What is reading intervention? I’ll break it down like this. It’s Girl Scout cookie season and you cannot resist the sweet smile of the little girls outside Walmart. They sucker you (I mean persuade you) into buying not one, but FIVE boxes of cookies. You start with one cookie but pretty soon ... Read More
Students Say the Sweetest Things… Sometimes
Students... the real reason we get up each morning and go to school. They shine a light and make our days enjoyable and exciting. We are served with compliments, jokes, and blunt realities each day from their little mouths. Most days, we hear "Teacher, I love you.", "You look so pretty today.", and ... Read More
10 Steps To Creating A Homeschool Unit Study
Hello Homeschool Fam! With Covid-19 so many of us have children hybrid learning, virtual learning, or homeschooling. Maybe a combination of all of them! This is going to be our second year of homeschooling, and I am so excited for this new beginning! However, the one thing I'm most excited about ... Read More
13 Fun Ways to Get Reluctant Writers Writing
As educators, sometimes we need to get creative! In one of my first years teaching First Grade, I found myself standing in front of a large group of disinterested and reluctant writers. Whenever I said the words “Time for our Journal writing”... I heard audible groans and disgusted faces. Paper ... Read More
Top 10 Bernie Sanders Memes for Teachers
Social media is full of memes, but I can't get enough of all of the Bernie Sanders memes that have been flying around social media. I find that every day there are new ones. It is only fitting that we grab the ones made for teachers, especially since it was a teacher who made the iconic mittens that ... Read More
11 Activities for Emergent Readers to Practice Fluency
While activities for emergent readers to practice fluency can look slightly different, the basic concepts are the same - helping students to lessen their focus on decoding words so that they can comprehend the meaning of the text and make connections, all while adding phrasing/appropriate pauses to ... Read More
YouTube Videos that Teach PHONICS
Phonics videos are great to use in a variety of settings! I use phonics videos to get my students started in the morning, during indoor recesses, brain breaks, 5-minute time gaps, and of course during reading block. They are a great tool to get your students up and moving while learning phonics ... Read More
20 Interview Questions that New Teachers Want to Prepare For
Whether you are a brand new teacher looking to land your dream job as an educator or a veteran teacher that could be looking for a change of scenery or relocating...this blog is for you! When it comes to teacher interviews oftentimes we stress out over what they could possibly ask us. We could be ... Read More
11 Ways to Kickstart Your Math Block
I absolutely LOVE math. There’s something about numbers and figuring out solutions that thrill me as an educator. Figuring out how to put together my math block was a challenge though. “Do I have a solid intro?” “Is there enough hands-on instruction?” “How do I manage my small group time?” “What ... Read More
28 Famous Inventors Your Students NEED to Know!
Where would we be today without some of the most famous inventors in history? We owe board games, the way we plant crops, automobiles, medicinal breakthroughs, and our greatest current lifeline, computers to these creative people. I have always enjoyed discussing famous inventors and inventions with ... Read More
Things Teachers Say That Aren’t Heard at an Office Job
Frequently heard by teachers at my school: ‘you won’t hear that at State Farm’. You know what I am talking about; those silly things we say as teachers that 1) we never dreamed we would say and 2) we can’t believe we really just said. Read this list of things I’ve heard teachers say this week at my ... Read More
13 Digital Resources and Games for Sight Words
Sight words. While there is disagreement on what should make up that list and at what level, we know that they are important to helping our emergent readers gain confidence, fluency, and comprehension. When students know the sight words, their cognitive energy is freed to tackle more challenging ... Read More
