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October is here again, and in honor of this scary holiday season, I am posting my suggestions from last year with a few new additions to help you keep your classroom deliciously spooky this year.

It’s mid-October, which means that little ghosts and goblins everywhere are gearing up for a fun, sugar-fueled night of trick-or-treating on Halloween. The kids’ growing excitement is palpable, and teachers often tap into their students’ interest by offering Halloween-related crafts and projects. Students of all ages respond well to ghost stories and Gothic fiction lessons, with many middle and high school classes delving into spooky classics such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Still looking for something different? How about exploring the “how” and “why” behind superstitions?

Prime time shows were bumped (gasp!) this past week to make time for the national coverage of the first presidential debate for this election. Students who had the chance to see this formal debate on television might have come away with questions about the candidates’ political views and about the debate itself. If they followed the news or social media sites afterward, they have seen and heard opinions from all different sides of the issues. A presidential election year is the perfect time to harness the topic of debate and connect students’ lives to the political issues being argued.

Over the next few months, many classrooms will be discussing the upcoming U.S. presidential election. While some teachers will focus on the art of the campaign, others will examine the candidates’ political platforms, their speeches, and the all-important debates. For many citizens, the debates between Mitt Romney and President Obama may well determine how they will cast their votes in November. Presidential debates are critical to the election process because they allow voters to see how well-versed the candidates are in the areas of domestic and foreign policy, the national economy, social issues, the national debt, and a host of other matters.

Self-esteem is an essential quality of a successful student. A student without confidence in their own ability to learn will not learn to their full potential. A student without self-confidence can be an easy target for bullies and will seldom take risks reaching out socially or academically. Taking these types of chances gives students opportunities to grow, so this growth is limited in kids with a lower self-esteem.

By integrating ideas of acceptance, tolerance, and personal safety into our daily teaching, we can arm students with the confidence to learn anything. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t--you’re usually right.” This week, I am looking at resources and activities that will help students think they can.

Last spring, a high school teacher from Massachusetts made international headlines when he told the graduating seniors that they were “not special.” In his address, David McCullough, Jr. told the graduating class that despite their “pampered, cosseted, [and] bubble-wrapped” lives, “You are not special. You are not exceptional.” Taken out of context, some excerpts of McCullough’s speech raised eyebrows.

Maybe it was the growling of my stomach as I began writing this post. Maybe it was watching the 3 reams of paper go through the copy machine: worksheets destined for student desks, and ultimately, the trash. Either way, when I started researching creative methods for teaching students about continents, I looked for engaging and meaningful activities that would leave students with a lasting curiosity about how the earth came to look the way it looks today. Many students have learned about this topic on a very basic level, so I was looking for resources that would challenge students of all ages and skill levels to make learning connections with other subjects.

Every year, a new crop of students begins to learn about the continents. In the U.S. and Canada, students learn that there are seven continents, while students in some other countries may learn that there are as few as five or six continents (with North and South America combined into a single continent, called “the Americas”, and/or Asia and Europe combined into “Eurasia”). They learn about the distinguishing features of continents, such as the topography, geology, native plants and animals, and so forth. They also learn that, despite their massive size, the continents are constantly in flux.

The beginning of the school year is filled with high hopes. Teachers have plans to teach their students everything they need to know for the year, and students are coming out of summer vacation rested and ready to learn. Parents are counting on schools to provide their kids the appropriate education for their grade. They are hoping their kids will be ready for next grade when it’s time to move on, and, more importantly, they want them to be fully prepared for college by the end of high school.

In 2004, a report entitled Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts was released by the American Diploma Project. The report was the culmination of several years’ work, with data collected from hundreds of high school teachers, college professors, and managers from U.S. corporations. The report concluded that American high school graduates are falling far short of the expectations placed on them by the workplace, and by colleges and universities.