Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Teachers are some of the sickest people I know. And I don’t mean the modern slang definition of “sick” as in “super cool” (although teachers are really cool). Because of the nature of our jobs, we are prone to illness, both physically and mentally.
When we have a physical illness, like bronchitis or the stomach flu, we take sick days to recover. Mental health issues are no different. If we don’t take time to address our mental well-being, work performance suffers, and the unaddressed illness can worsen. Treat your mental well-being as you would your physical health.
When Should I Take A Mental Health Day?
According to Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and author of “How to Know When to Take a Mental Health Day” (Psychology Today, July 2017), there are a few instances when you should seriously consider taking a mental day:
When you’re distracted by something you need to address
When you’ve been neglecting yourself
When you need to attend appointments to care for your mental health
What Do I Say To My Administrator?
Simple: “I don’t feel well enough to come to school.” No need to lie or make up an excuse. Just be honest.
What Do I Do On My Day Off?
Don’t sleep all day or spend hours watching TV, these can exacerbate any mental issues that may be going on. Instead, connect with friends or family, go for a walk, read a book, or take a short nap. If needed, take care of any pressing financial matters or accomplish important tasks you’ve been putting off.
Are Mental Health Days Considered Personal or Sick Time?
It depends on your employer. Ideally, mental health should be considered a health issue, just as a physical illness. However, many employers still don’t see it that way. Ask your administrator what your district or building policy is regarding taking mental health days as part of your sick leave. If you can’t take a sick day, consider taking personal time.
I am lucky to have an administrator who is empathetic and allows, and even encourages, teachers to use sick time to take mental health days. He understands his teachers need to be in their best health in order to do their best job.
Taking a day off for you mental well-being is essential to your overall health. So, allow yourself to take a day to recharge and regroup.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Teaching financial literacy doesn’t have to be complicated! We’ve got you covered with a breakdown of teaching financial literacy and helpful resources to get you started.
What is Financial Literacy?
Financial Literacy is the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions regarding financial resources. It includes long-term planning skills and everyday use of personal financial literacy knowledge.
Why Should We Teach It?
Many young people lack the most basic of personal finance skills. Students are entering “the real world” with little or no personal finance skills. It is the job of educators to teach students to manage their money effectively. In many states, personal financial literacy is a required standard. However, it should be taught to all students, regardless of state requirements. Students who are taught financial literacy skills are more likely to become financially responsible.
What Should I Teach?
Here are some topics to get you started: budgeting, saving, investing, credit cards, loans, interest, identity theft and safety. You can find basic lessons for even the youngest of students.
Videos
Secret Millionaires Club – Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club is an animated series that features Warren Buffett as a mentor to a group of entrepreneurial kids whose adventures lead them to encounter financial and business problems to solve. The program teaches the basics of good financial decision making and some of the basic lessons of starting a business.
I Rule Money – I Rule Money gives teens the answers to questions about money in a voice they understand: their own. I Rule Money digs into important financial topics without lectures, boring scripts or complicated explanations. Just real teens explaining money matters to other teens in terms they can all understand.
Lesson Plans
Money As You Learn – Money as You Learn provides teachers with Common Core aligned texts, lessons, and tasks that connect the Common Core to real life applications while also equipping students with the knowledge needed to make smart financial decisions.
Scholastic – Adventures in Math: Real-world math and money activities for grades K-8.
EconEdLink.org – CEE’s standards-aligned, active learning lessons provide step-by-step instructions and make your classes educational, engaging and fun.
Hands On Banking – The Hands on Banking courses include free instructor guides with classroom lessons and activities that will help you guide students through real-life scenarios and group discussions to teach valuable financial skills.
Money As You Grow – A resource for parents and teachers with activities and tips.
My Classroom Economy – My Classroom Economy is a program that enables any educator to teach children financial responsibility through fun, experiential learning. It’s a simple classroom economic system based on the idea that students need to earn school “dollars” so that they can rent their own desks. By bringing real-world scenarios into the classroom, students see the impact of their decisions to save, spend, and budget. Everything you need to build a classroom economy is available on this site—for free.
Consumer Jungle – Learning about personal finance isn’t always a good time. Fear no more. With all of these games, learning about personal finance will be like taking a vacation to Disneyland. Alright, maybe not that exciting but they might be better than those lengthy lectures from Mom and Dad. The best part — you can search by topic or recently posted. Kinda cool, huh?
Practical Money Skills – Ready to get your game on? Test your money skills and give your brain a workout with these fun and educational games.
The Great Piggy Bank Adventure – The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® online is a virtual board game that educates kids and adults on the importance of wise financial planning. Kids will learn about important financial concepts and use these lessons to complete the game and achieve their dream goals. While The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® is designed for kids from ages 8 to 14, fun-loving adults are encouraged to play with their kids and get involved in their financial education.
Sand Dollar City – Sand Dollar City is an underwater adventure that teaches children ages 8 and up to sink or swim in this virtual world. The story unfolds with your child being given the family‘s candy store. The challenge? Get the store out of debt while turning a profit and beating the competition. It’s real life lessons of business while having fun learning!
The Fun Vault – Find educational money games that are fun and free to play. The Fun Vault introduces kids ages 5 and up to money basics.
We want to hear from you! In the comment section, let us know how you teach financial literacy in your classroom.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
I’m always searching for supplemental lesson plans and resources to accompany my prescribed district curriculum and materials. Since I’m on a limited budget, it’s always great to find them for free where I can. Here is a compilation of my favorite websites with free teacher lesson plans and resources. Enjoy! 🙂
ShareMyLesson.com– ShareMyLesson offers free lesson plans for all grade levels and subjects. In addition to teacher lesson plans, ShareMyLesson also offers free professional development opportunities. The website is easy to navigate and lessons are easily accessible. All you need to do is complete the free sign-up and you’re in!
LessonPlansPage.com – With over 4,000 free, teacher-created lesson plans, you can’t go wrong with this HotChalk’s Lesson Plans Page. You can even share your own lesson plans. Membership is free.
TeachersPayTeachers.com – Thousands of lesson plans created by teachers for teachers displayed in a simple format, offering lesson plans for all grade levels and subject areas. Membership is free, however, some lessons cost money. You can easily filter your search to include only the free lessons.
Teach-Nology.com– Over 30,000 free lesson plans and 8,000+ free, printable worksheets. All grade levels and subjects are represented.
KidsDiscover.com – High-Interest, nonfiction, science and social studies articles and lesson plans for grades K-8. The user-friendly format of the website is straightforward, making iit easy to find what you’re looking for.
TheTeachersCorner.net– A collection of educational worksheets, lesson plans, activities and resources for teachers and parents. The Teacher’s Corner offers free crossword puzzle maker, printable worksheets, word search maker, printable Sudoku puzzles, daily writing prompts, and lesson plans for all grade levels and subjects.
EducationWorld.com– The Lesson Library at EducationWorld.com is a compilation of free resources and lesson plan for all subject areas and grade levels. Games, webquests, and an article library also make this site a great tool for teachers. In addition to lesson plans, it is a wonderful teacher resource for all things education.
MyCalCas.com/Printables– We may be an insurance company, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love being creative! That’s why we’ve started building a library of free printable resources for teachers and education professionals to use in their classrooms, offices, or even at home.
What is your favorite website with free lesson plans?
For over half a century, California Casualty has been in the business of serving educators. Click here to learn about all the incredible benefits we offer!
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
We’ve got you covered for Thanksgiving teaching resources! Check out our favorite videos, interactive websites, and lesson plans.
Scholastic.com The First Thanksgiving: Journey on the Mayflower Learn about the voyage of the Mayflower. Tour the ship or relive the Pilgrims’ journey. Complete with facts, historical letters, timeline, videos, photos, and teaching resources for grades K-8.
Plimoth.org Thanksgiving Interactive: You are the Historian What really happened at the First Thanksgiving? Become a history detective and find out! In this fun, award-winning activity, you take on the role of a “history detective” to investigate what really happened at the famous 1621 celebration. (Hint: It was a lot more than just a feast!) Along the way, you will read a letter written by an eyewitness to the event, learn about Wampanoag traditions of giving thanks, and visit Pilgrim Mary Allerton’s home. As a final activity, you can design and print your own Thanksgiving exhibit panel.
MayflowerHistory.com The Internet’s most complete resource on the Mayflower and the Pilgrims, with genealogy, history, primary source documents, and a complete passenger list.
Additional Resources
Myth and Truth: The “First Thanksgiving” (ReadWriteThink.org)
Grades 6-8
By exploring myths surrounding the Wampanoag, the pilgrims, and the “first Thanksgiving,” this lesson asks students to think critically about commonly believed myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in colonial America. Students will begin by considering the difference between myth and historical truth by reading “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford. They will then, in a full-class discussion, reflect on common myths related to the first Thanksgiving. By using a “myth-breaking” process, groups of students will further explore one myth commonly believed about the Wampanoag and the pilgrim settlers. Finally, students will share their findings in group presentations.
American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving – The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) provides a teaching guide, photos, classroom activities, and other resources. It is intended to give students an accurate picture of what happened in Plymouth in 1621 and explain how that event fits into American history. For Grades 4-8.
Students will learn about today’s WAMPANOAG PEOPLE, the same Native American tribe who interacted with the Pilgrims at Plymouth nearly 400 years ago. Students will also examine current issues in which Wampanoag tribes continue to fight for their ancestral homelands, preserve their Native language for future generations and discuss the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday. Grades 9-12.
Just for Fun!
Plimoth.org Talk Like a Pilgrim – The Pilgrims talked a little differently than we do today. Here are a few examples of English words, greetings and phrases that were used back then. Practice them at home and you could talk like a Pilgrim too!
We want to hear from you! In the comment section, let us know your favorite Thanksgiving teaching resources.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Many educators turn to Facebook or Twitter for the latest in teaching strategies, materials, ideas, and news. But did you know there are hundreds of online communities just for educators? Using these social communities, you can network with fellow teachers, expand your personal learning network (PLN), discover and share resources, and cultivate peer-to-peer relationships. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite online communities for teachers.
Classroom 2.0 – The social network for those interested in Web 2.0, Social Media, and Participative Technologies in the classroom. Participate in discussions, receive event notifications, and connect with colleagues.
Edmodo for Teachers – Need ideas for a Common Core, Science, or Spanish lesson? Just ask; our global community of educators will share resources in minutes. No matter what your grade level and subject area, we’ve got you covered.
Discovery Educator Network – The Discovery Education Community is a community of practice focused on connecting educators to their most valuable resource, each other. Whatever your role in education, you deserve a supportive learning environment that helps you improve your practice, provides valuable networking opportunities, fosters the sharing of great ideas, and focuses on the joy of teaching and learning.
EdThena – Video tools designed to enhance professional development for teachers through classroom observation and online collaboration.
Common Sense Educators – Common Sense Educators make up a community of like-minded folks who believe in the power of technology to transform learning and who believe that digital citizenship is an essential foundation for effective digital teaching. Anyone who is an educator – whether a classroom teacher, tech coach, librarian, homeschool teacher, preservice teacher, parent coordinator, or more – can become a Common Sense Educator.
Educator Innovator – Educator Innovator provides an online hub for educators and organizations who value open learning and whose interests and spirits exemplify Connected Learning.
The Current – The Current is an open publishing site of Educator Innovator and provides a forum for the sharing of resources and stories about what we as educators are observing, doing, and reflecting upon related to Connecting Learning and teaching.
Teaching Channel – Teaching Channel is a thriving online community where teachers can watch, share, and learn diverse techniques to help every student grow.
Educators Connect – EducatorsCONNECT is an online community where teachers can socialize, form friendships, share teaching tips, classroom experiences, lesson plans, job opportunities, and more.
Edudemic – Edudemic covers the latest research, news, and resources for educators.
Better Lesson – Search over 1M instructional resources contributed by high-performing teachers from across the country. You’ll find complete lesson plans and units, as well as a wide variety of creative instructional materials. You can even add your own instructional resources.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Social media can be a powerful instructional tool. However, many teachers avoid social media use in the classroom. Why? Educators worry they may be infringing on student privacy rights. However, by following some important guidelines, you can use social media in your classroom while also preserving student privacy.
Before You Begin Posting – Create a private, classroom-only account. Make students and parents aware that social media will be used in the classroom. Communicate clear expectations. Make sure you have access to photo-editing programs.
Anonymity is Key – If you are posting photos, make sure to blur student faces, names, and other identifiable information. Identifiable items can include clothing (jerseys with numbers and names), posters with student names hung around the classroom, and even student handwriting. Turn off date, time, and location features on the camera. Don’t post student grades or any part of a student record. (You may have gotten parent permission to post student photos and other student-related items, and that’s okay, but you may only post what you have permission to post.)
Know The Policies – FERPA, it’s the big one, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Your district or school should have a FERPA-compliant acceptable-use policy and social media rules. Review them. In most instances, you will need parent permission to post student photos or other student-related information, and to allow students to participate in social media use at school.
Now that you know the basics, you’re ready to begin! If you’re still uncomfortable using social media, try a classroom-only platform that only you and students can access (like Three Ring).
Resources
Student Privacy 101 – The U.S. Department of Education explains student privacy (FERPA). Check out the short video.
