How are you feeling about the idea of a Student Led Classroom?

Do you feel like there isn't enough time for peer learning, conferences, or small group instruction? Do you have some needy students who aren't independent enough yet? Or you really want to incorporate more student-led activities but not quite sure how to teach your students how to do it. Well… you will definitely want to listen all the way to the end of this episode because I will share one of the biggest mistakes educators make when trying to create a student led classroom or homeschool.

Now, don't get me wrong, will creating a learner driven community be easy? No. Will you have all the answers? No. Will there be challenges or obstacles along the way? Absolutely.

But there is one mistake I don't want you to make that could hinder your student led classroom. This mistake can also be applied to your everyday life, not just your teacher life. When you conquer this first step, a peer learning community becomes possible and you can't lose.

Remember Nelson Mandela's famous quote: "I Never Lose, I Either Win or I Learn". Links Mentioned in This Episode:

FREE GUIDE: TRANSFORM YOUR LITERACY CLASSROOM INTO A LEARNER DRIVEN COMMUNITY

PEER LEARNING AND CONFERRING MADE POSSIBLE SUMMER COURSE REVAMP 40% OFF SALE

Stop by the two blogs! I've got one for literacy teachers and black history.

Let's talk about 2 super quick teaching methods that you can use after you start a conference or small group or you can just do these methods all by themselves. These 2 quick bursts of teaching will help you teach writing and reading strategies.

I bet you have some learners reading and writing above grade level, below, and everywhere in between. Am I right? You've got a whole mix of different levels or abilities going on in your classroom or homeschool.

With just a few weeks left of school, I want you to end the year with excitement and feel so good about everything you've done to help your learners grow as much as possible as readers and writers. I also know when the end of the year comes, the school day can start to feel a little crazy with:

• End of the year assessments
• Student goal setting and reflection for the summer and next school year
• Report cards and communicating progress to parents
• Class Celebrations
• Packing up materials and supplies
• Extra recess or indoor play time

All of these things can take you out of your normal conferring and small group routine. But All Things Are Possible teacher friends. You can still make a BIG impact and support your readers and writers even in the last few weeks of school. And these 2 really quick methods of teaching that I'm about to share with you don't require any planning up front. You can just do them on the spot and they don't take a whole lot of time. Which is exactly what you need as you end a busy school year.

All You Need is 90 Seconds For These Two Teaching Methods​

In this Episode, we will chat about:

• One of the biggest mistakes I made when trying to use these two teaching methods when I was a 2nd grade teacher
• Different levels of support you can offer in your conferences or small group instruction
• What the 2 teaching methods are and how to best use them in your classroom or homeschool
• Tips to keep your conferences and small group lessons short and sweet

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:​

HOW TO HELP STUDENTS WITH READING COMPREHENSION

FREE GUIDE: HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR LITERACY CLASSROOM INTO A LEARNER DRIVEN COMMUNITY

Stop by the two blogs! I've got one for literacy teachers and black history.

Let's talk about another amazing student-led activity you can incorporate into your literacy classroom or homeschool that doesn't take a whole lot of time in your schedule. It is CLOSING CIRCLE. In our last episode, we chatted about how Morning Meeting can provide a safe peer learning environment that provides a sense of trust, encourages respectful learning, helps regulate emotions, and builds a strong sense of community.

Well, just like Morning Meeting, Closing Circle is another quick activity you can implement that will bring the school day to a peaceful end, enhance learning and reaffirms classroom community. All you need is 5- or 10-minutes before you say good-bye and you'll feel calmer or more energized and your students or children will feel the same.

Why Should You Do Closing Circle Activities?

In this Episode, we will chat about:

• What Closing Circles are
• The benefits of Closing Circle and the BIG impact it can have on your students or children
• Reading and writing workshop
• The 3 key components to a Closing Circle
• A secret component that I'm added to my own Closing Circle for our Micro school that we are launching in the Fall 2023

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM

FIND YOUR MARIGOLD

FREE GUIDE HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR LITERACY CLASSROOM INTO A LEARNER DRIVEN COMMUNITY

CONFERRING ALL-START TEACHER MEMBERSHIP

Stop by the two blogs! I've got one for literacy teachers and black history.

One amazing student-led activity you can incorporate into your literacy classroom or homeschool that doesn't take a whole lot of time in your schedule is… MORNING MEETING. I am so glad you're listening to this episode because if your students or children are having behavior issues and you want to have a safe peer learning environment that provides a sense of trust, encourages respectful learning, helps regulate emotions, and builds a strong sense of community… then Morning Meetings are your answer!

Kick off the day with a FUN and engaging morning meeting that builds a strong sense of community with all your students.

In this Episode, we will chat about:

• What Morning Meeting is
• The positive effects it can have on your classroom or homeschool community
• Success stories of schools around the country who have implemented Morning Meeting
• How you can get started in using Morning Meeting
• 4 tips to help your students be successful with Student-Led Morning Meeting

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this! Links Mentioned in This Episode:

JACKIE ROBINSON ACTIVITIES

RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM

TEACHER-LED MORNING MEETING

LITERACY TEACHER GREATNESS FACEBOOK GROUP

STUDENT-LED MORNING MEETING BOOT CAMP

FREE GUIDE HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR LITERACY CLASSROOM INTO A LEARNER DRIVEN COMMUNITY

Stop by the two blogs! I've got one for literacy teachers and black history.

If you are new to listening to the All Things Are Possible Teacher Podcast, you probably know that I am a literacy coach, but you might not know I'm also a homeschool Mama. March/April is around the time when I start planning the next school for my son. But this year we have decided to do school differently.

Yes, I am so excited about this. This is something I've been dreaming about since before my son was even born. I have been writing down all of these dreams in my handy dandy notebook over the years. My dad, who has been a school administrator and now a 7th grade ELA teacher, has been dreaming about this even longer than I have. A couple of months ago, I told my husband… I believe with my whole heart, that the time is now to make this dream become a reality.

But this isn't going to be like any typical traditional school. We want our son and his soon-to-be peers to experience a learning transformation that sparks curiosity, creativity, and a love for learning. We want them to take charge of their own learning and have tons of fun while doing it. We believe every child has dreams, passions, and purpose to discover as they grow up so they will be the next one to change the world. Every child, no matter their ethnicity, needs to see what greatness and success could look like from people who look just like them. And we are on a mission to make all of this a reality at our micro school.

I'm excited to introduce our learner driven school called Kingdom Seed Christian Academy.

In this episode, we will chat about:

• Why we are starting a micro school
• What would be my DREAM school for my son and community
• Our vision and 5 core beliefs for our micro school
• How we are going to transform it it into a learner driven community
• The kind of learning environment we desire to cultivate
• What seeds of transformational learning we would like to sow in every child who attends Kingdom Seed Christian Academy
• What makes our micro school so unique from any other school out there

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

KINGDON SEED CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INFO KIT

GREAT HOMESCHOOL CONVENTIONS

SNAG THE GUIDE

Stop by the two blogs! I've got one for literacy teachers and black history.

Observing or researching reading and writing strategies is the most crucial role you can play in your literacy classroom or homeschool.

Observing or researching is one of the many hats you wear during conferring time. It's such an important role that I had to include it in the Peer Learning Coaching Framework. We started digging a little deeper into this Framework in the previous episode when I talked about complimenting students the right way and how to teach our learners to compliment each other. If you just started listening to the All Things Are Possible Teacher Podcast, and are not familiar with the Peer Learning Coaching Framework yet, make sure to listen to episode #2 sometime this week. It will walk you through the 8 ways you can make the teacher shift to coach and transform your literacy classroom or homeschool into a learner driven community.

In my opinion, observing or researching reading and writing strategies is the most crucial role you can play in your literacy classroom or homeschool. And yet it's one of the things that is often left out. Well, the next letter in the Peer Learning Coaching Framework is the letter O, which stands for OBSERVE. Another word I like to use interchangeably with observe is the word "RESEARCH". When you want to shift your role from teaching to coaching during conferences and small group instruction, it starts with doing some really good research.

But how do you research reading and writing strategies effectively in a conference or small group?

Not to worry because in this episode, I will teach you the…

• Benefits of taking time to observe students or children
• 3-step process to observing and researching strategies
• Perfect conferring method of teaching to help you research
• Types of research questions to ask your learners
• 2 ways to collect evidence of learning so researching goes smoothly
• 2 most important questions you'll want to answer after researching is over so you can move on with the rest of the conference

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

SNAG THE GUIDE

PROFESSIONAL BOOK

Stop by the two blogs! I've got one for literacy teachers and black history.

Literacy Teachers –> Check out this blog post: 8 Ways to Coach Students During Small Group Instruction for Reading and Writing

Literacy Teachers –> Start reading this blog post: 5 Ways to Make Your Reading and Writing Workshop More Learner Driven

Want to give the most powerful compliment to students and how to help them compliment their peers?

Let's chat about how you can give your readers and writers the most powerful praise during conferences and small group instruction. Are you familiar with my Peer Learning Coaching Framework. It gives you the exact 8-steps to shift your roles from teaching to coaching in conferences and small group instruction.

Well in today's show we are going to focus on the very first letter in the Peer Learning Coaching Framework, which is the letter C that stands for "COMPLIMENT". When you are coaching your students or children in a conference or small group; you'll want to notice and name a transferable compliment, and give your learners the opportunity to notice their own strengths and the strengths of their peers so they can offer compliments as well.

But how do we do this? Not to worry, I'm going to walk you through the perfect method of teaching you can use, how to give the most powerful compliment out there, and times when your students or child can notice their peers' strengths so they can compliment each other. Let's get started.

Giving compliments to students is something we as educators want to get really, really good at.

In this episode, we will chat about:

• What is complimenting students and why it's important to conferring with students
• What method of teaching you can use to help you give compliments and how to implement this type of conference successfully
• 4 different types throughout the year when it's great to share compliments to students
• 3 types of compliments and which one you should use every single time
• How to get started in teaching your students or children how to give compliments to their peers

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this!

Have you been thinking, "I'm know what a teacher is. But what does it really mean to become a "COACH" for my students or children?"

Let's chat about the very first step to creating that learner driven community you've been dreaming about. It's what I like to call "Make the Teacher Shift". In the last episode, which was episode #1, I talked about the two main things every peer learning community needs to thrive. The teacher can't be the only one doing the teaching. There are times when teaching and modeling is necessary. But there are also times when the teacher should become a really, really good "COACH" while peers are teaching and learning from each other. Without both, a peer learning community will NOT survive.

So what does it mean to become a really good "COACH"? Well, in today's show I'm going to explain the difference between a teacher and coach, how you can make the shift to become a coach, and what student-led activities your learners can participate in on a regular basis that will keep your peer learning community going strong.

The work that you do on a daily basis matters. Not just the work that you do matters, but YOU matter.

Because I already know you are doing amazing work as a teacher, I don't feel like I need to explain what a teacher is. You know what it is because you are living it every single day. So instead, I want to explain what it means to be a COACH for your students or children. I really want you to understand the distinct differences between a teacher and coach.

In this episode, I'll share:

• The distinct differences between teaching and coaching and what it should look like in your literacy classroom or homeschool
• Important roles that any literacy teacher or homeschool parent should have to be the best coach for their students or children
• My special "COACHING" to help you remember your coaching roles
• My favorite student-led activities your learners can do on a regular basis that will keep your peer learning community strong

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this!

Have you been thinking about incorporating more peer learning into your classroom or homeschool?

What I love the most about peer learning is that it transforms any classroom or homeschool into a community of learners. Students are taking ownership of their learning and their peer relationships. They encourage each other, share the ups and downs, cheer each other on, and push each other to never give up.

So, what does every peer learning community need to thrive? It really boils down to TWO main things which I can't wait to share with you inside of the show.

What would your dream learning environment look like?

My husband and I have been thinking a lot about this question lately as we discuss what we want our homeschool hybrid model to look like for our son in the Fall 2023.

In this episode, I'll share:

• How we came to the decision to do a homeschool hybrid approach
• What my dream learning environment is for my son and all children
• The characteristics of a strong peer learning environment
• Two important things every peer learning community needs to thrive
• Increasing engagement and independence

Are you ready to get started? Let's do this! Snag the free guide to start transforming your literacy classroom or homeschool into a learner driven community: https://desireemcgeegreene.com/conferring-with-students/

Okay, teacher friend, can we talk?

You have this BIG dream of starting your own microschool, homeschool hybrid, or education business. You know you want to teach differently, create something of your own, and make a bigger impact.

There's just one little problem...

You have no idea where to start.

How do you start a microschool? Do you need a license? Where do you find a space? How much should you charge? How do you find students? How do you market your program without feeling gross or salesy? And can you actually build something that makes enough money to pay your bills?

Friend, I've been there.

After 12 years of teaching in traditional public and private schools, I realized something that changed everything:

I didn't want to stop teaching. I just wanted to teach differently.

So I stepped outside of the traditional education box and built my own microschool and homeschool hybrid, Kingdom Seed Christian Academy, from the ground up.

Now I'm taking everything I've learned about starting, marketing, enrolling students, building systems, creating an incredible learning experience, and growing a sustainable education business and bringing it right here to the teacher's lounge.

On Start Your Dream Microschool, you'll learn simple, step by step strategies to help you:

• Start your microschool or homeschool hybrid with confidence • Find and enroll the right families • Market your program without feeling salesy • Price and fund your program • Find a space and build your systems • Create a sustainable education business that gives you more freedom, income, and impact

And we're going to talk about the messy parts too, because I'm not teaching this from a textbook.

I'm building a microschool right alongside you.

You already have the dream.

Now you need a PLAN.

Grab your notebook, reheat that cup of your favorite coffee, pull up your comfy teacher chair, and listen to the official trailer for Start Your Dream Microschool.

It's time to take that dream out of your notebook and turn it into something REAL. 💛

Be sure to tune in and subscribe to the All Things Are Possible Teacher Podcast. You can also find Desiree on:

FB- https://www.facebook.com/desireemcgeegreene/

IG-http://www.instagram.com/desireemcgeegreene

Website- www.desireemcgeegreene.com