28 days in February doesn't seem like a lot of time to learn about special people in Black History, but Charles Smith, Jr's book does a great job! Check out these great people throughout the 28 days.
If you know me, you know my mantra: "Give them tools, not excuses!" We can't give them excuses, they have enough of those. We need to give them tools. One of my favorite tools for writing is 4 square. (Check…
Writing from the beginning is important. AND writing from the beginning of school is crucial to creating healthy routines and expectations, but let's talk about back to school. Back to school means a few things to me: new students new…
Who would have thought we'd be here? Teaching our youngest readers as much as we can through digital means wasn't in the college curriculum or in my backpack full of teaching tricks. BUT, we have to do it. Do the…
Maps and Globes are typical social studies skills, but we need to make sure these standards are not taught in isolation. Integrating the standards is vital. At my previous K-2 school, we had half-day kindergarten. That's right...3 hours to get…
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man. A man who decided to help lead a nation into change. Here are ideas for sharing about his legacy with our students. A year ago a participated in a blog about teaching about…
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…
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.…
Bessie Coleman is a woman to honor. She is noted as the First African-American Female Pilot, but she was so much more. She was also the First Native American Female Pilot, as her father was born of both races. Bessie…