
join me for quick writes marrying the science of reading,
and the science of writing, and I cannot wait to share more with
you.
Emily: A quick write before a read aloud is so doable, you
don't have to invent a whole new block, you are folding writing
into something you're already doing.
Heidi: And her first week community building example is
perfect timing, you could easily slot this into your first week
lessons.
Emily: Okay, now let's shift into math. So, here is Greg,
also known as Mr. Elementary Math, on how to stop guessing
your way through small groups.
Greg: What's going on, math fam? I'm Greg, also known as Mr.
Elementary Math. I'm a math coach and a curriculum writer
who helps third-grade teachers feel confident about
differentiation and small group instruction. My tip is all about
stopping the guessing game in your teacher-led small groups.
Here's something I see all the time: a teacher pulls a small
group, right, grabs an activity that looked good on paper, and
15 minutes later realizes it wasn't what that group needed.
Does that sound familiar?
So, here's the mind shift. Every student who sits down at your
small group table falls into one of three categories. They're
either still building understanding, they're
inconsistent and need more practice, or they've got it, and
they're ready for something deeper. Once you know which one
you're looking at, the right kind of lesson becomes obvious.
The tricky part isn't the teaching, it's figuring out
which category a group falls into before you waste your 15
minutes guessing.
So I'm breaking this down even more in my summit session called
Stop Winging It: How to Target Instruction in Math Small
Groups. I'll be sharing an example of how this looks, and a
quick checklist you can run through in under a minute to
know exactly what each small group needs. So, if guessing
sounds a little too familiar, you'll want to check me out. I'm
excited to connect with you during the summit. You can also
find me on Instagram @mrelementarymath.
Heidi: This is such a helpful framework. Once you know which
category you're looking at, the lesson kind of builds itself.
Emily: And that question that he ends on the figuring out the
category before you waste 15 minutes, that is the perfect
setup for our next tip. Greg helped us figure out what
happens at your small group table, and Marcy from Saddle Up
for Second Grade is here to talk about how to keep everyone else
on track.
Marcy: Hey, Teacher Approved listeners, I'm so excited to be
here with you today, and share a quick tip before my session at
the Teacher Summer Talks Summit. I'm Marcy Bernethi from Saddle
Up for Second Grade, and I help first, second, even third grade
teachers make math instruction feel more manageable with
practical routines, small group support and ready to use
resources.
If you are wanting to start small groups or math stations in
your classroom, the biggest thing I want you to remember is
this: you can't start small groups until your students know
what to do independently, and I say this because I learned this
the hard way. When I first started trying to do small group
math, I thought I could just pull a few kids back to my
table, give the rest of the class the math game for
activity, and they would magically know what to do.
Spoiler alert, that did not happen.
I had high expectations for them. I had not actually taught
them how to meet those expectations. I expected them to
work with a partner or a group, but I hadn't shown them what
that should look like and sound like. I expected them to use
math materials the right way, but I hadn't taken the time to
model it. I expected them to use the right voice level and
problem solve and take the basket off the shelf and clean
up and put it back exactly where it belonged, but here's the
thing: those are not things our students automatically know how
to do. They have to be taught explicitly, repeatedly, and
patiently.
Before you ever expect your students to work independently
during math stations, you have to slow down and teach the
expectations first. What does it look like to play a math game
with a partner? What does it sound like when you're using a
math voice instead of a recess voice? What do you do if you
don't understand the directions? What do you do when you finish
early? Those little routines might seem small, but they are
the foundation that makes small group math actually work.
So my tip for you is this: before you launch math stations,
pick one expectation and teach it like it is part of your math
lesson, because it is. Model it, practice it, and let students
try it. Stop and reteach when needed. You may feel like you're
moving slowly at first, but I promise you that time on the
front end will save you so much frustration later. In my teacher
summer talk session, five simple math routines to teach before
small group math begins, I will walk you through the five
routines I teach before launching math stations in small
groups so your students will know exactly what to do while
you're working with a small group at the teacher table.
I'll also share a fun freebie to help get your routine started,
because small groups can work, but the routines have to come
first. I would love to connect with you before the summit. You
can find me at Saddleupfor2ndgrade.com or head
on over to Instagram and find me @saddleupfor2ndgrade.
Heidi: And Marcy's right, you can't start small groups until
your students know what to do independently. That is so true.
Emily: Yeah, and it's probably something most of us learned the
hard way. It's really so easy to skip that step when we're just
excited to get going, but Marcy's right, those independent
routines aren't something that kids just know, you have to
teach them just like you'd teach anything else.
Heidi: Our next tip is about a tool a lot of us are still
figuring out how to use well. Here's Jen from Strategic
Classroom with a rule of thumb for AI and your back to school
prep.
Jen: I'm Jen from Strategic Classroom, and I help great
teachers get their time back without sacrificing their
effectiveness. I've been teaching about AI and the ethics
of using it in the classroom since 2018 which is why I'm so
excited to share my teacher-approved tip with you
today. That's about AI.
The thing about AI is that it is amazing at giving you the
illusion of productivity, you might sit down and generate a
whole bunch of stuff, which makes you feel busy and
accomplished, except then you look down and realize that
you've actually just created more work for yourself. So, the
rule of thumb that I want you to carry into back to school prep
is that AI can be a green light when you've already made a
decision, and you just want more options, or you want refinement.
I wouldn't use it when you haven't made a decision yet, and
you're hoping that it will decide for you.
Let me show you the difference. Let's say that you've already
decided that you want a lining up routine that utilizes a song.
You might ask AI for 15 transition songs that other
teachers use, so that you can pick the two that you love.
That's a real time saver, because you got a lot of options
that have already been teacher tested, and then you are making
the call. AI widened your options, but it didn't take away
the decision to use a lineup song.
Now, if you sit down and ask AI for 30 first week of school
activities, we now have 30 different activities to read,
vet, and mostly throw away or modify. That doesn't actually
save you any time. You gave AI the decision, and it gave you
back a pile of work. So, before we ask AI for anything this
summer, I want you to ask yourself, have I already
decided, or am I hoping that it decides for me. We want to widen
our options without outsourcing our judgment.
This is just one of three questions that I'm going to walk
you through in my teacher summer talk session, AI can do it,
should it, where I'll give you a whole framework for knowing
exactly which back to school tasks to hand to AI and which
ones to keep for yourself, plus one thing that I would never
ever put into an AI tool. You definitely want to hear that
last one. I would love to connect with you during the
summit, and you can also find me on Instagram and TikTok
@strategicclassroom. I'll see you there.
Emily: It is so easy to feel productive with AI when you've
actually just made yourself 30 things to sort through.
Heidi: And then you still haven't figured out the original
problem, so widen your options, but keep the judgment. No
computer can replace your expertise.
Emily: So far, everything we've talked about has been focused on
the classroom, but we can't forget the one thing that makes
it all work: the teacher.
Heidi: That's what these next few tips are about. Here's
Kelsey from Educate and Rejuvenate on what to do when
your teacher brain won't clock out.
Kelsey: Hi, Teacher Approved listeners, I'm Kelsey Sorensen
from Educate and Rejuvenate. I'm a certified life coach for
teachers and a teacher author, probably most known for virtual
events, life coaching, and sub plans, but my biggest love and
what I do is helping teachers enjoy their lives both inside
the classroom and outside of it. You might also know me as I have
been a guest on the podcast and a speaker at past teacher summer
talks and teacher winter talks, and I'm so thrilled to be back
as a featured speaker for Teacher Summer Talks 2026.
So, here is something I've noticed with my teacher clients
who I work with. During the school year, your teacher brain
follows you home. You're sitting on the couch trying to watch
your show, but you're actually replaying the email that parents
sent, or running through tomorrow's lesson for the third
time. Then, when the summer hits, you might think that it
can leave you alone, but it doesn't always. Maybe you're at
Target, not even thinking about school, just grabbing whatever
you came in for, and then you walk past the back to school
section and see all the folders and the backpacks, and your
stomach drops, even though it's July and nothing has actually
happened yet.
So today I want to give you something you can do in that
exact moment. First, name it out loud if you can, say, there's my
teacher brain again, or just, my teacher brain followed me into
Target, and summer's not even over. That's it. Just noticing
what is actually happening.
Second, before you even get to that moment, build yourself what
I call an anchor menu. This is where you pick two to five
things ahead of time that bring you back to the present moment,
instead of worrying about the past or fretting about the
future. At least one should be something you can do instantly,
even if you were like, say, in the middle of teaching, or in
the checkout line at Target. Maybe it's taking three deep
breaths, or pressing your feet into the floor, or rocking side
to side. Decide this now, so the second you name your teacher
brain, you already know what to do next to bring yourself back
into the present moment, instead of just standing in the checkout
line, spiraling.
Now even if this is the one thing you take from today, it
can actually help you enjoy what you have left of your summer and
walk into the new school year with a tool that is going to
help you to bring yourself back to the present moment among all
of the back to school stress. But there's even more waiting
for you at Teacher Summer Talks. I've got a session called How to
Stop Dreading September Before It Even Starts, and it goes much
deeper into all of this. I'm a featured speaker this year, so
keep an eye out for it. You're not going to want to miss that
session. I have some great things to share with you there,
and an awesome freebie too.
You can also find me on Instagram @educateandrejuvenate,
and if you want a little pick-me-up, every week, I send
something via email called the Teacher Brain Break, where I
share a little tip like this. You can sign up for that at
Educateandrejuvenate.com/teacherbrainbreak.
That's it for now, but I can't wait to see you at Teacher
Summer Talks.
Emily: Her shopping example got me, because that's exactly what
happens. You're fine, you're just buying paper towels, and
then the backpacks are right there, and your stomach just
drops. It's the worst feeling.
Heidi: I hate that moment. But what I like is that Kelsey gives
you something to actually do in that moment. You don't have to
give into the panic or push it down like it's not real. Name
it, and then go to your anchor response. Help your nervous
system do its job of keeping you regulated.
Emily: While Kelsey's tip is about catching yourself in the
moment, the next one is about setting things up before the
moment ever hits. So, here's Jacey on the boundary most of us
forget to plan for.
Jacey: Hi, everyone, I'm Jacey Schank. I want to leave you with
one quick tip that has the power to completely change your school
year. Most teachers think boundaries are things we set
with other people, boundaries with parents, boundaries with
coworkers, but one of the most important boundaries is actually
the ones we set with ourselves.
Here's what I mean. Every August, teachers create
classroom procedures, lesson plans, and organizational
systems, but very few teachers create a plan for protecting
their own energy. Instead, we tell ourselves, I'll start
taking care of myself when things settle down, I'll start
exercising once I get into a routine, I'll start meal
prepping after the first few weeks of school. Guess what the
problem is: teachers never actually get caught up. There's
always another email, another meeting, another lesson, another
responsibility.
So, my challenge for you is very simple: before school starts,
choose one personal non-negotiable, just one. Maybe
it's eating breakfast every morning, maybe it's taking a 10
minute walk before school, maybe it's setting a hard stop time
and refusing to work after that time. Whatever it is, decide
right now, because if you don't intentionally protect your
well-being, the school year will gladly consume every bit of time
and energy that you have.
One of the biggest lessons I learned recovering from burnout
was that taking care of yourself isn't something you do after
everything else is finished. Taking care of yourself is a
boundary, and it is one that deserves protection. If this
resonates with you, be sure to check out my full session,
Protect Your Energy: three back to school boundaries every
teacher needs, where I will walk you through the exact
boundaries, habits, and systems that helped me recover from
burnout and create a healthier, more sustainable teaching
career.
And if you'd like more support, encouragement, and practical
strategies for preventing burnout, I'd love to connect
with you on Instagram @jaceypulverschank, J A C E Y P
U L V E R S C H A N K. I can't wait to connect with you and
help you protect your energy this school year.
Heidi: This is so common, we plan every procedure for the
kids, and we leave ourselves completely out of it.
Emily: And that line, I'll take care of myself when things
settle down. I mean, there is no settling down, the year is never
gonna get less busy, so you have to set your non-negotiable now
before your intentions just get swallowed up by your to-do list.
Heidi: So that is our sneak peek from eight of the voices that
you will hear at Teacher Summer Talks.
Emily: And every single one of these speakers has a full
session waiting for you at the summit, going deeper than they
could go here in just a few minutes. Teacher Summer Talks
runs july 20 through the 23rd, and it is free. All of the
speaker sessions are audio, and so you can listen while you're
driving or watching kids at the pool, or whatever you want to do
to relax.
Heidi: But we are not finished yet. Of course, we couldn't
leave you without a tip of our own, and we are picking up right
where Jacey left off. Our tip is to schedule around your brain,
not your time. So, tell us more about this, Emily.
Emily: Okay, so basically every productivity tip teachers get is
about the clock, right? So they tell you to block it, batch it,
find the gaps, but the problem is making the mistake of
assuming that every hour is equal, and I don't know about
you, but there are some tasks my brain just cannot handle after
4pm. So instead of just going down your to-do list, try
sorting your tasks by energy.
Heidi: Right. Some tasks, like lesson planning, parent
communication, that was a hard one for me, problem solving, and
looking at data, they all need your good brain, those are more
high-energy tasks.
Emily: But not every task requires that same level of
focus. That's where your low energy pile comes in. So, that's
running copies and organizing, clearing out your desk, filing
papers. None of that needs your sharpest hours.
Heidi: So, take a minute to reflect and ask yourself, am I
trying to do thinking work during my tired hours, because a
lot of us are. We save lesson planning for Friday afternoon or
late at night when we are the most depleted version of
ourselves.
Emily: And when you're not thinking clearly, it makes every
task feel twice as hard. So, please do yourself a favor and
manage your energy, not your time.
Heidi: I even have that as a sticky note on my computer. It
works for everyday life as well as it does for school. In fact,
you can just start using this right away. You don't have to
wait for school to start. Take a look at your back to school prep
and sort all of your tasks the same way.
Emily: If you're freshest in the morning, use that time for
planning your first week, building your classroom
procedures, designing lessons, mapping routines, all that high
brain work.
Heidi: But if you're more of a night owl, save those tasks for
the hours when your head is the clearest. Put the kids to bed,
put on a favorite show, and fire up your laptop. Make your system
fit the realities of your life.
Emily: And save all the low brain stuff, like cutting out
lamination, organizing supplies, stuffing birthday bags, when
you're running on fumes. You don't need a fresh brain to use
a paper cutter.
Heidi: Please make sure you're paying attention while using a
paper cutter, even if you are feeling tired. Nobody needs to
start the school year with stitches.
Emily: Yeah, I feel like no stitches is just a good goal for
everyone. And another good goal is to join us for the Teacher
Summer Talks Summit next week. Tickets are free, and all of the
speaker sessions are audio, so it frees you up to do whatever
you're doing. And then we have a few live sessions every day that
are going to be super fun if you can make it live, but even if
all you can do is take in the audio content, you will get so
much out of this week.
Heidi: Besides all of our sessions, you get a guided first
day plan challenge, so you walk into August with a real back to
school plan all ready to go, and you get to hang out with us. So
that's definitely a bonus.
Emily: Yeah, we'll help you do it. It's gonna be so much fun.
Heidi: Grab your free ticket at secondstorywindow.net/summertalks,
or even easier, just follow the link in the show notes.
Emily: Thanks for listening. Hope to see you at the summit
next week.
Heidi: Bye.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
Bye for now.
Emily: Bye.