Today’s post is a follow-up to my previous one about complimenting teachers in your building. I hope you did your homework and made someone’s day! =) Everyone loves a little recognition, so I make a point to give my students certificates for a job well done. Whether they’ve made the honor roll, shown outstanding effort,…
As I mentioned last week, our state testing starts today. We spent Friday afternoon doing test “pump up” activities to encourage students to do their best. I wanted to share a freebie we created with you. Test-taking can be stressful for students. Before our standardized tests each year, we discuss strategies that can help…
Pin It I’ve noticed over the years that my students are great summarizers, but not so great at connecting with, talking about, and thinking through their reading. Their discussions are mostly limited to summaries and retellings. Focused lessons on thinking deeply about reading help push us to the next level. When we’re ready to move…
I contributed my first post over at Classroom Freebies Too yesterday in honor of Valentine’s Day. If you haven’t visited the blog yet, you should definitely check it out. There are a ton of freebies from lots of fabulous teachers. You can sort them by grade level or search by keywords too. Oh, and don’t…
I’m participating in my first ever blog hop, the Valentine Blog Hop sponsored by Effective Teaching Articles. You can follow the links below to collect a Valentine freebie from each blog. You can also sign up to participate in each blog’s give away, with winners from each blog being chosen on February 15th. My Valentine…
I love reading workshop! My favorite part of reading workshop is doing book clubs with my students. I’ve tried several different ways over the years. When I first started, I would meet with groups one at a time. We’d work our way through the chapters together, taking turns reading aloud and silently. We’d discuss as…
Pin It The library is one of the most important parts of our classroom. When I first started teaching, I inherited a handful of used books from the teacher who retired the year before. I sorted the books into four small tubs of picture books and one spinning rack of chapter books, roughly organized by…