Deana Swanson

Deana is currently teaching at Maple Grove Mennonite Academy. She has been a teacher in some capacity for forty years, spending thirteen years teaching in private schools, twelve years homeschooling, and twenty-five years instructing public and private school music programs. Deana holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Texas at Arlington and completed the teacher's certification program in secondary English education at Valdosta State University. She enjoys art, reading, writing, playing board games with her family, and composing Scripture memory songs to help her students memorize Scripture. Deana lives in Terre Hill, Pennsylvania with her husband Jeff, three of her five children, and four cats.

32 Contributions

Keeping Students Organized
Publication Date: 2023-03-09 | File type: Blog Post

Being organized is often an indicator of a student’s success in school, and it certainly does help a student function Read More...

Cultivating Curiosity in Students
Publication Date: 2023-02-16 | File type: Blog Post

One of the most exciting tasks we teachers can pursue is cultivating curiosity in our students. When our students are Read More...

Designing and Managing Student Projects
Publication Date: 2023-01-19 | File type: Blog Post

While most of our class time should be spent covering major concepts and the material in our textbooks, there is Read More...

 Habits to Sustain Long-term Career Teaching
Publication Date: 2022-12-08 | File type: Blog Post

This year marks my fourteenth year teaching full-time in a parochial school classroom, and it hasn’t always been easy. But, Read More...

Guiding Students Through the Process of Writing Research Papers
Publication Date: 2022-11-09 | File type: Blog Post

Research papers are probably the most daunting of all assignments for school students. Keeping that in mind, these steps are Read More...

Dedication: Making Any Curriculum Work in Your Classroom
Publication Date: 2022-09-28 | File type: Blog Post

Dedicated teachers should be able to make just about any curriculum work well for their students. It may be challenging, Read More...

Top Five Practices for Science Class
Publication Date: 2022-09-23 | File type: Blog Post

When I think back to when I was in school, I think science was my least favorite subject. It didn’t Read More...

The Textbooks We Use: Exposure vs. Mastery
Publication Date: 2022-09-02 | File type: Blog Post

There are many different publishers and textbooks available to schools, but all curricula are not created equal. Some are superior, Read More...

Book Review: Total Participation Techniques
Publication Date: 2022-07-07 | File type: Blog Post

  Book Review: Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner by Persida Himmele & William Himmele One of Read More...

Book Review: Why Don’t Students Like School?
Publication Date: 2022-06-24 | File type: Blog Post

Daniel T. Willingham, a cognitive scientist, wrote this fascinating book about how the mind works, how this relates to student Read More...

It’s May! Summer is Coming!
Publication Date: 2022-05-12 | File type: Blog Post

While I do love teaching and enjoy my job greatly, it is stressful being responsible for little humans all day, Read More...

The Joys and Challenges of Teaching Generation Z Students
Publication Date: 2022-04-28 | File type: Blog Post

I began teaching before everyday Americans had computers or email in their homes. I remember when students had to get Read More...

Jump-start Your Bible Class with These Five Tips
Publication Date: 2022-04-20 | File type: Blog Post

Bible class is the most important class we teach. How can we make it come alive for students? What can Read More...

Five Go-to Practices to Energize Your History Class
Publication Date: 2022-04-20 | File type: Blog Post

History is actually a class where we learn about real people and true stories about what they did. It should Read More...

Five Helpful Practices for English Class
Publication Date: 2022-03-17 | File type: Blog Post

Here are a few suggestions that I have found to be very helpful when teaching English classes. Too often, some Read More...

Don’t Be a Lazy Daisy–Try February Fun Days!
Publication Date: 2022-02-03 | File type: Blog Post

The first time I heard about them at Teachers Week about ten years ago, I had lots of excuses for Read More...

How to Retain Quality Teachers
Publication Date: 2022-01-20 | File type: Blog Post

Note: The following article, written as an open letter, offers a mix of general principles and specific recommendations for leaders Read More...

Book Review: The Happy Teacher Habits - 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth
Publication Date: 2022-01-07 | File type: Blog Post

I’ve been a fan of Michael Linsin for a few years now. I began with reading his information on classroom Read More...

Spruce Up Your Room:  Create an Improved Learning Environment
Publication Date: 2021-12-03 | File type: Blog Post

While every classroom should reflect the personality of the teacher who teaches in it, there are a few additions that Read More...

Girl Ear Pokers and Hair Pinchers:  Where to Seat Those Students
Publication Date: 2021-11-18 | File type: Blog Post

Having a good seating arrangement can be a tremendous help in the classroom. If the right students are in the Read More...

Achievement Parties: Motivating Your Students to do Their Best
Publication Date: 2021-10-22 | File type: Video

The best kind of student motivation is intrinsic to the process of learning, but sometimes students need an additional incentive Read More...

Seven Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Walked into the Classroom
Publication Date: 2021-09-16 | File type: Blog Post

After several years of teaching, I compiled a list of basic classroom management survival tips.  They have served me well, Read More...

Bible Memory: From Traumatic Cramming to Hidden Deep in Their Hearts
Publication Date: 2021-08-02 | File type: Teaching Material

Cramming for Bible memory is frustrating for both students and parents, and it is NOT hiding God’s word in their Read More...

Learning by Doing: Developing Activities that Inspire and Inform
Publication Date: 2021-04-16 | File type: Audio

What does making a Renaissance-era dome out of newspaper or role-playing a labor strike have to do with school? Learning, Read More...

Diagramming Sentences: Strategies for Learning Sentence Structure
Publication Date: 2021-02-26 | File type: Video

Do your English students struggle with diagramming sentences? Sentence diagramming is a classic method for helping students see the structure Read More...

Journal Writing 101
Publication Date: 2020-02-01 | File type: Teaching Material

In this short ebook, Deana offers suggestions for having students write a few sentences daily, painlessly (hopefully). Students develop creative Read More...

Finding Ways to Get Them Excited: Going beyond the Lecture with Objects and Color
Publication Date: 2018-12-20 | File type: Video

You’ve taught the lesson. Your students have learned the parts of speech, the parts of government, or the parts of Read More...

Freedom Quilts, Cotton Gins: Invite Historical Understanding with Hands-On Activities
Publication Date: 2018-12-17 | File type: Video

Slavery. The births of Argentina and Brazil. The Industrial Revolution. Are your students’ eyes glazed over yet? Studying the past Read More...

Accomodating Special Needs in the Classroom
Publication Date: 2018-08-09 | File type: Audio

Almost every school has a few students who need extra help and tutoring, yet many of our schools do not Read More...

Majoring in Motivation (Deana Swanson)
Publication Date: 2017-08-03 | File type: Audio

Effectively motivating our students goes far beyond a piece of candy or a sticker chart. It is possible to create Read More...

Incorporating Good Books Into Any Curriculum – Deana Swanson
Publication Date: 2016-08-01 | File type: Audio

Deana says, “I’ve had students beg not to go to recess so that we could finish reading a chapter of Read More...

Teaching Generation Alpha Students
Publication Date: | File type: Blog Post

Generation Alpha students are the children who have been born in the years after 2010. They are growing up surrounded Read More...

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