When I’m creating my first week of school plans, I always make time for several read aloud books every day. Reading aloud picture books is a great way to: take a break from procedures and routines introduce ideas of friendship, community, rules, and more model fluent reading bond as a class over the shared experience…
1st Grade
Why I Don’t Use Words Their Way for Spelling
Why don’t I use Words Their Way for my sole phonics and spelling curriculum? And why don’t I use Words Their Way for my weekly spelling lists and spelling test? I get this question often. You know that I love Words Their Way. (We now use our own comprehensive phonics and spelling curriculum Word Play…
5 Teacher Books I Read Every Year
There are a few professional development books that I pull out to reference (and sometimes reread) every single year. The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton, Roxann Kriete, Responsive Classroom – Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones The First Days of School by Harry Wong The Joyful Classroom by Responsive Classroom The Daily…
More Halloween Books We Love
Try as we may, we just can’t get enough of seasonal books. Do you have the same seasonal-book-buying affliction? One of the ways I love using seasonal books is in a daily countdown to the holiday. Here’s how we count down to Halloween with a spooky read every day! We already have a post about…
Morning Routines: Setting the Stage for a Successful Day
How you start your day is often how you live your life. –Louise Hay Beginnings matter. What happens before the first bell even rings has a huge impact on the outcome of the entire day. The tone of the day is established in the first 20 minutes of the day. The effectiveness of the entire…