Author: Eva Kohlmoos

Eva Kohlmoos is a fourth-grade English Language Arts teacher at East End Prep, a public charter school in east Nashville, Tennessee. Eva began her teaching career in 2010 in San Antonio, Texas, teaching fifth-graders in a self-contained classroom. She also served as the Tennessee Department of Education's Teacher Ambassador from 2012-2014. Prior to teaching, Eva worked on Teach For America's public affairs team and also for an advocacy group to end the United States ban on travel to Cuba.

Two strategies to combat test stress

This month across the state of Tennessee students will take assessments in math, reading, science and social studies to measure their learning over the course of the school year and their preparedness for the upcoming year. It’s easy to get overly amped during this time and create a stress-filled environment for kids and adults alike. Here are two research-based and…

Simple strategies for reading comprehension

Teaching reading when one size does not fit all I love the experience of reading a novel together as a class. We laugh together, we feel sad together, and together, we develop a shared love for brave characters who face significant challenges with humor and grace. It’s also a useful touch point as we develop our understanding of literature. When…

My Instructional Coach and Me

One of the best professional development opportunities offered at my school has been the regular and frequent observations and debrief conversations with my instructional coach. I believe these observations and follow up conversations are the single biggest contributor to my development as a teacher.   Once a cutting-edge idea, instructional coaches are now common place in many schools across America. The…

Teacher Professional Development: Getting Better at Getting Better

How I left a Teach like a Champion workshop inspired and prepared to take the next steps U.S. schools spend considerable resources on teacher professional development. TNTP’s fascinating report, The Mirage, found that, “districts spend an average of nearly $18,000 per teacher, per year on development efforts.” Yet, in my teaching career, I have attended far too many professional development sessions that…

Teachers as healthy models of behavior

I have a vision: A classroom of 25 nine-year-olds is abuzz with students discussing the story they are reading. One student asks, “Why did Charlotte decide to use all her energy to help Wilbur?” Two students excitedly start to answer at the same time. They pause and one student says, “You can go first.” The other student says “Thank you”…