This post is quite a bit different from my typical blog post. This summer I’ve had the opportunity to talk with several teachers (new and experienced) who were new to third grade, and I wanted to create a blog post that condenses some of my favorite tips, posts, and products. I know that changing grade […]
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I don’t always include literacy stations in reading workshop, but when I do, I make the activities purposeful and authentic. Anyone catch the reference? In the spirit of full disclosure, there are years when due to scheduling requirements I can’t fit in literacy stations. Those are hard years, but I’ve learned to adapt. How I Incorporate Literacy
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Introducing paragraphs is never easy, especially at the beginning of the year. I always struggle at the beginning of the year with determining how long to spend teaching rules, procedures, and various classroom management lessons. These management lessons are essential for a smooth school year. I’ve tried to skip some of these lessons in the
Introducing Paragraphs Read More »
It’s no secret that vocabulary is a major predictor for student success. Unfortunately, academic vocabulary has always been one of my students’ greatest challenges. Academic vocabulary words are the words that are traditionally used in academic text, which are words that are not common in everyday reading. These words are important because they help students
Social Studies and Science Vocabulary Read More »
State and federal mandates and high stakes testing have made teaching elementary science and social studies a battle for time in the classroom. This battle has resulted in minimizing social studies and science instruction to focus on tested areas. While I agree that the content area topics should be reinforced and integrated into students’ tested
Teaching Elementary Science and Social Studies Read More »
It’s not a lot of fun to pack up your classroom. There is no tired like teacher tired, especially at the beginning and end of the school year. The beginning of the year is hard, but it’s new, fun, and fresh. By the end of the school year, we’re not only physically tired, but we’re
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Reading for fluency is an important component of reading instruction. Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, with proper phrasing, and with expression. It is important for readers, because it allows students to comprehend what they read, rather than focusing decoding words. Fluent readers recognize words automatically, group words quickly, use appropriate
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As the school year winds down, I always try to complete a few end of the year projects that will create lasting memories for my students. This year my students are writing letters to their future self, and this has quickly become my absolute favorite end of the year (or anytime of the year activity).
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March is here, which means it’s time to introduce all new activities for my math centers. I typically, like to phase in a few stations at a time, rather than introduce 12 activities in one day, but that didn’t work out because of our six recent snow days. I usually phase the stations in, because
March Math Centers Read More »
Reading a ruler worksheets and activities can be so much fun for students. This week students have been learning to measure to the nearest 1/4 inch, which can be challenging for students. That’s one of the reasons it’s beneficial to teach reading a ruler after your fraction unit. It’s a great tie-in to teaching fractions
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