One of the biggest challenges for a new teacher (or a teacher moving grade levels) can be building up your classroom library. It’s so important to have a robust selection of books for your students but that doesn’t mean you need to break the bank to do it! Here are
Back-to-school is the worst of times. It’s so stressful and exhausting (seriously it’s so, so tiring!). It’s also the best of times! The feeling of a new beginning is absolutely exhilarating. I love that fresh start, where everything is possible and I haven’t screwed up…yet! After 17+ first days of
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
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 new year is that it feels like a second chance at a fresh start with your class! Here are some ideas and tips to inspire you to take this opportunity to revitalize your classroom! 1. Sharpen your procedures Doesn’t it sometimes feel like you come back from
For a long time, fluency was the forgotten component of reading instruction. I know it never came up in my college courses! But in the last 10 years or so, the view has shifted. Fluency has come to be recognized as a vital skill in developing proficient readers. For the
Timed, repeated readings with feedback are one of the best ways to improve students’ reading fluency. Read more about repeated readings here! How you manage repeated readings depends on what works best in your class. Some teachers have parent helpers or aides work with the students. Some teachers do timed
I remember when they handed me my list of kids who hadn’t passed their DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency. It seemed like it must be a cruel joke! Nonsense words? Really????? Over time I’ve come to love and hate Nonsense Word Fluency. I love it because that first year with DIBELS
Once students know letter names, they’re poised to master letter sounds. Yay! We have a set of homework pages to help your little learners take this next step. Like our Letter Name Fluency (LNF), the first place to start with Letter Sound Fluency (LSF) is assessment. For this test, the
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