When it’s the end of the school year and you’re packing up your classroom, you are probably eager to start summer vacation! But as a teacher, there may be one thing “standing in your way” of starting your summer break as it relates to end-of-year classroom clean-up. Checking out! Checking
Rain, Snow, Heat, Calls For Indoor Recess Games And Activities! Rain, snow, cold weather, and sometimes excessive heat call for indoor recess games and activities! Having a variety of indoor recess games and activities ready to use with your students is a must! Although outside recess is probably a preference
Introduction Since I have taught grades first through sixth, I know the importance of having a solid reading foundation. It’s best for students to develop critical reading skills in the primary grades. It becomes very challenging for upper elementary students and middle school students to “catch up” in reading once
Introduction It’s that time of year again when I am looking through back-to-school resources. As teachers, we know the first day of school as well as the first weeks of school are important! This is the time when we set the tone for our classroom and school year. I like
Introduction When planning your reading block you are working on the actual structure of your reading block. The day-to-day of what you will do and how you will teach. Hopefully, you read my blog post from last week about organizing your reading classroom for back-to-school. If not you can read it
Introduction Organizing your classroom reading corner or space is one way to start the new school year off to a great start! Even if it’s not the beginning of the school year, maintaining an organized reading space is a must. No matter if you are an elementary teacher or a
Review Of Blog Post Part I of How to Use Picture Books With Upper Elementary Students During Back To School If you have read Part I of this blog post series “How To Use Picture Books With Upper Elementary Students During Back to School” you know the reasons why I
Why Use Picture Books With Upper Elementary Students Are you wondering how to use picture books in upper elementary during back-to-school time? When I taught 1st grade, I loved reading read-alouds and read them to my students often. In fact, I would do this multiple times a day to help
Congratulations! It’s official you’re a new teacher (smile)! You landed that first teaching job and are eager to start! You may feel a little nervous but I’m sure there’s some excitement shining through too. These 7 Back To School Tips For New Teachers are just what you need to help
Introduction Effective parent communication can make a big difference when it comes to communicating with your student’s families. How teachers communicate with parents begins at the beginning of the school year and continues throughout the school year. No matter what grade level I have taught, I have always kept the
A classroom where students are engaged in learning, in my opinion, begins with a caring community! Creating a caring community appears to start on the very first day of school when students arrive. But if we are honest, it begins for many of us, weeks or maybe even months before
Introduction I have taught 1st grade through 6th grade so trust me I have lots of experience in moving grade levels! Now I didn’t do it in numerical order. Starting with 1st grade and then moving into teaching 6th grade. I actually started my teaching career in the primary grades
Introduction Spring break is a much-awaited event in the classroom, especially if the break falls after March! So much so that it appears that my students are not concerned about when we are coming back from spring break. I have not heard many students ask when do we come back
Introduction: Celebrating Women’s History Month Last week I posted Part I of this mini-series blog post about Women’s History Month. I talked about ideas to use for Women’s History Month classroom activities for upper elementary students. As well as I discussed a couple of books. Teachers can do book talks
Women’s History Month Introduction Women’s History Month is a significant time to recognize and celebrate women and their contributions to society. It is a time to focus on Women’s History Month classroom activities. Activities that you can do with your upper elementary students. Are you wondering how long Women’s History
Introduction Do you have your students form literature circles, book clubs, or novel study groups? Are they meeting frequently to discuss the books they are reading? Are you looking for ways to help guide students in discussing what they’re reading? Ultimately, wanting students to engage in meaningful conversations without straying
Reading and Writing Surveys in Upper Elementary What do you think about surveys? Do you like to take them? Do you enjoy giving your opinion about something you have used or will use in the future? Well, survey results give important insight into how someone feels about a particular subject.
What Are Novel Studies? You may be asking yourself, what are novel studies? And why might I want to do novel studies in my classroom? There are many ways to do novel studies. Some teachers may have students read the same book as a class. And once finished, students complete
Celebrating Black History Month is a vital time to recognize African Americans’ contributions, talents, and skills. It’s essential that we pause and reflect with our students on the accomplishments that others have made over the years. In this blog post, I will talk about some 6th grade chapter books by
Black History Month Researching Harriet Tubman during Black History Month opens the door for insightful discussions with your students! It is important that during Black History Month students learn about the essential contributions made to our society by heroic people like Harriet Tubman. Before I begin teaching lessons with my
Introduction An author study is a great way to introduce your students to a variety of authors and the books they have written. Begin with some familiar authors. Authors of books you have read to your class. Then choose authors your students have never heard about. Many times in the
Introduction We, teachers, know that reading for comprehension is important for students to be able to do in upper elementary. But how do we help our students learn how to do this while reading? Especially when they have to read a text they may not be interested in reading. Reading
Winter Wonderland Theme January is a great time to do a “winter wonderland” theme in your classroom! Bring fun to your winter read-alouds by adding quick crafts for students to do! During the winter months, students are use to the routine of being in school. So changing up your winter
When looking for Martin Luther King Jr. activities to do with your students a reading response journal can easily pair with a read-aloud. You can help your students research Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Upper elementary students can benefit from researching people from the past using a biography reading response
It’s that time of year again, back from winter break! It’s true we have a countdown in the classroom eagerly waiting for the start of winter break. But many of us don’t give too much thought to returning from winter break! We want to blissfully believe that winter break will
Are you searching for whole class reward system ideas that help you motivate and reward your class all while setting a classroom goal? A classroom goal that will focus on the whole class and have students working as a team? One where you can help motivate and reward your class
Do your students know what to do when they come into your classroom? Or is the start of class chaotic without a clear routine? Perhaps, students have tons of questions as they enter. So many questions that you are not capable of answering every single one of them! Do you
Have you used reading response journals with your students to help them with reading comprehension? Reading response journals can help your students respond in writing about what they are currently reading. Students can respond before, during, and after reading. Reading response journals are great tools to help students keep all
Do you set goals for yourself at the start of a new school year? How about setting resolutions for the New Year? I’m sure you do in some way or another even if you don’t formally write them down. You have your own way of keeping track of things you
As a reading teacher, it’s important that I find ways to engage students in reading. Through a reading interest survey, I can discover more about them as a reader. The information I gain about my students is powerful! I like to give students a reading interest survey at the beginning
I have taught grades 1st through 6th grade! Read my blog for tips and ideas to use in your reading classroom!
