Today, I am blogging over at The Elementary Entourage for the first time ever! Swing by a take a peek at my ever-evolving lesson planning style, learn about how Google Docs made me a paperless planning fanatic, and gather other amazing planning tips from my Elementary Entourage blogging family. Also
I’ve rewritten the beginning of this post about five times now due to extreme sleep deprivation. I know you feel my pain when I say…I had my first back to school dream last night…followed by me waking up to create labels for my math center drawers…at 3:30 a.m. No logic
Welcome to the premiere post for what is sure to be your new favorite teacher blogger link up…Books Bloggers Love. Each month, 12 teacher bloggers will be linking up to share our favorite books for that month/time of year and giving you a peek at a few ideas for incorporating
At this year’s second annual Teachers Pay Teachers Pay Teachers Premium Sellers Conference, over 1,000 TPT teacher authors gathered in Vegas to learn and connect. Every session and meet up I attended was flooded with smiling faces and warm welcomes from like-minded teacher authors. Every ah-ha moment was delivered by successful, top
I’m thrilled to be a guest blogger on Rachel’s Lynette’s endlessly resourceful education blog, Minds In Bloom. Hop over to my guest post to get a closer look at my favorite math routine Write To Explain. You can also grab my latest FREEBIE to help you launch this rigorous math
A few of the learning principles that help us revolutionize learning in our district are to nurture a growth mindset, empower students and value the learning process just as much as the outcome. After last year’s Open House, several teachers came to realize the district’s traditional end-of-school-year Open House didn’t
One of our challenges as teachers is to help students learn the difference between tattling and reporting. Often, students who tattle simply need an outlet to be heard. Rather than spending time after recess sorting through playground woes, have students record their concerns on a piece of paper and place
This week, I’m linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for another Five for Friday post. ONE: Back To School After Winter Break Regardless of how many years I teach, it always shocks me how tired I am after we’ve had a school break. The students always come back so energized and
Teaching data = bliss. Most kids are thrilled when you ask them to look at an organized visual and answer questions about it. I remember thinking as a kid…”This is math?! I’m on board!” There’s just something about reading a graph that revitalizes your love for math. It’s a breath of fresh
I’m linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly Five for Friday Linky! ONE: 100th DAY OF SCHOOL Tuesday was our 100th day of school and the first time I have ever “celebrated” this day – yet another adjustment to becoming a primary teacher. I used these adorable 100th day printables to give
This week, we celebrated our knowledge about measuring length in our First Annual Measure-Thon! This multi-day math simulation was the highlight of my second graders’ school week. I was so amped when they made giddy little back-and-forth hand movements each morning when they saw “Measure-Thon” written on the schedule. I
Education Week’s article Differentiation Doesn’t Work by James R. Delisle is floating around teacher social media outlets like crazy right now. It was also presented at our professional development session today as an introduction to a day filled with taking differentiation from theory to practice. The end viewpoint, that we should begin a tracking
This year, the second routine I introduced to my class when we were learning our routines for Daily 5 was Read to Someone. In hindsight, I should have introduced this as the last of the five routines so my students had several weeks of reading in an I-can-hear-a-caterpillar-sneeze environment. When my
In my previous post about implementing The Daily 5, I outlined my weekly and daily schedule to provide some perspective on the block of time dedicated to Daily 5 in my second grade class. If you missed it, you can read my first post. The schedule I outlined was tweaked
This August, I made the decision to implement The Daily 5 in my second grade classroom. In planning for teaching a new grade level at a new school with a completely different structure for reading instruction, I figured Daily 5 would be my best bet for incorporating guided reading into
On Monday, September 15, our entire school celebrated International Dot Day. I am so grateful to my colleague who introduced this special day when educators can encourage student creativity and genius potential, inspired by Peter Reynold’s book The Dot. When the kids arrived at school on Monday morning, signs reading “Make
I finally feel like I have my feet on the ground after a whirlwind start to the school year. Teaching a new grade level at a new school has been an amazing experience, but has also left me very sleepy and slightly intensely scatter-brained. For this week’s Five for Friday Linky, I’m
Organization is my jam. It’s hard to say what I enjoy more; the therapeutic process of organizing every nook and cranny of a space; or the satisfaction I feel when I walk into a room or open a cabinet and see the organized glory within it. Although I do, indeed,
It’s Day 2 of Blog Hoppin’s Back To School Week 2014. Today is all about where I teach my students each day. Keep in mind, I am teaching a new grade level in a new district this year, which means a fresh start with classroom decorating. This also means my classroom is
It’s officially Back To School Week! Like many of you, this is one of my favorite weeks of the year. In celebration, I am linking up with BlogHoppin’ for their Back To School Linky. Today’s topic: Who. ME that’s who! I’m going to break my life down into a list
Organizing your classroom library carefully can boost reading engagement and foster a more calm and efficient learning environment. In this post, I am answering a question I get a lot. “How do you keep your classroom library so organized?” In hopes of saving you time when it comes to organizing
Project based learning (PBL) is one of the most engaging ways for students to learn and master concepts. You probably already know about the cross curricular benefits, how it boosts communication opportunities for language learners, and builds essential life skills in our young learners…but in order to reap the maximum
When adopting workshop-style teaching and learning, you need a clear plan for how to keep students accountable without drowning in papers to grade. Many teachers ask how I manage grading the work my students complete during Math Workshop each day, and still find time to plan for workshop the following
Some school years we have classes that are chattier than average. Although notably more exhausting, I always find these years to be the most enjoyable because chatty students are more willing to share their ideas and display their curiosity. An important role for teachers is to help these more social
This year, I decided to make some modifications to my classroom decor, and I am thrilled to share this reveal with you all. This post contains affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase. Before I describe
During the summer months, one of the most common discussion topics in our Third Grade Teacher Facebook Group is focused around what a daily schedule in third grade looks like. Although scheduling changes from year to year based on the ever-changing school environment, this post includes an outline of what
Launching the school year with interactive activities can help your students settle back into the school routine while enjoying the movement and socialization they grow accustom to during the summer months. This back to school season, pick up a set of EXPO Dry Erase Ink Indicator Markers, and give these three
During the last few weeks of school each school year, many teachers learn they will be changing grade levels in the coming school year. This often sparks the question…”What should I stock up on to get my classroom ready for my new grade level?” This frequently-asked question inspired me to
Math Workshop makes differentiating instruction seamless. If you want to learn more about the framework for Math Workshop, please read this post first. What Happens During The At Your Seat Rotation As students work through their M.A.T.H. rotations, they have the opportunity to work on activities that are just right
The difference between a classroom with a smooth-running workshop model, and one where students are off task during MathWorkshop is simple. In the former classroom, clear expectations and routines that promote student independence are a non-negotiable. Your students must know exactly what is expected of them for the duration of
If you are living in a constant battle between tracking data and planning instruction…you know you’re not alone. Like most teachers, you are probably looking for ways to minimize the time you spend grading, and recording data so you can maximize your time planning and prepping. You’re in the right
Grouping is an essential component to Math Workshop success in your classroom. After your warm up and mini lesson are over, students will rotate through M.A.T.H. practice activities each day. If you are not familiar with the Math Workshop framework, please read this post first. So, how do you group your