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Mike Anderson Consulting Mike Anderson Consulting
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  • Home
  • About
    • Brief Overview
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Testimonials
  • Books
    • Tackling the Motivation Crisis
    • What We Say and How We Say It Matter
    • Teacher Talk that Matters
    • Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn
    • The Well-Balanced Teacher
    • The Research-Ready Classroom
    • The First Six Weeks of School, 2nd Edition
    • What Every Teacher Needs to Know Series
  • Consulting
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Teaching Strategies

How Well Do You Know Your Students?

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Professional Development, Teaching Strategies
The first weeks of school are winding down. The weather is cooling off and academic work is heating up. This is a great time to reflect on the relationships you’re building with your class. How well do you know your
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Math Teachers: Avoid the Homework Doom Loop

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Homework, Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies
Math teachers, I have a warning for you. (Cue ominous music.) There’s a trap that’s lurking around the corner—one that many of us fall into at some point. (Cue increasingly ominous music.) And once you’re in, it’s hard to escape.
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45 Routines to Teach in the First Weeks of School: A Good Start

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies
There are so many routines to teach early in the school year–it can be a bit overwhelming. Where do you begin? Of course, there is no one right answer–no definitive list. One way to start is to think about ones
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Effective Modeling: 4 Key Components

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies
It’s now widely recognized that teachers must teach students the routines of the classroom. This is actually a shift. Years ago, it was often just assumed that kids should know how to walk respectfully in the halls, get supplies and
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A Few Classroom Design Ideas

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies
Setting up classroom spaces has always been one of my favorite things to do as a teacher. Now, as a consultant, I love helping other teachers think of fun and practical ideas for designing great learning spaces. Last year, a
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Reclaiming Teacher Autonomy Through Choice

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies, Work Life Balance
One of the most devastating effects of the standardization movement—with its pressures to conform and emphasis on accountability through high-stakes testing—has been the stripping of teacher autonomy—our power to make informed decisions about how best to meet the needs of
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When Students Learn to Choose, They Choose to Learn

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Motivation, Social and Emotional Learning, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies
Note: This article first appeared on Learning Personalized in April, 2016: http://www.learningpersonalized.com/students-learn-choose-choose-learn/. Thanks go out to my friend and colleague, Allison Zmuda, who originally published the post! I was recently working with a group of high school teachers, and they
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Promoting a Growth Mindset: An Activity to Try

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In For Parents, Mike's Blog, Motivation, Professional Development, Social and Emotional Learning, Teacher Talk, Teaching Strategies
Many schools are working hard to help promote a growth mindset in their students. I recently facilitated a learning session with a group of teachers that I’d like to pass along. It is a simple activity that yielded some powerful
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Uncle Curmudgeon: Stop Preparing Kids for Next Year!

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Homework, Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies, Uncle Curmudgeon
Dear Kennari- Greetings once again from Sweet Meadow Acres for Retired Teachers. I only have a few minutes to write today, so let’s get right to it, shall we? In your last letter, you mentioned that you’re overwhelmed with everything
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When Work Is Its Own Reward

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Motivation, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies
You have just finished teaching a lesson, and as you direct students to get started on their work, a familiar chorus echoes across the room, causing your heart to sink. What do we get for doing this? Do we have
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Uncle Curmudgeon Grumps about “Exceeds the Standard”

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies, Uncle Curmudgeon
Every now and then, I come across a letter from Uncle Curmudgeon, an old retired teacher, to his niece, Kennari, an aspiring new one. I’m happy to pass another along! Dear Kennari- So! You’ve signed up for your first committee!
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Uncle Curmudgeon: Stop Giving Homework!

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Homework, Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies, Uncle Curmudgeon
Every now and then, I come across a letter from Uncle Curmudgeon, an old retired teacher, to his niece, Kennari, an aspiring new one. I’m happy to pass another along! Dear Kennari- It was another interesting week here at Sweet
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Check in on Your Most Vulnerable Students

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies
The first weeks of school are long past, and your class has likely settled into a rhythm. This is a great time of year to reflect on how things are going. Are routines running as smoothly as you’d like? Are
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How (and Why) I Stopped Saying, “I like the way you…”

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Motivation, Social and Emotional Learning, Teacher Talk, Teaching Strategies
For a long time, when I wanted to give students positive feedback about their work or behavior, I began with some version of, “I like the way you…” “Jeremy, I like the way you’re working so hard on that
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When Students Are Disruptive: 10 Ideas to Try

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies, Work Life Balance
One student can change the feel of a whole classroom. John throws a tantrum whenever things don’t go his way. Alicia enters the room each morning with a deep scowl exuding negative energy. Allen has way too much sexual knowledge
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Uncle Curmudgeon: Should Families Spend So Much on School Supplies?

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In For Parents, Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies, Uncle Curmudgeon
Every now and then, I come across a letter from Uncle Curmudgeon, an old retired teacher, to his niece, Kennari, an aspiring new one. I’m happy to pass another along!   Dear Kennari- Ah! The beginning of a new year!
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Six Strategies for Getting to Know Your Students

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies
One of our primary goals at the beginning of the school year is to get to know our students. This is important for several reasons. First, the better we know our students, and the more they know we know them,
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Consider a Slight Variation to the Golden Rule

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies
As I work with teachers on helping students craft effective and supportive rules at the beginning of the school year, a question almost always comes up: “What do you think about using the Golden Rule as a classroom rule?” It’s
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Rethinking Rewards and Incentives

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Motivation, Professional Development, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies
In my first two years as a classroom teacher, I used an incentive system to try and motivate and manage students. At each cluster of four student desks, there was a plastic dish. When groups were working well, paying attention,
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Personalized Learning through Student-Led Research

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Motivation, Student Choice, Teaching Strategies
Independent student research is making a comeback! After years of moving away from student-centered learning, due primarily to the over-emphasis of standardized testing, the movement toward differentiated instruction and personalized learning has reignited teachers’ interest in helping students conduct research
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Mighty Meltdowns in the Month of May

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies, Work Life Balance
Mikey was a challenging fourth grader. He broke down in tears often in the beginning of the year. Reading was hard. Math was hard. Recess was hard. Everything was hard. He crumpled work papers, fought on the playground, and teased
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Uncle Curmudgeon: Don’t Hide Learning When It’s Fun!

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Motivation, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies, Uncle Curmudgeon
Every now and then, I come across a letter from Uncle Curmudgeon, an old retired teacher, to his niece, Kennari, an aspiring new teacher. I’m happy to pass them along from time to time! Dear Kennari, Greetings. It’s another slow
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Integrating a Whole Child Approach: Beyond Extra Curricular Activities

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Social and Emotional Learning, Teaching Strategies
Few would argue with the importance of educating the whole child. Even in today’s age of standardized testing and emphasis on academic standards, perhaps even because of this recent emphasis, educators are increasingly aware of the need to nurture students’
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What We Wear Matters

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies, Work Life Balance
My 22 year-old self can’t believe I’m writing this post. When I was a brand new teacher, I was firmly convinced that I should dress casually for work. Relaxed pants and a button-down short-sleeved short was my normal outfit. I
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Uncle Curmudgeon: Pop Quizzes

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In Mike's Blog, Teaching Strategies, Uncle Curmudgeon
Every now and then, I come across a letter from Uncle Curmudgeon, an old retired teacher, to his niece, Kennari, an aspiring new teacher. I’m happy to pass them along from time to time! Enjoy!     -Mike   Dear Kennari-
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