December is jam-packed with lots of holidays, and celebrations. Just with any other time of the year, I love having read-alouds that compliment whatever is going on. I split this post into different sections so you can easily find the topic you’re looking for. Plus, there’s lots of non-fiction books too, which I marked as … Read more
Halloween seems an appropriate day to dust off the cobwebs on my little ol’ blog, and share some of my favorite Thanksgiving read-alouds. Favorite Thanksgiving Read-Alouds Thanksgiving is easily one of my most favorite times of the year, and I’ve collected Thanksgiving themed read-alouds since I first started teaching. There’s so many Thanksgiving books I … 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
If you’re looking for must-read books for elementary teachers, then you’re in the right place. It’s almost summertime, and I’m already thinking about what professional development books I’d like to read. I don’t really get to do much PD reading during the school year because I’m just so dang busy. #teacherproblems With so many teacher … Read more
Mondays after a break are always hard. After any break, I like to review procedures, routines, and expectations, and most importantly like to remind students that our classroom runs on love and kindness. When I found out about The Jelly Donut Difference, I knew it would be the perfect book to share with my class … Read more
I love books. I love picture books. I love BRAND NEW picture books. Enter: Sneaky Spinach! Each year, we spend about a week talking about making healthy food choices – you know…being able to tell the difference between healthy food and junk food. The problem, is that I was missing a really good quality read … Read more
I love books that compliment seasons, holidays, or celebrations and this post is dedicated to 100th day of school read alouds! It’s always a little crazy to think about the 100th Day of School! How have we already been in school for 100 days? A few days ago, I shared how my sweets seconds and … Read more
EEEK! We started opinion writing last week…only my favorite writing genre to teach! I’ve got my favorite mentor texts ready to go, and even found a few new books I can’t wait to use! Throughout this post, you’ll find Amazon Affiliate links. This means I receive a small commission if you purchase something through that … Read more
When we get back from the break, my sweet seconds and I will be diving into folktales (right after we do some New Year activities)! We spend the entire 3rd 9 weeks comparing and contrasting all sorts of folktales (Goldilocks, 3 Little Pigs, Cinderella…you get the idea). The week we get back though, we’re reviewing … Read more
Happy New Year (almost)! It’s this time of year that I start thinking about my own resolutions for the new year. Granted, we all have resolutions we don’t keep (or for not very long), and regardless about how your feel about resolutions, it’s a great chance to be reflective! I like for my students to … 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
