Before you can really plan out the first days and weeks of your school year, you need a plan in place for how you intend to handle the routines and procedures in your classroom. Effective procedures are a hallmark of every well run class. They’re an indispensable part of a
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
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
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
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.
Hi teacher friends! We wanted to alert you of some upcoming free professional development opportunities that we’re hosting in the coming weeks. You’re invited to join us to learn about Unlocking the Power of Fluency for your students. This is a free, live training we will be offering on a
“Mom wants answers after child with ADHD receives ‘Least Likely to Pay Attention’ award.” That was in my newsfeed the other day. It’s easy to look at a story like that and think the teacher is incredibly cruel. And though it seems so obvious that this was a terrible, terrible idea,
There are some common mistakes that teachers make when they embark on teaching oral reading fluency. I’ve made some of these mistakes myself. But we hope to save you from making the same mistakes and have some idea for you of what to do instead. Mistake #1: Using ONLY 1 minute timed
Aren’t we all looking for a way to simplify the management of 25+ students and all their little word sort cards each week? A reader told us this tip a few years ago and we couldn’t believe how simple and easy it was. It’s a CRAYON. Here’s what you do…
There’s something just so fun about leap day. I think it must be the novelty of a day that only happens every 4 years and the feeling that you get a bonus day! We wanted to create a day of exciting leap day activities that were still meaningful. We chose
CLASS PARTY. The words sometimes strike fear in the heart of a teacher, right? As if we don’t already have enough to do, we have to plan a class party too? Oh the chaos! But it turns out it’s possible to put together a simple party, devoid of chaos, that’s
My favorite part about the start of the new year is that it feels like a second chance at a fresh start with your class! Here are some January activities, ideas, and tips to inspire you to take this opportunity to revitalize your classroom! 1. Sharpen your procedures Doesn’t it sometimes feel
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