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…
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…
Stencil Center is probably one of the easiest centers. It is a process/product center and it is easily set up, maintained and practiced. Want a quick center with minimum input and maximum output? This is it. Stencil Centers: Quick and…
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…
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,…
Summer isn't too fair off. In Coastal Virginia, we are ready to rest, recharge, and review the year and reinvent some lessons while we refresh others. Whew! Quick Summer writing A few years ago I wanted something to offer my…
We need to make sure students know how to write AND they need a writing rubric to support it. The Big 3 is an easy and effective writing rubric. I have debated and drafted and debated and drafted and tried…
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…
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…
I love Book Club Flyers...it's so exciting to see what new books I will add to my classroom library and which ones my students can choose each month to add to their home libraries. But, honestly, some don't have that…
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…