Discover how to easily manage class jobs to help improve student engagement, responsibility, and classroom community. Incorporating classroom jobs can enhance the learning environment by helping foster a sense of responsibility and community among students. Class jobs are also an effective way to engage students actively in their education while teaching essential life skills. Do … Read more
If you’re looking for books and mentor texts to teach opinion writing, you’re in the right place. Teaching opinion writing can be a challenge, however, I’ve found that picture book mentor texts can make all the difference in helping students understand different writing opinion pieces. Why use mentor texts? Using picture books to teach opinion … Read more
The first day of 2nd grade (or any grade for that matter) is kind of a whirlwind. It’s filled with excitement, wonder, and a little bit of chaos. But what actually happens on the first day of 2nd grade? Goals for the First Day of School The goals for the first day, are the same … Read more
If you’re looking for a better way to teach word problems, and more importantly, want your students to be more successful in solving word problems, I’m here to help. Teaching word problems in 2nd grade doesn’t have to be a challenge. Why is teaching word problems in 2nd grade so hard? When I first started … Read more
Listening skills is probably one of the top skills teachers (and parents) wish their students and kids had more of. I’ve found that using books to teach the importance of listening helps students I really like using picture books to help students understand why there have to be rules in the first place, as well … Read more
Whether you or not you love morning work, it’s necessary for so many of us. It’s typically the very first activity students will do each day. So how can teachers make the first impression of each day one that students look forward to, and sets a positive tone for the rest of the day? The … Read more
Having student work displayed is a HUGE piece of my classroom decor, and classroom community. But figuring out where and how to display student work, and changing out work samples can be tricky. Why is displaying student work important? Displaying student work is important for our classroom community, for visitors to our classroom, and sends … Read more
Sending home graded and ungraded student work can become overwhelming quickly. Papers that can stay at home can easily get mixed up with papers that need to be returned to school, and it really is a mess. What student work do I send home? I send home all student work. Sometimes it’s graded, and sometimes … Read more
Organizing classroom files has pretty much been the bane of my teaching career. If you’re looking for the easiest, best way to organize classroom files, you’re in the right place! Specifically, I’m talking about master copies of activities, interactive notebook pages, graphic organizers, worksheets, and craftivities. File Organization Systems I’ve Tried For one reason or … Read more
Meet the Teacher is equal parts excitement and chaos, but it can be the best event of the year with a little planning and organization. Keep reading to learn how to organize Meet the Teacher. Each year, I get so excited to meet my new students, and as usual, I am super nervous! I mean, … Read more
We all know that the beginning of any school year is crazy. There are more things to do, copy, print, and make than I can count. While I don’t spend a ton of my summer working on school stuff, there are 5 ways to prepare for a new school year that make my life easier. … Read more
I use a pacing guide to help me see the big picture for the school year. It’s what I pull out before I plan day-to-day lessons. If you’re wanting to know how to use a pacing guide, you’re in the right place. What is a pacing guide? A pacing guide is used to pace out … Read more
