During the winter break, I took some extra time to do something I love – read! 

In my undergraduate TESOL course, we spend about five weeks talking about culture. During that time, a major assignment is to

Many educators struggle with how to assess their English learners equitably. They understand that ELs need well-structured lessons and appropriate scaffolds to achieve the required standards, but they also

Your feedback on the first year of Dear Dr. Mooney – just one very long year ago – was very valuable as I considered the year ahead. Your input influenced the ideas included in the weekly articles, a stronger

Last January, I talked about focus and how we have to be intentional about focusing on the right things during the busyness of life. 

Little did I know that a global pandemic would force focus upon us.

Take a look back at the common themes of advice shared with readers during 2020.

The interactive PDF below is linked to compilations of articles corresponding with each topic. Be sure to click on the title

This has been a rough year for all of us, both personally and professionally. Perhaps you or your family members and friends have been ill. Your significant other may have lost a job. 

Teaching has been

Let me share a story I heard about a hobby and game obsession from a young man at the tender age of 12…

“So, you go to this one place in a city that’s pretty much just a circle and you stick a dime under

The rather worn looking baking pan in the photo above likely does not mean anything to you. 

To me, it represents many of the best memories of my paternal grandmother. This is the pan she used to bake

During a professional development webinar earlier this year, I was introduced to Padlets. The speaker posted a link to her Padlet and said that all the resources discussed during the webinar, and many more,

Last Thanksgiving, I could never have imagined what this past year would be like. 2020 has been filled with “unprecedented” events and divisive rhetoric. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I am tired o

Most teachers today use a process approach to writing where the focus is on learning to think and write rather than on the final product. Some writing pieces are developed throughout the full writing process

Dear Dr. Mooney…

I’ve been teaching ELs for a few years. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I’m doing a pretty good job of meeting their needs. However, I have colleagues that do not feel prepa

Every day we make hundreds of choices. We choose to get up, what to wear, what to have for breakfast, whether to take the long route or the short one to work, which activities to include in a lesson…. The l

How do you teach academic vocabulary in your lessons? Do you front load it? Address it in a teachable point? Assume students will acquire it the midst of the lesson?

Any of these methods can work,

The challenges of 2020 are requiring all of us to take better care of ourselves. That can mean different things to different people, but we all know that if we don’t take care of ourselves, we will not be a

During the past 18 months, I have recommended several different types of resources that are helpful when teaching English learners. Here is a short list of my suggestions…

BooksWebsites & Tech T

If I had a dollar for every time someone has said we are living in “unprecedented” times, I could retire. Today. And so could you. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the US last spring, every week seem

Are you quick to judge an English Learner families’ behavior?  Do you assume you know why they reacted to your request in the way they did?  

In this final installment of our series on culture, “Look Benea

In the fourth installment of “Look Beneath The Surface,” our continuing series on culture, Dr. Mooney de-mystifies one of the least familiar among the invisible cultural dimension—locus of control. If inter

In part three of “Look Beneath The Surface,” our continuing series on culture, Dr. Mooney points out the ways people understand and adjust to the demands of time. It is another of the invisible dimensions of