I always like to think of January “back to school” as sort of a reset after Christmas Break. Everyone feels refreshed, and ready to tackle the second part of the school year. It’s also the perfect time to revisit some of the growth mindset books I shared with my students at the beginning of the … Read more
It’s no secret that I love books! I especially love books that help my students understand kindness, community, friendships, and teach valuable life lessons. The follow list of books is pretty extensive back-to-school read aloud list. I don’t read these all in one day, but rather spread them out over the course of the first … Read more
It’s official…the aliens have arrived, and taken over my sweet little first graders. It actually happened a couple of weeks ago. #facepalm I needed to get my kiddos under control and keep the calm #likeyesterday. So you know all those adorable stickers at Target that are only $1??? Well, I buy them like I need … Read more
Last week we started opinion writing! It’s my FAVORITE genre to teach, and typically, the one my sweet seconds like best too! I thought I’d share how I launch opinion writing! I spend an entire week launching this particular writing genre – I want my kids to feel comfortable sharing their opinion, as well as … Read more
I posted a few days ago about the very first lesson I teach when launching writer’s workshop. It was all about figuring out what writers do. If you missed it, you can read about it here. Once students have started contributing to our What Writer’s Do anchor chart, we look at how writers decide what … Read more
One of our very first writer’s workshop lessons is thinking about what writers actually do. I think most students have this idea that in order to be a writer, you have to sit a write a really long story, when in fact anyone who uses words to express an idea is a writer. Writers make … Read more
I’m not even going to lie…there are 10 days left of school, and I’m pretty freaking excited. True Life. It’s just been one of those rough years, and I’m ready to for a break, and need to recharge over the summer. Plus, I have a few new ideas for next year that I can’t wait … Read more
