As upper elementary teachers, we know how powerful math anchor charts can be in helping students grasp and retain big concepts. But I have a problem: I’m super picky about my classroom (including things on the walls) looking neat, organized, and cohesive, and my anchor charts looked like a …… hot mess. I try. I […]
My Math Anchor Chart Hack Read More »
How many times have you given a direction and the results went something like this? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jay Salazar (@thejaysalazar_) I image you only see this on days that end in Y. (My students never get that joke.) This is a common problem in the classroom, and it
Solving “I Don’t Know What To Do” Read More »
Do you ever wonder what 4th graders should know or be able to do? Changing grade levels is difficult. I still remember crying my eyes out the first time I had to change grade levels. It was devastating! It’s hard to sort through years worth of blog posts, resources, and articles to find just what
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Do you wonder what 3rd graders should know? Are you new to teaching third grade? Or, is it your first time teaching third grade in a long time? If so, you’re in the right place! If you’re looking for the same post for fourth grade teachers look here! It’s no secret that changing grade levels
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In this post, I share five common reasons for student misbehavior. No matter how strong our classroom management is or how positive our relationships with our students are, we are bound to encounter student misbehavior. As I’ve said before, I firmly believe the most important part of classroom management is our relationships with students. You
5 Reasons for Student Misbehavior Read More »
As a teacher, I felt like one of my weakest areas was dealing with what is often called “girl drama.” When I saw this as a teacher, I struggled to find the root of the issue, to have time to deal with the problem, and to know what to do about it. I was also
It’s Not Just Girl Drama Read More »
I don’t know that it’s possible to overstate the importance of empathy in the classroom. It is pure joy for me to watch children who are naturally empathetic work with their classmates. I watch them carefully weigh their words and actions as they think about how those words and actions will make their classmates feel.
Six Methods for Teaching Empathy Read More »
I recently wrote about my favorite back to school resources, but I consider this post my most important back to school post, as it covers what I feel is the most essential classroom management strategy: The power of relationships. While I know that technically our job is to teach academics, but teaching is so much bigger
Essential Classroom Management Read More »
Classroom organization plays an enormous role in classroom management and ultimately saves you time and energy. This post shares a few classroom organization tricks of the trade that I’ve picked up over the years that makes your classroom run smoothly. I don’t pretend to be an excellent classroom decorator, but this that’s not the purpose
Classroom Organization For Elementary Teachers Read More »
These elementary lesson plan templates can be a huge help! Writing lesson plans and prepping for the week doesn’t have to be an incredibly time consuming process. A little organization and efficient lesson plan templates can go a long way when it comes to saving time writing lesson plans and prepping for the week. In
Elementary Lesson Plan Templates Read More »
