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!
I know that some of you on the east coast are just settling into summer vacation. I hope you enjoy every minute. But believe it or not, many teachers in the western U.S. are already planning for back to school. Here in Arizona, we start school later this month!?! Back to school season brings up a range of emotions: happiness, excitement, ... 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 over the past couple of weeks. 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 ... 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
The Secret to Getting Students to Revise and Edit
One of the most common questions I hear from teachers is “How do you get students to revise their writing?” At first, this question stumped me. I didn’t have a special plan or strategy to encourage kids to revise. I just made it part of my writing process. Each day, I taught a mini lesson and told my students to practice the skill we ... Continue Reading
How to Teach Writing When You Don’t Have Time
There are so many subjects competing for your instructional time. Math, reading, spelling, science, social studies, and grammar. So many lessons to teach, tasks to check off, standards to measure . . . . And now you need 30-45 minutes to teach writing!?! Everyday? I know it seems impossible. Your plate is filled to the edge, kind of like on ... Continue Reading
Grab these FREE 60 writing prompts for grades 2-5.