Teaching vocabulary is essential for reading comprehension, and using mentor texts to model is a great idea. With mentor texts, we can work on so many skills. In this post, I'll share how I teach vocabulary in upper elementary. We’ve all heard about the science of reading, right? If you…
As elementary teachers, one of our primary goals is to set our students up for success. We want our students to know where materials are and to be able to use classroom resources independently while we work with small groups. At the beginning of the school year, I spend a…
In my experience, children love to make a difference. One year, something of value (I think really high end headphones, but I'm having a hard time remembering) went missing from the ESOL teacher's class and three boys in my class held a bake sale to raise money to replace them.…
As much as I have been (and am) enjoying my summer, I'm getting excited about returning to my physical classroom in a few short weeks after teaching from home for over a year. The gears in my mind are turning and my creative juices are flowing. Recently, I was Googling…
Getting to Know Your Class I'm getting excited about going back in-person for the first time since March of 2020 and reflecting on the fall of 2019. Every year, our first unit in math is Characteristics of Numbers and that will be our first unit in August of 2021. In…
Commemorating the Year It's that time of year - crunch time! With standardized testing, continuing to bounce back and forth from in person to hybrid to concurrent to virtual teaching, report cards, parent conferences, and packing up a classroom, it's easy to get overwhelmed. I get it. One way I…
Making test prep fun is my jam. I love using games like Jeopardy, scavenger hunts, board games (especially ones that students make themselves), art projects, matching games, review stations, task cards, and all of the great, interactive activities that make test prep engaging and truly help students remember and retain…
I am a workshop model teacher. Period. I always have been and always will be. I love the look of students around tables or spread out on the carpet working collaboratively and the sound of students discussing ideas and solving problems. So, in March of 2020, I was a little…