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
Having a “Gingerbread Day” is a great way to build excitement while incorporating cross-curricular activities. Here are some activities you can do with your elementary students that cover various subjects while also being standards-based, rigorous and meaningful, and fun!
November is a busy month! With holiday excitement in the air, you probably want to incorporate both fun and meaningful Thanksgiving resources to keep your kids engaged in learning. Here are my Top Five Thanksgiving Themed Teaching Resources that your students will love. 1. Virtual Field Trips Virtual Field Trips are a great way to celebrate the season while learning important social studies topics and practicing key skills. I have
November is National Native American History Month. Here are recommendations for some of my favorite picture books on Indigenous peoples in North America.
During remote learning, many teachers used the digital format of my escape rooms to supplement learning and skill-focused review. But with schools being fully reopened, some teachers wonder whether the printable format of these resources can work in a more traditional classroom setting. The good news is that my Escape Rooms are dynamic and engaging whether you use the digital or printable version. I designed my Escape Rooms to be
Decorations are popping up everywhere and Halloween season is officially in full swing! Students are always so excited for this time of year, so why not fuel their excitement with some fun Halloween picture books? In this post, I share my favorite Halloween picture books with some tips about how they can be used in the classroom. I’m so excited about sharing these books, I decided to share my Halloween
Identifying and understanding plot structure is a key skill for elementary students to become good readers. Identifying main story elements is a building block to be able to eventually retell and summarize fiction. Plot structure may also be referred to as story structure or literature structure, but they are the same general skill. In this blog post, I provide a step-by-step on how to teach plot structure skills. I also
