Teaching Resources from prairieprincess

What follows is a list of teaching articles written by Sharilee Swaity, also known as prairieprincess. I have been in the education field for over a decade, and love the opportunity to share some of my experiences with fellow teachers.

I know that as a teacher, you are very busy. You only have a few minutes to look things up and then you have 20 more things to do. I want to save you time by putting all of the articles in one easy location.

These are hubs that centre around the theme of being a teacher: As well, there is advice about working as a substitute teacher, which is often the first step towards a more permanent teaching job.

• The Best Things About Teaching
  In this day of divisive politics around the field of teaching, this hub simply points out some of the simple joys of working as an educator. This article is a defense and a celebration of the teaching profession. I have also created an animation video (to the side) about this hub.
• How To Survive As a Substitute Teacher
  This article gives some good practical advice for surviving in the world of substitute teaching. I base this on my own experience of working as a substitute.
• Top Ten Inspirational Teacher Movies of all Time This is a list of movies about teachers. These are great for watching if you're feeling discouraged about teaching and need to feel good about being a teacher.

I loved teaching Shakespearean plays, and have written several articles on this topic. Here they are:

• Teaching Shakespeare to the Reluctant Learner -- Some Strategies
  This article gives ten practical strategies for teaching Shakespeare to kids that don't want to learn it -- which is the majority of them!
• How to use Graphic Novels to Supplement Your Shakespeare Lessons
  This is a guide to using graphic novels of Shakespearean plays to supplement your lessons.
• Teaching Shakespeare with Movies
  This article will assist you in showing a movie of a Shakespearean play. How do you choose which one to watch, and what are the most effective viewing practices?
• Sharilee Shares Shakespeare
  This is a website that goes into more detail about how to act out a Shakespearean play with students.
• Sharilee Shares Shakespeare -- Current Events
  This page gives some suggestions as to how to incorporate current events into your Shakespeare teaching, with some current resources for "Shakespeare in the News."

Field trips are a logistical challenge for teachers. As a teacher, I loved taking students on field trips, to experience real learning, outside of the classroom. Here are my field trip hubs where I can share the benefits of my experience with you!

• How to plan a field Trip: A Step by Step Guide
  This is probably one of the most thorough guides for the logistical parts of planning a field trip that there is. It will help you think of everything, so that you can relax on that day, and enjoy the trip!
• Before the Field Trip: Activities and Lessons to Prepare for the Field Trip
  This hub gives some practical suggestions for tying your outing into the curriculum, and preparing students before they go out on the trip. This will help make this a truly educational and relevant excursion.

I loved to play games in my classroom, because I think it is a fantastic way to learn. Here are hubs centred around games and activities. Have fun!

• Quick 5 Minute Filler Activities for the Classroom
  This hub gives three great ideas to use for those times when your class has five minutes at the end of the class. These activities can also work as ice-breakers, too.
• Fun Board Board Games For Improving Vocabulary
  This article gives some great games to use to help improve student vocabulary.
• How to Play Balderdash As a Class
  The game, Balderdash, is usually played on a board with 4-6 players. I will show you how to modify the game to fit a classroom. This is a whole lot of fun to play!

These are a couple of stories that centred around my time as a teacher.

• Tales from the White Board: A Muffin, Coffee and Two Creams (A Teaching Story about Fairness)
  This is a story about two boys who did me a kind deed, but still broke the rules. How would I handle it?
• Where Were You on September 11th?
  This story tells about how I was in a grade two classroom the day of September 11th and how I had to keep teaching as if it was just another day. If you were teaching that day, you may relate.

• How To Get Along With Teenagers
  This is a hub I wrote about getting along with teenagers. The advice can be applied to both teachers and parents.

How To Use Articles To Teach ESL
This is a hub about how to use hubs, or other articles, in your ESL/EFL teaching sessions.

How To Teach English With Songs
This is an article with ideas about how to incorporate songs into your language teaching.

How To Teach English Grammar To Children
This article gives some creative, fun ideas for teaching English grammar to childre.

Middle School Teacher Resources
Some of the best online resources for middle teaching are listed, with links.

Elementary Writing Prompts
A list of writing prompts for elementary students from my new website, Journaling Helps.

These are articles I have written about teacher gifts.

• The Best Gifts For Teachers
  This is a list of some great teacher gift ideas.
• Unique Teacher Gifts
  A list of unique teacher gifts you may not have seen before.
• What Gifts Should I Give My Professor?
  Some ideas for gifts for a professor.