WOW, where does the time go? My best advice for coming back form the holiday is jump into routines ASAP. Students crave boundaries and their routines are part of their boundaries. They find boundaries safe and predictable. The added bonus…
This silly r-controlled poem is one for the turkeys. Students will giggle as they discover r-controlled vowels throughout this poem. Control at Thanksgiving? Thank goodness I'm not talking about Thanksgiving dinner...or pumpkin pie. There simply isn't much control when it…
Opinion Writing isn't as hard as you think. It's all about routine and teaching them how to tell what they like. Follow these steps to confidently teach! Students in the elementary grades are tasked with writing opinion paragraphs. Teachers are nervous…
4th of July means flags, fireworks and peach cobbler. Virginia's history standards for kindergarten includes teaching about Independence Day. It's a little more difficult to teach about Independence Day when you aren't in school in July...so, this was always my…
Visual errors are errors regarding what the student sees. Sounds, symbols, print conventions, and analogies are part of regarded as visual cues. Visual Errors This is the second in the series. As I stated before, I believe in analyzing your…
4 Square is a perfect tool for teaching students to write sentences. Many years ago, we visited friends with a newborn. We had been warned the baby was fussy and the parents were tired. When we got there, we were…
Writing Center is a must. But, I also think a 4 Square Center, a First, Then, Last Center, Fab 5 Center and a Word Wall Word Center with Configuration Boxes. Writing Centers are the most important part of their independence.…
I've been spending the last few days in a small school district in our state. We got the idea to do a Classroom Makeover for a teacher while I was visiting. Evidently, there was a lottery for all interested teachers…
Paint Chips. I can't help it. There is something about those multi-hues that is so appealing. I used them when I taught a scrapbook class on colors. AND I love the commercials from Sherman-Williams using animated paint chips. Here…
100 Blocks Pictures Don't you love those 100 block activities where students color by number? I've done them with my kindergartners...even though we don't have to teach numbers to 100. They love coloring in the boxes and figuring out…