You CAN Meet Rigorous Expectations with These Strategies I love to hear lots of positive feedback about my resources, but I also like to hear the occasional critique. One of the most frequent challenges I hear is about meeting rigor. Although my passage-based resources are professionally Lexile® leveled, some teachers comment that they are too hard for a particular group of students. These teachers say something like, “these passages are
Teaching Making Predictions Predicting is an important skill that is necessary for readers to fully comprehend and analyze text. Good readers are able to predict based on their own knowledge and information provided in the text. These skills are not always inherent, so it is important for students to build the necessary foundational skills to be able to predict successfully. Here are some strategies and resources for teaching making predictions.
Why You Should Consider Using Interactive Writing Notebooks Writing components now make up a large portion of the English and Language Arts section of many standardized tests. This is true even in the primary grades. Learning writing skills can be challenging and it is so important for students to remain engaged – but it can be difficult to find resources that focus on writing standards and keep students engaged at
The Journey to Teaching Summarizing When I first started teaching, my 5th grade students REALLY struggled with summarizing. It was a skill I expected them to already know, and I couldn’t figure out how to teach summarizing so my students could master this important skill. It seemed so simple to me yet it was so difficult for them. I discovered that summarizing requires the ability to recount and retell, and
Why Teaching with Lexile is Important Using Lexile measures to differentiate and scaffold instruction has a significant impact on your students’ reading. Lexile measures help teachers make informed decisions about text selection to ensure students are both engaged and challenged. Teaching with Lexile measures properly adds a powerful tool that helps students make gains, increase confidence, and meet the demands of Common Core and other state standards. It is important
Student Data Notebooks Do you want a way to help students become responsible for their learning? Student success data notebooks are the key to teaching students to track their progress and help them have ownership of their learning; however, the thought of implementing data notebooks can be overwhelming. My Experience I first heard about student data notebooks from a partner teacher when I was teaching 5th grade. My partner teacher
How to Teach the Ask and Answer Questions in Literature Standards The 2nd and 3rd grade RL.2.1 / RL.3.1 ask and answer questions in literature standards are closely aligned. Both standards require students to determine what the text says explicitly to understand the key details within the text. The only major difference between these two standards is that the 6 Ws are used as the types of questions in the
How I Teach Common Core Reading Standards Many teachers and students cringe when it comes to Common Core reading passages. When thinking about them, their minds immediately go to boring standards based test prep. I’m here to tell you, teaching and learning about Common Core reading passages and answering standards-based questions does not have to be tedious or boring. It can actually be fun and fulfilling! Keep reading to learn
Teaching Second Grade Measurement Measurement is a big topic for second grade. There is a lot that goes into teaching the second grade Common Core measurement standards, and tons of engaging and interactive activities you can use. Here are some helpful tips for teaching your 2nd graders. What First Graders Need to Know Students should enter the 2nd grade with the following skills: Order 3 objects by length. (ex. The
Teaching Word Problems Word problems was one of the biggest units I taught in 2nd grade, and I know firsthand that teaching word problems to 2nd graders can be challenging. But as challenging as it can be, it is also extremely important. Word problems are a key skill for students and should be taught and reviewed throughout the entire year. Before we talk about teaching 2nd grade word problems, let’s
