Small-group instruction is a highly effective way to close reading gaps with students once they get their arms around the foundations of reading. Strategy groups are small groups of students (4-6) who have gaps with a particular skill or strategy. Students in these groups are often reading at different levels, so it’s important to have a solid plan. In this post, I share ideas about how to successfully implement strategy
Valentine’s Day is one of the most exciting holidays for elementary-aged students. Who doesn’t love all of the thoughtful cards and delicious sweets? Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to harness this excitement and do a variety of meaningful and exciting activities. Here are my top four Valentine’s Day teaching ideas and resources. Valentine’s Day Teaching Idea #1: Virtual Field Trip to Rome Take your students to Rome to learn
Groundhog Day is one of those fun holidays that teachers can easily create engaging cross-curricular lessons around to make a fun day of learning. Here are four ideas for teaching about Groundhog Day and incorporating Groundhog Day into your lessons on February 2nd. 1. Take a Virtual Field Trip to Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day What could be a better way to introduce your students to this celebration when you
Why Should I Embrace Black History Month in My Classroom? Incorporating Black History Month into the classroom can be a controversial topic. Some teachers believe that a specific focus on a minority culture is unnecessary because diversity should be incorporated throughout the year. Others, whether intentionally or unintentionally, choose to avoid incorporating diversity altogether. In this post, I talk about my own journey to understanding the importance of incorporating Black
Behavior clip charts have been a staple in many classrooms as the primary behavior management tool for years. In my early days as a substitute teacher, I remember how helpful behavior charts were for me to manage behaviors as a guest teacher. However, early in my teaching career, I learned how harmful it is to use behavior clip charts. In this post, I talk about the reasons why behavior clip
Data Binders are a great way to incorporate student accountability and independence. In this post, I’m going to cover how to set up the Teacher Data Binder. I’ll keep this short and sweet because the majority of the data binder setup should be on the student side. After all, the goal is to get students involved so they are accountable and have ownership over their learning! You can read more
Teachers, you have enough on your plates! Why not hand off all you can to your students to promote independence?! Student data binders are a key tool that I used throughout my years of teaching to promote student success, accountability, and independence. In this post, I’m going to show you how to set up your student data binders. I know firsthand that the thought of teaching your students to track
Juneteenth is a holiday that celebrates the emancipation of previously enslaved Americans. It is important that we teach about the historical and modern significance of the Juneteenth holiday. In this post, I share some ideas and resources for incorporating lessons and stories about Juneteeth into your classroom. *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Why Is Teaching about Juneteenth Important? To be honest, I didn’t know about this
Ensuring all students are accepted and proud of who they are is important to the growth and development of children. Unfortunately, LGBTQ+ rights are still controversial in many areas of the country. It is much easier to ignore these issues than to face the controversy and address them. But the fact of the matter is, for change to happen, for the suicide rates of LGBTQ+ children to decrease and for
When it comes to Pride and LGBTQ+ inclusion, many teachers can feel uncomfortable teaching about these topics in the classroom. Many believe we should not be teaching our children about “sex” in schools. However, gender identity and relationships are an important part of who we are as humans. In order to make our world a more accepting place and help fight discrimination, we must be inclusive of all family structures
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