As teachers, we are constantly searching for ways to teach new skills or concepts. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that there’s nothing that a good, quality book can’t do. Need a lesson on sharing? Find a good book. Need to teach character, setting, and theme? Find a good book. What about social studies concepts? Oh yeah, there are books for that, too! Read-alouds are so impactful. If
Ahhh, math. I love to teach math. The strategies, the accountable talk, the real-world connections, the tools, the food. Yes… the food. We eat A LOT in math class. Tasty little treats do make the best manipulatives. Math class is fun. I mean, who doesn’t love to eat, right? But out of all of the food-related skills you can teach in math, the hardest skill to teach isn’t even a
Have you ever been standing in a store or restaurant trying to determine the amount of money that you owe or should receive back in change? I told you I show my age a lot ?. Whether you have or whether you haven’t, it’s potentially a direct result of your number sense ability. Yes, even as an adult, number sense continues to play a role in our lives. As students
I can feel it now. Sweaty palms, a racing heart, an anxious stomach. Is it the first time taking an airplane ride? Getting some life-changing news? Public speaking? No … just math class. We’ve all been there. A sheet full of math problems laid on your desk, the teacher sets a timer, and pencils aren’t allowed to touch the paper yet. The teacher says “go!” and here comes the sweaty
Teaching students to set goals is a key to student accountability and success. When students regularly set goals and evaluate progress, they work harder to achieve success and take ownership of their success and learning. As teachers, we want students to understand their role in learning. Here are tips to regularly incorporate goal setting into your classroom routines. Begin each quarter with time to set goals. At the beginning of
Mother’s Day is coming up. It wasn’t until I was a mother to my two kiddos that I realized how much moms cherish the little Mother’s Day crafts kids make in school. Many crafts are geared towards preschool and lower elementary, so I thought I would share some of my favorite Mother’s Day gift ideas for second grade and up. Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thursday, April 28th is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. I’ll never forget the excitement of “skipping school” on this day to follow my dad into his office for a fun lunch at McDonalds. Then, later on, when he worked at home, convincing my mom I needed to “stay home” to watch him work, even though I basically saw what he did every day anyway. For me, the
As a teacher, I worked with many children on the autism spectrum. Although I learned a lot by working directly with these students, there are a lot of things about autism I can never understand. Izzy Lively is a lifestyle content creator for neurodivergent individuals who desperately want to live independently. She is sharing the ten things teachers need to know about autism. When she’s not creating content, you can
Are you searching for out-of-the-box Earth Day activities to help students read, write, and create while learning about the important responsibility of protecting our planet? Here are six activities that teachers and students love when celebrating Earth Day. These Earth Day teaching resources move beyond the basics and challenge students to think critically while practicing important skills. 1. Practice Speaking and Listening with an Earth Day PBL Resource! Challenge your
Thinking critically about complex texts and answering text-dependent questions can be tricky for many students, especially for young readers, and yet thorough analysis of texts is an essential skill for all. Using Close Reading, students can unlock deeper thinking with any text. What is Close Reading? Close Reading refers to the process of actively reading a text multiple times in order to generate a deep understanding and create meaning. Close
