As the start of a new school year quickly approaches, you may feel a little unenthusiastic about giving up your slow and steady mornings, Or, maybe you’re bustling with excitement to get back into the school routine and begin all of the “new.” The start of a new school year is always my favorite. A new year, new students, new supplies, and sometimes even new co-workers. There is something about
Building relationships with your students is the most important thing to increase student success, happiness, and make classroom management seamless. However, building relationships with your students does not mean you should be friends with them. Children need structure and high expectations, but to succeed, they need to know you care about them and have their best interests at heart. Here are five ways to build relationships with your students. Here
The beginning of the year sets an important tone for the entire school year. Things like establishing rules and procedures, and building readers, writers, and mathematicians are vital from the start. One of the most important things to start nurturing and growing from day one is classroom community. Classroom community is the root of how well your students work together, speak to each other, and get to know one another.
Most teachers can relate to staying at school well past contracted hours and bringing home crates full of student work to correct. I’ve been there myself. In my early years of teaching, I would spend many nights and weekends grading and correcting work during my own personal time. This isn’t best for you or your students. Therefore, it is important to have a plan for correcting student work. If you
Since its creation in 1996, National Poetry Month has reminded the public of the importance poetry plays in our culture and has become the biggest literacy celebration in America. Here are five fun ideas and resources to help you make celebrating National Poetry Month feel more like a party and less like a chore. 1. Read Alouds I love to bring poetry into the classroom for read alouds. Since they’re
Everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day! So you might as well wrap some meaningful learning into this fun theme. From reading to math to STEM, here are my top five fun ideas and resources for St. Patrick’s Day. These are guaranteed to get your students so engaged that they will forget they are practicing key skills. Fun Idea #1: Virtual Field Trip to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day Take
Read Across America Week is coming up! Beginning in 2019, the NEA decided to end its licensing agreement with Seuss Enterprises and focus on diversity. Read Across America Week is a wonderful time to run with this theme and introduce your learners to a wide range of diverse authors and books. I love Read Across America Week because it presents the opportunity to incorporate a ton of cross-curricular activities that
Small-group instruction is a highly effective way to close reading gaps with students once they get their arms around the foundations of reading. Strategy groups are small groups of students (4-6) who have gaps with a particular skill or strategy. Students in these groups are often reading at different levels, so it’s important to have a solid plan. In this post, I share ideas about how to successfully implement strategy
Valentine’s Day is one of the most exciting holidays for elementary-aged students. Who doesn’t love all of the thoughtful cards and delicious sweets? Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to harness this excitement and do a variety of meaningful and exciting activities. Here are my top four Valentine’s Day teaching ideas and resources. Valentine’s Day Teaching Idea #1: Virtual Field Trip to Rome Take your students to Rome to learn
Groundhog Day is one of those fun holidays that teachers can easily create engaging cross-curricular lessons around to make a fun day of learning. Here are four ideas for teaching about Groundhog Day and incorporating Groundhog Day into your lessons on February 2nd. 1. Take a Virtual Field Trip to Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day What could be a better way to introduce your students to this celebration when you
