Young child using a smartphone under bed covers at night, illustrating the sleep deprivation and phone-based childhood issues in The Anxious Generation

ADHD & Focus, Back To School, Mental Health, Parents, Professional Development

The Anxious Generation TLDR: The Quick Version for Busy Parents and Teachers

I wish someone had handed me a short, plain-language guide to The Anxious Generation instead of 400 dense pages. I started the audiobook when it first came out and gave up partway through, because as a parent who has personally struggled with pretty much everything Haidt describes, it was a lot to sit with. I suspect I’m not the only one. I think a fair number of parents have avoided this book entirely because they also already have a pretty good sense of how bad screens and social media have been for their kids, and reading 400 pages confirming that feels like more than they can handle right now.

So here’s the short version. If you want the full read, with all the classroom stories, book recommendations, and personal detours, check out the full post here. This is just the highlights.

Continue reading →

Two children lying on a play mat surrounded by notebooks, using a laptop and tablet instead of the notebooks nearby, illustrating the screen-based versus play-based childhood theme in The Anxious Generation

ADHD & Focus, Back To School, Mental Health, Parents, Professional Development

Lisa

The Anxious Generation for Teachers: A Book Summary and Classroom Guide

If you’re a teacher or a parent (or both, like me), you’ve probably heard people talking about The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. I want to walk you through what’s actually in it, from a teacher’s perspective, and give you some practical takeaways for the classroom and home.

There is one theme that I believe deeply about parenting and this books reiterated my deep held belief and that is, Get the children out of the house to experience life.

Continue reading →

A bright yellow backpack packed with pencil, paint, scissors, calculator and notebook on a blue background evoking back to school energy and creativity

Back To School, Mental Health, Parents, Professional Development

Back to School Tips for Teachers: A Veteran’s Guide to Surviving the First Few Weeks

Lisa

There’s a Bored Teachers meme that I recently saw, and it was a first-year teacher asking a veteran how they manage to do it all. The veteran’s response was that the didn’t do it all. She picks her battles. She sets boundaries. She doesn’t grade everything, doesn’t always turn in her plans on time, doesn’t try to impress anyone. She gets her job done within school hours and saves the rest of herself for her family.

If you’re a new teacher reading this in the chaos the first week of school or back to school season, I have a few tips for you that I have learned over the years.

The beginning of the school year is exhausting in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone outside education. It’s not just the hours, it’s the sheer volume of new names, new systems, new copies, new emails, new everything, all landing at once. So consider this my list of back to school tips for teachers, veteran teacher to newer teacher, for keeping your energy up and protecting your sanity through it.

Continue reading →

Comprehension, Informational Text, Professional Development

How to Help Students Compare Two Informational Texts

Lisa

Getting students to answer questions about one informational text can be challenging. Asking them to compare two articles on the same topic adds an entirely new level of difficulty.

Students have to understand both passages, determine which details are important, and then explain how the information in the two texts connects. They also need to support their thinking with evidence from both articles.

That is a lot for an upper elementary reader to manage in one written response.

Continue reading →

Comprehension, Conflict in Reading, Elements of Plot, Professional Development, Vocabulary

Identifying Character Traits by Grade Level (A K–8 Progressive List for Teachers and Homeschooling Parents)

Lisa

If you’ve ever watched a student stare blankly at the question “What kind of person is the main character?” and respond with “nice” or “mean”—no matter how old they are—you’re not alone. Identifying character traits by grade level is one of those skills that can stall out early if we aren’t intentional about building vocabulary alongside it.

That’s actually one of the most common challenges I see, especially around 5th grade. Students who are perfectly capable readers often reach for the same handful of basic words—kind, mean, happy, sad—even when the story clearly calls for something more nuanced. It’s not that they don’t understand the character. They just don’t have the vocabulary to describe what they’re seeing. And without the right words, deeper analysis stalls before it even starts.

This post is designed to fix that. Below, you’ll find a grade-by-grade progression of character trait vocabulary from kindergarten through 8th grade, along with simple teaching strategies to help students not just memorize words, but actually use them when reading, writing, and discussing literature.

Continue reading →

Comprehension, Conflict in Reading, Elements of Plot

Teaching Story Elements and Plot Structure in Upper Elementary

Lisa

When we begin teaching story elements in upper elementary classrooms, we are helping students understand one of the most important foundations of reading comprehension. Many students can read the words in a story fluently but struggle to explain what actually happened. One of the best ways to support comprehension is by helping students understand the plot structure that organizes narrative texts.

In grades four through six, students begin reading more complex stories with multiple events, character motivations, and developing conflicts. When teachers explicitly focus on teaching story elements and how those elements fit into the plot structure, students gain a clear framework that helps them understand and remember what they read.

This framework is especially powerful during shared reading and guided reading, where teachers can model how readers recognize the different parts of a story as it unfolds.

Continue reading →

Comprehension, Read Aloud

Teachers Reading Aloud Improves Reading Comprehension for All Students

Lisa

If you’ve ever watched a room full of distracted students suddenly become quiet the moment you start reading aloud, you’ve seen the power of read-alouds in action. Reading aloud isn’t just a cozy classroom tradition—it’s one of the most effective reading comprehension strategies for elementary and middle school students.

Whether you teach upper elementary, middle school ELA, or support readers at home, reading aloud supports comprehension, executive functioning, vocabulary development, and engagement in ways silent reading alone cannot.

Let’s break down why reading aloud works—and why it’s especially powerful for students who struggle with reading comprehension.

Continue reading →

Figurative Language, Comprehension

Teaching Idioms, Proverbs, and Adages: Figurative Language Strategies That Actually Stick

Lisa

Figurative language is everywhere in reading and writing, yet many students struggle to understand what idioms, proverbs, and adages actually mean. These expressions appear often in novels, nonfiction texts, and everyday conversations, but their meanings are rarely literal, which makes them especially confusing for upper elementary and middle school students.

Teaching idioms, proverbs, and adages requires more than quick definitions. Students need clear explanations, examples, and opportunities to explore how figurative language works in context. With intentional instruction, these abstract phrases can become meaningful tools students recognize and use confidently.

Continue reading →

ADHD & Focus, Comprehension

Why Students Can Read Fluently but Still Struggle With Reading Comprehension Problems

Lisa

Have you ever worked with a student who can read smoothly and accurately but still struggles to explain what they just read?

They decode every word.
They finish the chapter.
But when you ask, “What happened?” the response is vague, incomplete, or completely incorrect.

These reading comprehension problems are incredibly common in upper elementary classrooms — and they’re often misunderstood.

For many students, the issue isn’t decoding at all.
It’s executive functioning.

Many reading comprehension problems happen when executive functioning skills make it hard for students to plan, focus, and process text.

Reading Comprehension Problems Aren’t Always About Reading Skills

When students struggle with reading comprehension, we often assume they need more phonics practice, more fluency work, or more exposure to grade-level texts.

Continue reading →

ADHD & Focus, Managing Behaviors, Mental Health, Parents

Shimmer ADHD Coach Review: An Thorough, Teacher-Minded Look at Online ADHD Coaching

Lisa

I started working with Shimmer ADHD Coaching in the summer of 2025, and wanted to share my Shimmer ADHD coach review.

Living with ADHD often means living with good intentions and inconsistent follow-through. You remember wanting to pay the bill, schedule the appointment, reply to the email, or start the task—but somewhere between intention and action, things fall apart. For many people with ADHD, this isn’t about effort or caring. It’s about executive functioning.

As someone who regularly writes about ADHD through an educational and practical lens, I’m always cautious about tools that promise to “fix” ADHD. That’s not realistic—or respectful of how ADHD brains actually work. What is realistic is finding support that helps reduce overwhelm, build systems, and minimize the daily penalties that come from executive functioning challenges.

That’s where ADHD coaching—and specifically Shimmer ADHD Coaching—can be genuinely helpful.

Continue reading →