I was right in the middle of grading papers during my planning when I overheard the fifth grade math teacher across the hall. Keep in mind this is a regular occurrence. I love her dearly, but she does have a tendency to get excited and...a bit...loud while teaching. She asked a
How To Monitor Comprehension
Teaching students to monitor their comprehension is one of the most important parts of reading instruction, but it's not always easy. Strong readers often do this intuitively. They likely use all of the the strategies below without even realizing it, which is perfectly fine.
6 Myths About The Brain
As a teacher, brain research absolutely fascinates me so much that I went back to school for a graduate degree in brain research. There have been so many new developments over the past several years and the implications for teachers are so powerful. However, it's incredibly easy
Making Sense of Reading Assessments
Reading assessments can have a tremendous impact on the upper elementary classroom. However, it's imperative to understand what assessments we're giving and the purpose of those assessments. Otherwise, we fall into the trap of over-assessing, which is when we assess for the sake
Reading Comprehension Strategies
In my first reading unit, the major emphasis is on teaching reading comprehension strategies. Even though not all of these reading comprehension strategies are specifically mentioned in my standards, they're still an essential component to my reading instruction. It doesn't
Problem Solving Strategies
Problem solving is a huge component of my math instruction. I believe that problem solving should be consistently embedded within quality math tasks, rather than teaching problem solving as an isolated unit. However, I also believe that some problem solving strategies may need to
