Blog posts | HyperDocs

Change is Hard

I think it goes without saying that this year, more than most, we teachers have been asked quite a lot from our communities, schools, and/or jobs. Without exhausting a list of every additional change to our practice this year, I can safely say that every teacher has made edits to their written and taught curriculum. Some perhaps have cut giant chunks with a sigh saying, “Maybe next year...” It is easy to think about all the fun projects and cool field trips we’ve lost and get a...

Looking Back: 2020 Reflections

Educators are always learning and adapting. It is what we do. It is what we believe in - personal growth. We meet students where they are, scaffold, encourage, re-teach, and extend learning. We believe that every individual has the potential to learn new things. Ironically, that is exactly what this year was -- for us -- the educators! With our profession turned inside out, we became the learners! Here are two key take-aways I observed in 2020 in regards to our own adult learning. First...

Make Meaning of the Holidays: Lesson Design that Matters

In this blog and video, we share some of our favorite ways to bring meaning to December/January lesson planning. Watch/listen in as we each open up about the decision making process that goes into curating and creating a HyperDoc. KELLY SHARES HER DESIGN PROCESS There are so many great holiday resources out there. But finding the ‘right’ ones can be exciting! We recently stumbled upon this lesson pack from Teaching Tolerance titled, Analyzing the School Holiday Calendar, f...

Media and Its Impact on Social Emotional Learning

We connected with Darren Hudgins, educator/author/CEO. He even considers himself and educators as "social servants." Darren Hudgins moved me to think differently right away -- even in his introduction! It really struck me that how we introduce ourselves to others is a critical part of our identity. He wears many hats, or titles, that draw us into his work. His book, Fact vs. Fiction provides educators with tools and resources to help students discern fact from fiction in the informatio...

The Power of Reflection: Help Students Hold on to Learning

THE POWER OF REFLECTION Reflection is an integral part of the learning process. It allows us to learn more about ourselves and how we learn, but it also aids us in improving academic skills. John Dewey’s words of wisdom, that “we do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience,” have often reminded me to slow down before rushing into the next activity, assignment, or unit. I would often try and teach subject to subject, or bell to bell. I know we are overw...

Teaching Gratitude

In the Spirit of Giving Giving is what we are all about, and that is why we started Teachers Give Teachers. We believe, whole-heartedly, that teachers can build each other up by sharing ideas and best practices, while also reaching more students! By giving HyperDocs away, we have built a community of educators around the globe. Giving is our jam! In this post, we give some lessons and ideas for you to turn and offer your own students. These giveaways are mostly centered on the theme of gratitud...

Developing Self-Awareness and Self-Management through the Goal Setting Process

WHEN MOTIVATION DIPS I always said that I don’t want students to do work for me, but for their own learning. Completing assignments and turning in work is not to prove something to me -- not meant to be an accountability ‘gotcha’ -- but rather a chance to practice and apply content while working on time management skills. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework even begins with the role of Engagement to ultimately develop purposeful and motivated expert learners. I m...

Strategies to Support the Social Emotional Development of Students

What is SEL? Social Emotional Learning, or SEL, is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL is an essential layer to student growth, and should not be just a quick add on to a lesson. Why SEL Matters? As the creators of HyperDocs, we have always worked to promote individual curiosity, and connected classr...

Workflow: What's Working

You’ve designed your HyperDoc lesson… now what? Workflow refers to the process where your digital lesson passes from initiation to completion. Do any of these sound familiar to you: Where do I link this? How do I login to that? Where can I post that? Do students get a copy? How can I push that out? Where will students turn in their work? How can I communicate with kids and give feedback? Whether or not you are new to teaching with HyperDocs, you will want to consider the...

Reach Every Learner No Matter Where They Are

OUR CURRENT REALITY Teaching and learning has gone remote! Teachers all over the world are in need of a new kind of instruction. Educators and families are scrambling to design digital lessons to meet student needs. We see you. We see teachers trying to digitize their curriculum and connect with learners through a screen. We see students take on new content in new formats, from their own homes. We see families attempting to fill in gaps as needed. A PRACTICAL, PURPOSEFUL SOLUTION Hyper...