Three Favorite Fall Books
Here in the south, it is JUST beginning to get cool. I can finally pull on some jeans without sweating to death! It is heaven! I love teaching seasonal topics because they are engaging [...]
Fitting in Independent Reading
Time and time again research has supported the importance of independent reading. I had no idea that the idea of independent- and even the NAME of independent reading could be controversial until I started [...]
Johnny Appleseed FUN!
It may 85 degrees here in the south, but I am totally dreaming of scarves, apples, and pumpkin EVERYTHING! Am I the only one? And with September, we have APPLES! Looking to keep things [...]
Getting the Most from Your Planner
When I was in the classroom I worked VERY hard to stay organized. So hard in fact, that I don’t think I was often very efficient. The older I get (and the more responsible I [...]
Creating a Classroom Community
We all know that the first week is the beginning of building a community. This may be a familiar phrase, but what does this actually mean? Create a classroom promise. I got this idea [...]
Establishing Routines- Back to School FREEBIE
That first day is so exciting, but it is SO overwhelming- for both the students and the teacher! LOL! I have shared in a previous post my first day of school lesson plans. You [...]
How to be a Good Friend FREEBIE
Taking a roomful of strangers and turning them into a family in a few months is a teacher’s specialty. There is no other profession that has to repeatedly build community and start from scratch [...]
What are Reading Partnerships?
Reading partnerships are not a new concepts. Teachers in the upper grades have been using them for many years within the reading workshop. Partnerships are a great, authentic ways to engage kids in reading [...]
What Does EXPLICIT Fluency Instruction Look Like?
In the past I have written several blog post about teaching fluency. In this blog post, I broke down and explained that fluency is how quickly, smoothly, and expressively (this may be referred to [...]