Inspiration and Ideas for Igniting a Love for Learning

As a teacher, you have a big job. You teach, you grade, you correct, you explain, and you hand out report cards. You counsel and encourage and rebuke and, at times, throw up your hands in despair or slump your shoulders in defeat. Is it asking too much to expect that you both enjoy your job and help your students enjoy theirs?

Deana Swanson doesn't think so. As a longtime teacher along with her husband Jeff, Deana would like to share inspiration and tools—and her love of teaching—with you. I Am a Teacher, and I Love It! contains touching stories (and some funny ones too), seasoned advice, and ideas for specific classes and hands-on projects to make learning enjoyable.

Whether you read it from cover to cover or turn to it as an occasional resource, I Am a Teacher, and I Love it! is a breath of fresh air for teachers.

Contents

• Preface

Inspiration for Passionate Teaching

• 1. Our Assignment from God
• 2. Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief... Teacher
• 3. Rules, Boundaries, and Fun
• 4. Passionate Teaching
• 5. Ten Things My Students Deserve
• 6. The Difference Between Good and Mediocre Teachers
• 7. Get Tough! A Lesson for the Teacher
• 8. Kindness School
• 9. Why Teachers Should Grade Papers Right Away
• 10. Thirty-Seven Ways to Encourage Your Students to Learn
• 11. Spontaneity
• 12. Classroom Decor
• 13. Amusing Tidbits From the Classroom
• 14. Motivation
• 15. Leverage
• 16. February Fun Days
• 17. Things Teachers Should Do During Summer Vacation

Ideas for Specific Classes

• 18. Morning Devotions
• 19. Bible Memory
• 20. Electives
• 21. Grammar
• 22. Literature
• 23. Speech
• 24. Research Papers
• 25. Field Trips
• 26. History
• 27. Science
• 28. Journal Writing 101
• 29. Weekly Journal Writing Assignments
• 30. Creative Art Journaling Days
• 31. Dear Self, I'll See You in Five Years

Ideas for Hands-on Projects

• 32. Hands-On Projects 101
• 33. Ancient China
• 34. Other Early Cultures
• 35. Medieval and Renaissance Projects
• 36. From Colonial America to the Industrial Revolution
• 37. Miscellaneous History Projects
• 38. Science and Geography Projects

Ideas for Cultural Parties

• 39. Formula for a Cultural Party
• 40. Less-Complicated Cultural Parties
• 41. More-Complicated Cultural Parties

• Acknowledgements
• Contact the Author