Adam Moler

The Week That Was In 103

This week in 103 was packed with movement, discussion, and meaningful writing. The lessons built on each other, using EduProtocols that pushed students to analyze, connect, and create rather than memorize. We used CyberSandwich for deep reading and partner discussion,…

Things That Shaped Me: Simple, Not Simpler

Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived a few different lives.My parents are divorced, so I grew up splitting time between two worlds, a suburban neighborhood and stretches of country backroads. I’ve been on tractors, in tobacco fields, in college classrooms,…

The Week That Was in 103 Monday - Mercantilism Rack and Stack Tuesday and Wednesday - Stations, Questions Friday - Colonial Government Vocab, Finish the Drawing Monday The Question That Drove the Lesson This week’s focus was one word with a big question behind it: How did mercantilism shape opportunity and inequality in the 13 colonies? Starting with Context We began with an Annotate and Tell that served two purposes.

The Week That Was in 103

Monday - Mercantilism Rack and Stack Tuesday and Wednesday - Stations, Questions Friday - Colonial Government Vocab, Finish the Drawing Monday The Question That Drove the Lesson This week’s focus was one word with a big question behind it: How did mercantilism shape…

The Week That Was In 103

This week we wrapped up our last unit and began a new one. The transition brought a nice mix of reflection and fresh energy as students finished their Netflix series projects and shifted into our study of the 13 Colonies. We moved from storytelling and creative thinking to…

How I Actually Use ChatGPT To Build a Unit

The 13 Colonies Inquiry Unit Link The Common Mistake A lot of people open ChatGPT, type “make me a lesson plan,” and press go. It spits out something that looks ready to teach, but it doesn’t know your room. It doesn’t know your pacing, your standards,…

Using ChatGPT to Make Quizzes (Without Losing Your Mind)

AI can be a real time saver when it comes to making quizzes. I’ve used ChatGPT plenty of times to build question banks I can plug right into Gimkit or Quizizz. It’s fast, it’s flexible, and it gets you about 80% of the way there. But if you…

The Week That Was In 103 (Unit Plan Edition)

This unit started with a question that actually mattered:If you lived in England in the 1600s, would you have left and risked it all? That single question framed the entire unit. Every activity, reading, and discussion tied back to it. When students…

The Things We Think We’re Doing

This has been on my mind lately. Teachers (myself included) often say we’re doing certain practices like retrieval, inquiry, student choice, feedback cycles, or collaboration. We believe we are. We even tell others we are. But when you really stop and look at the…

The Week That Was In 103

I’m going to frame this week’s post around the beginning, middle, and end of the week. Once again, our rhythm was shaped by shortened schedules and shadow days, which meant adjusting plans and finding ways to keep learning moving forward. To work around the interruptions,…

The Week That Was In 103

I’m learning quickly that my school has a rhythm all its own—one filled with odd schedules, unexpected interruptions, and lots of moving parts. Some days it feels like just when I find my teaching groove, the bell schedule changes or half the class disappears for a shadow…

The Week That Was In 103

I feel like I am starting to hit a rhythm. There are still days when I wonder if I am just doing random things, trying to find consistency and purpose. But slowly, I can feel the stride taking shape. The protocols are giving me structure, and the students are responding…

Things That Shaped Me: Coaching Tennis Taught Me to Teach

I’ve been coaching tennis for a long time, and I can still hear the echoes from courts all over: “Bend your knees.” “Finish your swing.” “Low to high.” Those lines are so common they almost fade into the background. But I never really…

The Week That Was In 303

I’m discovering as the year moves along that life at the Villa comes with a steady stream of interruptions to the normal school rhythm. Practice high school placement tests, walk-a-thons, shadow visits, pep rallies, and more. Honestly, it feels like way more than I ever…

The Week That Was in 103

Being at a new school means I’m living inside a learning curve. One is the learning curve of new procedures, figuring out how things run in a building that isn’t second nature to me yet. The other is learning about my students, how they learn, what they know, and what…

The Week That Was in 103

Week two felt like a reset button. Last week I tried to do too much too fast with Chromebooks, logins, and codes. It was overwhelming. This week, I went back to the basics. Paper, pencils, and simpler routines gave students (and me) the space to breathe. We still pulled…

The Week That Was in 103

This week was my first full stretch as the new 6th, 7th, and 8th grade social studies teacher at St. Ursula Villa. With only three days on the books, I do not have the time or space to reflect on every class and every moment. Instead, I am going to highlight some lessons…

Learning Social Studies in a World of AI

Teaching social studies in 2025 is not the same as it was even five years ago. My middle schoolers live in a world where AI can spit out an answer in less time than it takes them to find the question mark on the keyboard. That changes things. But here is…

A Change of Scenery

This year brings something new. After a long run in public education, I have made the switch to a small private school, St. Ursula Villa. I will be teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade social studies. The change already feels right. The school is close to everything I do, where I…

Is My Lesson a Grecian Urn? (And Why I Keep Asking Myself That)

Every so often, I go back and reread a blog post called Is Your Lesson a Grecian Urn? (It's a great post from th Cult of Pedagogy). I’ve shared it in PD sessions, sent it to colleagues, and maybe most importantly, used it to check…

What Stuck With Me: Lessons That Still Shape My Teaching

There are some people you can learn something from every time you talk to them. That was Scott Petri or me. Whether it was during a presentation, a text thread, or a chat about lesson design, he had a way of dropping a sentence or two that…

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Things That Shaped Me: Better, Not Best

It wasn’t some big dramatic moment. Just a soggy afternoon, a rained out practice, and a quiet conversation in the parking lot. I turned to my coach and said, “I just want to be better.” Not the best.Not great.Just better. At the time, I was 7th or 8th on…

Things That Shaped Me: Someone Saw Me Before I Saw Myself

I couldn’t feed a ball to save my life. That’s where it started. I was a teenager working at Ivy Hills Country Club, learning how to roll clay courts, line baselines, and scrape off the dried teneco when it got too thick. I knew how to…

Things That Shaped Me: Irene

My parents divorced when I was young. I spent most of my time with my mom and stepdad; and his mom, Irene. For years, I wondered what to call her. Was she my grandma? Step-grandma? Something in-between? I spent too long trying to figure out a title, but looking back…

An Email at 1:40AM

"Not sure if I should say good morning or good night as it is 1:40am. We were talking about school and you came up in the conversation. I wanted to thank you for making learning easier and enjoyable." That was the email. No subject line. No assignment attached. Just a student,…

How I Rack and Stack: Inside My Lesson Planning Brain

In the past I have been asked, “How do you decide which EduProtocols to use, and how do you stack them together?” On the surface, a rack and stacked lesson looks like it just works. Kids are engaged and the transitions are smooth. But there’s a…

How I Rack and Stack: Inside My Lesson Planning Brain

In the past I have been asked, “How do you decide which EduProtocols to use, and how do you stack them together?” On the surface, a rack and stacked lesson looks like it just works. Kids are engaged and the transitions are smooth. But there’s a…

Fast and curious is consistent year to year. In the past I have used cybersandwich and sketch and tell more than anything. But with this year's students, they did well with number mania and thick slides.

The Top Three Most Used EduProtocols This Year

After years of using EduProtocols, I’ve learned that a few always rise to the top, especially in a year with content to cover, AI to manage, and routines to maintain. These three protocols: Fast and Curious, Number Mania, and Thick Slides became the…

Things That Shaped Me: Ask My Students

Not long ago, I had a job interview where someone implied I might not be great at building relationships with students. Fair enough. I get how I come off. I’m dry. I’m short and to the point. I’m introverted. I don’t do grand entrances. I’ve always been that…