I wanted to share a simple and effective opinion writing activity I did with my 2nd graders last week. I was not really interested in writing prompts such as "What is your opinion on...cats?" BORING! That is not my style AT ALL! So instead, we did the following: Play the movie "UP" from 11:19 - 20:16. This is a short nine minute section where Mr. Fredrickson is living … [Read more...]
Advice from a Substitute Teacher – Do’s and Don’ts (FREEBIE!)
I am excited to welcome a great blogger here today named Mrs. R Mathis. She has been substitute teaching for the past six years. Today she is showing us all a glimpse of how a substitute teacher may see our classrooms. There are things that only another substitute teacher can tell you when it comes to leaving your class for a day. Read on for her thoughtful, thorough, and … [Read more...]
Class Reading Challenge (FREEBIE!!!)
I have a fun and FREE classroom reading challenge for you! I've included a motivation chart, parent letter, and all student materials! Anyone else feel like their class is starting spring fever waaaaaay too early? OMG. Last week, my students seemed totally disengaged during reading. This may partly be because we have delved deeply into informational book … [Read more...]
Anchor Charts: Reading and Writing Goals
Looking for anchor charts that remind students of their reading goals or writing goals? I have the perfect solution! If you have read many of my blog posts, you would know that I really love lamination+vis a vis markers! I think this obsession is because I used to work in a school without a laminator. My current school is very generous with our laminator and I am SO … [Read more...]
Turn and talk partners…
I love turn and talk partners so many times throughout my day! It is such a perfect strategy for letting everyone have a chance to express their thinking without having to call on each individual student. I am in charge of assigning partners and the partnerships last for about 3-4 weeks.For longer than I should admit, I did not have a system for keeping track of the … [Read more...]
Thinking Stems FREEBIE!
Language stems, thinking stems, sentence starters...there are a lot of different names for this incredible teaching strategy! When I am planning for the needs of my ESL students, I think of them as language stems. When I am planning how to make my students thinking go one step further, I call them thinking stems. To my students, I call them our "Super Sentence … [Read more...]
Show What You Know!
A while back, I posted a picture of my "Show What You Know" board and it went crazy on Pinterest! People have been asking for a copy of the top of my poster that says "Show What You Know". ...any my "Today's Reading Focus" heading: ...well, I lost the original digital files so I have created new ones that are actually cuter :) You can download them for FREE by clicking … [Read more...]
Teach Vocabulary With CHARADES of Meaning
A cornerstone for teaching vocabulary is making sure students understand the "shades of meaning" for verbs and adjectives. Starting in Kindergarten, students are expected to be able to discern the subtle differences in meaning between closely related verbs and adjectives. Think, how is "glare" different from "stare"? I teach in a high ESL population so this standard is a … [Read more...]
How to Use Classroom Points for Behavior Management
Looking for a new behavior management ideas? Try classroom points. It’s a positive reward system that works! I know a lot of teachers will see the title of this post and think "eek gad, extrinsic motivators". I totally would have passed up the idea of classroom points if I wasn't heavily coerced by one of my grade level colleagues. Now that I have the (simple) system in place, … [Read more...]
Essential Questions and the EASIEST year round bulletin board
Using Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings is a big part of the planning and instruction culture at my school. My principal is known for peeking into classrooms and asking students what essential questions they have been focusing on. I kind love it though because it keeps me on track. Here is a picture of how I hang the questions we are working on: Below is a … [Read more...]
