Brooklin Trover, National Director of Content and Implementation at Curriculum Associates, joins this episode to discuss her new paper about how teachers can leverage their emotions to support older, striving readers. Brooklin starts off by explaining why she wanted to write this, ranging from her own teaching experience to what she has been seeing in classrooms across the country. She goes on to share how important it is to not only validate emotions, but also to then transform those emotions into others that can be more productive. Brooklin continues by sharing what she hopes can come out of this research. She wraps up by talking about simple ways to start using these strategies to support readers in the classroom – including how to start today!

• Brooklin's Paper
• Curriculum Associates' Blog
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Taylor Wheatley, a fourth grade teacher, joins this follow-up episode to share about what he likes to do outside the classroom. Taylor begins by sharing his favorite hobbies, ranging from spending time outside to playing with his dog. He then goes on to talk about the path that led him to become a teacher, including why he shifted from originally wanting to teach high school calculus to now working in an elementary school setting. Taylor closes out by sharing his number one teaching supply that he simply cannot live without, along with his favorite pump up songs! 

• Taylor's Twitter
• Taylor's Instagram
• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Taylor Wheatley, a fourth grade teacher in Kentucky, joins this episode to talk about how he helps his students feel connected through building consistent relationships. Taylor starts out by sharing how he purposefully starts his day with his students in, what he calls, a “Bluejay Bonding Moment.” He then goes on to share how any teacher could implement this in their own classroom, focusing on how teachers can make it their own. Taylor wraps up by sharing how he focuses on changing the mindset that students sometimes enter his math class with – specifically by making learning fun through music and building strong connections.

• Taylor's Twitter
• Taylor's Instagram
• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Jonathan Kryk, a fifth grade teacher in Florida, joins this follow-up episode to share about his life outside of the classroom. He begins by sharing some of his favorite things to do – from hanging out with friends to playing fetch with his Goldendoodle after school. Jonathan also shares about his love of traveling, including specifics about his recent trips to Italy and Greece. Jonathan wraps up by talking about his teacher supply must-haves and his love for Taylor Swift. 

• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Jonathan Kryk, a fifth grade teacher, joins this episode to share about best practices and what he finds important in his classroom. Jonathan begins by explaining the importance of building relationships with students. He goes on to share how strong relationships carry over to the rest of his teaching – ranging from goal setting to incorporating social-emotional learning in his daily morning circles. Jonathan wraps up by sharing a few examples of activities he uses during his morning circles, including how these activities have helped his students address real-life situations.

• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Charlie, a second grade teacher in Long Island, New York, joins this episode to talk about his love for pop culture and podcasts – and how that plays into his teaching. Charlie begins by discussing his own podcast, the Fandalorian, including how it came to be and some topics that are covered. He goes on to talk about his love for books in all forms, ranging from books related to education to historical fiction. Charlie closes out by sharing how his hobbies outside of the classroom have evolved, and how they’ve helped him grow as a teacher.

• Charlie's Podcast
• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Welcome to our new series: Beyond the Classroom! Kimberly Robinson, a high school teacher, joins us for a follow-up episode to share more about her life outside of teaching. She begins by discussing her love for research and how she incorporates that into her day-to-day – ranging from listening to podcasts while hiking to sharing her thoughts on her own podcast and Instagram account. Kimberly wraps up the episode by talking about how her passion for research empowers her own teaching, both in the classroom and on social media, and her current work towards her Ph. D.

• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Kimberly Robinson, a high school teacher, joins this episode to talk about practicing mindfulness both inside and outside of the classroom. Having recently transitioned from elementary to high school, Kimberly explains how she’s adapted to her new role. She goes on to share how she incorporates mindfulness with her high school students to ensure they all feel seen, heard, and validated. Kimberly closes out by touching on how what she practices in her own classroom has transferred to her personal life – ranging from not taking work home to prioritizing her family and health.

• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Ashleigh Crabtree, Director of Assessment Implementation at Curriculum Associates, joins this episode to talk about the crucial relationship between assessment and instruction. Ashleigh begins by explaining how assessment and instruction are linked, and the benefits associated with connecting the two. She then goes on to explain the differences between criterion-referenced and norm-referenced assessments. Ashleigh closes out by sharing why criterion-referenced assessments are so effective, as well as how they support educators in the classroom.

• Ashleigh's blog
• The 74 podcast
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]

Ty Holmes, Chief Inclusion Officer at Curriculum Associates, joins this episode to share about an upcoming featured mini-series on The Extraordinary Educators Podcast: Stretch Growth Stories! Ty dives into what exactly stretch growth is, and how it differs from scores received from most assessment systems. He goes on to share how stretch growth plays into future episodes of this mini-series, ranging from educator interviews to sharing replicable best practices to meet stretch growth goals in classrooms everywhere. 

• Curriculum Associates' Blog
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Email: [email protected]