What is your least favorite subject to teach? If you’re like most teachers, it’s probably grammar. No matter what you do, it’s hard to get your students excited about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. And what even is a dangling preposition? There are so many rules to memorize. And don’t get me started on the exceptions to the rules. You know the ... Continue Reading
5 Math Mini Lesson Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
Math workshop is my favorite way to teach math because it makes differentiation easy and keeps kids engaged. Math workshop has four components: the math mini lesson, student centers, small group instruction, and sharing time. Today we are going to take a closer look at mini lessons. You can read more about math workshop here. The mini ... Continue Reading
Simple Tips to Plan a Fun and Engaging ELA Schedule
One of the most difficult tasks of any new year school year is planning your classroom schedule. Creating a schedule that fits all the core subjects, specials, push-ins and pull-outs, school initiatives (like character education), lunch, and recess, and still has a little bit of flex time built in for fun activities, classroom birthdays, and things ... Continue Reading
Our Third Grade Math Curriculum is Here (and You’re Going to Love it!)
This is a super-exciting post for me to write! For years, you have been asking me for a math curriculum. And for years I’ve been smiling, nodding my head, and saying, “Mmmhmm. That’s an interesting idea. My team and I will take it under advisement.” Internally, I wasn’t really considering it though. I was stuck in a silent debate with myself. ... Continue Reading
3 Reasons You and Your Students Will Love Math Workshop
The start of a new school year is a great time to change things up in the classroom. But you don't want to change things just to change them. Rather, you want to make changes that will contribute to effective learning and help keep students engaged. Not only does it make school more fun, but it also cuts down on behavior problems. One great change ... Continue Reading
Top 40 Must-Haves For the Classroom
I’ve always been a sucker for Top 40 lists. It probably dates back to my days listening to Casey Kasem and the “American Top 40” countdown on the radio. I was always so excited to see what the most popular song was each week. Now that I’m celebrating my fortieth birthday, it seemed like a good time to create a Top 40 of my own. I know ... Continue Reading
Planning Your Best Back to School Ever!
Back to school season always brings up a range of emotions: happiness, excitement, sadness, dread, anxiety, and even a little bit of fear. And that's just for the teachers! The first days of school are a transition for students and teachers alike. A transition back to routine, to early mornings, to missing family members. Perhaps renewed stress ... Continue Reading
5 Things You Need to Know About the Writing Masterclass Today
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you’ve probably heard us talking about the Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass at some point this year. If you aren’t familiar with it, the Masterclass is my signature online professional development program designed for teachers in grades 2-5 to help make teaching writing easier. Maybe ... Continue Reading
Teachers Tell All: How the Masterclass Made Them Better Writing Teachers
One of my favorite parts about teaching the Masterclass each year is hearing from alumni about how the course has transformed their writing instruction. So far, we have had over 7000 teachers take the course, and the stories our teacher friends share make me laugh, cry, and want to stand up and dance. This week I thought it would be fun to share ... Continue Reading
How to Get Started with Writing Workshop at the Beginning of the Year
The beginning of a new school year is the perfect opportunity to get writing workshop off to a great start! And I know many of you are planning for back to school now. So today I'm sharing my favorite ways to get started with writing workshop at the beginning of the year. The key to establishing a successful writing workshop is to engage ... Continue Reading
