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Category: 1st Grade

5 Ways to Simplify Word Sorting

Word sorting is a powerful instructional method but making it happen smoothly in the classroom can be a lot to manage! So we put together some of our best tips for simplifying the management of word sorting. Here are 5 tips to simplify word sorting: 1. MAKE A MASTER COPY

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Reading Fluency Charts

I used to think that reading fluency growth charts were a bad idea. We got requests to make them all the time and always brushed them off because WPM (correct words per minute rate) is NOT the most important part of fluency. Let me say that again, emphatically. SPEED ≠

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5 Things I ALWAYS Do On the First Day of School

The first day of school is a mix of excitement and anxiety, both for students and the teacher! Putting in the effort to carefully plan the first day of school helps me start the first day with confidence and calm. After many first days of school, I have a list

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3 Ways to Stop the Summer Slide

Do you know about the “Summer Slide”? It’s the phenomenon of students losing some of their newly acquired knowledge and skills over summer break. And elementary students are most at risk for experiencing this! So what can we do to help? 3 Ways to Stop the Summer Slide Luckily, there

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Build Your Fluency With Us!

Want to practice fluency with us? We recorded a screen video of us doing a week of 2nd Grade Fluency in a Flash together with the help of my two oldest kids. Watch the video to practice fluency with us! If you’re going to do this video day-by-day here are

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10 Ways to Make Conferences Parent-Friendly

We all know that Parent-Teacher conferences can be a really nerve-wracking time for teachers. But don’t forget that it can feel just as nerve-wracking for parents! They may have concerns about their students that are making them feel uneasy. They may feel awkward because they don’t know what to expect.

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15 Lovely Valentine’s Day Early Chapter Books

Is it just me or are seasonal books just more fun? I love reading something that puts me in the spirit of whatever season I’m in! I know my students will enjoy some seasonally appropriate Valentine books as well. And don’t worry, they’re not all mushy gushy! We’ve talked before

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Top 24 Christmas Books

As avid book lovers (and collectors), narrowing our favorite Christmas books down to a mere TWENTY FOUR seems like a gargantuan task. There are just so many wonderful Christmas books and more coming out each year. With careful consideration, we’ve whittled our favorites down to 24 of our very favorite

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Christmas Fluency Mini Lessons

Fluency practice mixed with Santa, gingerbread, Christmas lights, and reindeer is a recipe for a very good time! Our Christmas Fluency in a Flash digital mini lessons are about to become your students most favorite December activities! What is Fluency in a Flash? Fluency in a Flash is a brief,

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40 Early Chapter Books for Christmas

I love getting a new holiday-themed book to read for pleasure in December and why would our students be any different? It’s especially exciting when kids get the chance to read a holiday-themed tale about characters from a series they already love. We’ve talked before about how we love reading

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