English & Language Arts Teacher Blog

We’ll be taking the next two weeks off from these emails to be with our families and will see you again in January, 2025!  Have a great break with your family and loved ones and rest up —you deserve it! 

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Helping Students Develop Grit: A Teacher’s Guide Part 4:

Tip #4: Model Grit in Your Teaching

As teachers, we all know that students pick up on what we do more than what we say. 

So, I try to model grit in my own work in class, whether it’s my lesson not going as planned, a mistake on the document cam, etc.

Sometimes I even talk with my students about how I’m working through it. 

These aren’t long conversations—just simple, honest moments where they see that I, too, have to push through setbacks. 

By being open about my own grit, I try to show them that grit is a valuable life skill that everyone can improve!

Try these out and let us know how it goes! Don’t forget to tag us in your posts on Instagram and Facebook!

(These links are Amazon affiliate links, but don’t worry, it does not affect your price at all :)) 

You guys can probably tell that I love nothing more than a good writing pen given by how much I talk about them. 🤓

After testing over 15 erasable gel pens from Amazon, I found one clear standout:

Sunacme erasable gel pens!
Here’s why they won me over:

• The ink is vibrant and bold, far better than other brands that looked dull and faded.
  
  
• The erasable feature is impressive. It works with a silicone-like eraser at the end, and you can erase and rewrite in the same spot over three times—no issues!
  
  
• The .7mm tip strikes the perfect balance. I usually prefer .5mm, but this felt just right, especially for signing documents at school.
  
  

And honestly, you’d never guess these are erasable gel pens. They write and look just like regular ones. Definitely worth a try!

They also make great stocking stuffers!

Available in packs of red, blue, and black ink (16-pack for $10.99 right now —that’s  less that $1 per pen!) and in packs of just black and blue ink (16-pack for $9.99!)

Try these out and let us know how you like them!
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Because our headspace matters when we are trying to show up as our best selves for our students, our loved ones, and ourselves!

We’d like to think of this as a little bit like life coaching for teachers :-)

Famous Failures!

We apologize for the error in our previous email! The TPT sitewide Cyber Sale is from 12/2/24 through 12/3/24 and our entire store is 20% off!

Teacher Fight - Abbott Elementary
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With only two courtside tickets to a Philadelphia 76ers up for grabs for the whole faculty, tensions run high as the teachers try to decide who gets them. 

Helping Students Develop Grit: A Teacher’s Guide Part 3:
Tip #3: Encourage a Positive View of Challenges

Challenges are a part of learning, but many students see them as signs they aren’t “good enough.” 

It’s important for us as teachers to help students see these challenges differently. 

I like to explain to my students that falling down is part of learning how to walk and that crawling is done before walking. 

A few other key concepts are:

• Growth mindset: help students embrace the belief that challenges are opportunities to learn and improve your skills, not setbacks that define you. 
  
  
• Reframing: when faced with a challenge, actively rephrase it into a positive perspective, looking for potential benefits or lessons to be learned. 
  
  
• Positive self-talk: “I can’t do it yet but I will if I keep trying my best.” "My brain is like a muscle, and I can make it grow stronger with practice." 

Try these out and let us know how it goes! Don’t forget to tag us in your posts on Instagram and Facebook!

I've been finding ways to squeeze in exercise despite my busy schedule as a full-time teacher, managing my TPT business, and taking care of my two little ones while my wife is at work.

The best solution I've found is doing quick workouts like jumping jacks, burpees, or jump rope first thing in the morning for 10-15 minutes.

If you prefer a more guided approach, try short workout videos on YouTube. Some of my favorite videos are under 10 minutes and require little to no equipment—just a pair of dumbbells or even just your bodyweight.

Check these out!

The key is to move whenever and however you can! Even five minutes of exercise in the bathroom, closet, or garage makes a difference.

The best part? Once you build the habit, your body will start to expect it, making it feel automatic! 💪

Because our headspace matters when we are trying to show up as our best selves for our students, our loved ones, and ourselves!

We’d like to think of this as a little bit like life coaching for teachers :-)

Check out this great episode (Clarice’s Story) of the podcast “My Unsung Hero” for a wonderfully refreshing story about people being kind to one another when they need it the most. 

​​Sharing is caring—so please forward this to any teacher that could benefit from this message and help spread the love!

The goal of these messages is to help ourselves improve—for our students, for our loved ones, and for ourselves. 

You can always reply to this message or message us on Facebook here!

Keep touching hearts and changing lives!
Charlie with Shining Scholar Education
Our podcast is back—check it out!
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P.S.: Looking to monetize your educational content? Consider joining our TPT Affiliate Program for 25% commissions here!