I’m dropping by today with a quick reminder . . . Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Today I’ve got 5 easy Thanksgiving activities to help you celebrate in the classroom. These activities will keep your kids engaged in learning and give them a little taste of the upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving PBL: Plan Thanksgiving Dinner Get ... Continue Reading
Making Math Centers Easy and More Efficient
It’s no secret that I love using the workshop method to teach math. A big part of math workshop is centers. Centers are great because they give you the opportunity to meet with small groups and provide differentiated instruction and they keep the rest of your students engaged in learning. But I know centers can sometimes feel overwhelming. Today ... Continue Reading
3 Reasons Your Grammar Lessons Aren’t Working (And What You Can Do About It)
What do you think of when I say, "It's time for grammar!"? Are you super-excited, sitting on the edge of your seat, bouncing with anticipation? Yeah, I didn't think so. Most people, including a lot of your students, don't get really jazzed up about grammar. But what if it didn't have to be that way? What if, when you said, "Hey class, ... Continue Reading
8 Multiplication Activities that Are Fun and Effective
Multiplication is one of the most important math concepts to master in elementary school. But it can be tricky to learn. There are lots of students who don't understand how multiplication works or have not yet mastered fact fluency. Today I am sharing some of my very favorite ways to teach multiplication. These techniques will help students ... Continue Reading
Close Reading Strategies that Keep Kids Engaged
Close reading is an important skill for students to learn. Not only is it required by the Common Core standards, but it helps deepen comprehension. But close reading can be hard for students. And boring. It requires repeated reading and discussion of the same text. And each time students read, they are pushed to dig deeper into the text for its ... Continue Reading
Halloween Activities Your Students Will Love
Halloween is almost here! The most frightening time of the year. And I'm not talking about ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. No, I'm talking about the uncontainable excitement that leads to non-stop chatter, lack of focus, and a buzzing candy-infused craziness that seems to settle in elementary students long before trick-or-treat night. Luckily, ... Continue Reading
Math Small Groups are the Best Way to Differentiate Lessons
Math workshop is divided into four parts: the mini lesson, student centers, small group instruction, and sharing time. Today we are talking about math small groups and why you need to add guided math instruction to your math block. If you're new to math workshop, check out this post for an overview of all four elements. You can read more about ... Continue Reading
8 Must-Do Tips for Teaching Personal Narrative
When I was in the classroom, I organized my writing instruction into units of study. Focusing on one unit at a time helps students become better writers. Rather than skipping around from topic to topic, students get to dig into one genre for eight weeks. This helps them truly master the skills and strategies of each genre. You can read more about ... Continue Reading
Finally, a Fact Fluency Program that Will Make Your Kids Love Math
You know that fact fluency is important. Fact fluency is the ability to recall the answers to math facts quickly and accurately without thinking about the problem. It typically occurs after repeated practice when facts are committed to long-term memory. To be considered fluent, students should be able to solve math facts without counting on ... Continue Reading
5 Things You Can Stop Doing Right Now and Still Be a Great Teacher
Teachers have a lot on their plates. Lesson planning, grading, communication with families, paperwork, committees, meetings . . . And you feel like you have to "do it all" if you want to be a great teacher. There’s a common myth that teachers must work around the clock. And that there's never enough time to finish your to-do list, much less take ... Continue Reading
