While browsing through Instagram recently, I stumbled upon an intriguing activity known as "Boom, Clap, Snatch." Though I regret not being able to credit the…
Donna Tatum-JohnsOctober 24, 2023
At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, I did a community-building experiment that rocked my world and had a huge impact on my teaching.…
Donna Tatum-JohnsOctober 25, 2022
In an acquisition-driven classroom, everything we teach should be purposeful. But when teaching something like numbers, it can feel daunting & unnatural. That is where…
Donna Tatum-JohnsSeptember 27, 2022
Can we agree that knowing each other's names, correct pronunciation and all, is crucial in building a strong sense of community within any group? Can…
Donna Tatum-JohnsSeptember 12, 2022
My dad, whose life was sadly cut short because of COVID in January of 2021, raised me with an appreciation for hard work, a job…
Donna Tatum-JohnsJuly 6, 2022
I had nothing to lose because everything was so blah. I have known Michele Whaley for years but had never had the good fortune to…
Donna Tatum-JohnsJuly 6, 2022
With the first six weeks under my belt, I took stock of where each class stood regarding community. The vibe was good… no, the vibe…
Donna Tatum-JohnsJuly 6, 2022
Two weeks after the start of remote teaching, my school’s scheduled spring break began. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. I was…
Donna Tatum-JohnsApril 22, 2020
One teacher’s tips for making the most of a tough situation I will be the first to say that the last two weeks have been…
Donna Tatum-JohnsMarch 31, 2020
Within the first two days of the 2019-2020 school year, I knew that I was going to have a hard time getting the students in…
Donna Tatum-JohnsMarch 11, 2020
When I first heard about classroom passwords from Bryce Hedstrom, I was skeptical but intrigued. How could requiring my students to tell me the ‘secret…
Donna Tatum-JohnsMarch 11, 2020
As I prepared to teach the language lab at iFLT 2019, I was faced with the question that many teachers have asked me over the…
Donna Tatum-JohnsMarch 11, 2020
PART III At our first CI workshop for Haitian English teachers, we did an 8 to 9 hour ELL demo over the course of three…
Donna Tatum-JohnsJuly 2, 2018
When we set foot in our first Haitian school, we were shocked and dismayed. We saw dirt floors and a broken chalkboard leaning against the…
Donna Tatum-JohnsJuly 2, 2018
Our journey to bringing TCI/TPRS to Haiti What if you walked into school tomorrow to find that everything had drastically changed? Your whiteboard and SmartBoard…
Donna Tatum-JohnsJuly 2, 2018