I know it's hard. This time of the year is so hard to keep them engaged, so sometimes we have to do something different. Have you ever tried mystery words? They are fun and can quite possibly keep their attention…
Asking Questions is always tough in kindergarten. How many times have you heard a guest in your classroom say, "Does anyone have a question?" You know what's going to happen and before you can scream "NOOOOO" and stop them, you…
In the last five years I discovered the true value of vowels. I have come to realize vowels rule the world. If we want to produce great decoders, vowels are the key. It all started with one student (we'll call…
Harriet Tubman is the face of the best in the worst of our history. She is a model for who we want our students to be: courageous in the face of adversity, relentless in the search for freedom, and devoted…
Process/Product Centers: What is it? This a center that once the process is taught, it is Easy Breezy Lemon Squeezy. I had 2 poems my students do every morning during calendar time. The first poem was a month poem. The…
Goldirocks...no, that isn't spelled wrong...is the cutest book. Mentor texts are such an integral part of a great lesson. Teaching about something and connecting it to a book can make a lasting impression on students AND entertain them. They won't…
Verbs are everywhere...and you're kindergartners are everywhere! Need quick mentor texts with these active words? This is it. The books will have a small verb FREEBIE and some ideas for sharing these with your students. Book Summary The Cow Loves…
What better way to engage learners in the summer than sharks! They are funny (Baby Shark), sneaky (Finding Nemo) and Scary (Shark Week). Add sharks to the summer mix and it's already fun. Read Alouds If you start with a…
I blogged about a sequencing center in 2015, but I'd like to talk about a six different steps for teaching sequence and creating success. Students can be directed through a variety of experiences moving experiences from teacher-led, teacher-directed to student-led,…
I blogged about Predicting back in April 2014, but I think it's worth talking about again. (Click here to see the original post.) When students can use predicting effortlessly, their comprehension can increase. Predicting allows students to put pieces of the…
Pandemic. What a word...the world turned upside down with this word. We got this...teaching (and surviving) during a pandemic is a whole new world. AND, we made it to May, but it wasn't easy. The world has somehow flipped on…
Happy St Patrick's Day Week! St Patrick's Day Books can be so fun. Here are 5 examples of read alouds worth their weight in gold. I have to admit, there are things about St Patrick's Day I like and there are…