“Every sentence begins with a _____ and ends with a ______.” I repeated for the tenth time within a 30 minute writing lesson.  Before I get to the 11th time, I reflected and kicked myself for not adding one thing to my lesson 20 minutes ago…  AN ANCHOR CHART!  An anchor chart could have easily […]

I’ll admit… I wasn’t on the interactive notebooks train when it was presented to me (read: mandated with zero background or functional description for how to do it with first graders). But that’s one of the joys of teaching – you continually learn new and better ways to do things that can completely shift your […]

When it comes to teaching writing, I didn’t learn a whole lot in my teacher prep program. It is a skill I have honed over time. I was also fortunate enough to observe some master teachers who excel at their craft and learn from them. Throughout the years, I’ve amassed a collection of mentor texts […]

The beginning of the school year is a time of excitement and eagerness to meet your new students. It is also a time of stress and anxiety with EVERYTHING that needs to be done before that first day of teaching. You have a classroom to set up, lessons to plan, and copies to make. Well, […]

Journaling with students… Who’s got the time? My love for journals started with the locked journal in the Scholastic Book Club flier. I loved that thing and kept my key hidden in a secret spot. What my seven-year-old self had to keep away under lock and key I can’t imagine, but I felt so special […]

How many hours a week do you spend prepping spelling activities? 🪄 What if you had a resource that would allow you to create 60 spelling activities in 5 minutes or less?! What?!!! 🤯 Are you ready to get some of those hours back?!  Take a look at these fabulous EDITABLE Spelling Activities we have […]

Individual centers are nothing new…whether pre/post-COVID or in the thick of it, I use them with my students. Center learning has always been my jam. I feel like it gives me the best option for meeting their individual needs while in a class of 25 or so kids. Yes, we all do the small group […]

Art is a passion for me and such a huge part of a child’s education. Not only am I a blog author, but I am also an illustrator. What art? Not math or science? Well, you may be surprised to know that art is everywhere! Even in core subjects such as ELA, Math, STEM, and […]

Memories flash back to me standing alongside my peers in Elementary School.  My fingers are crossed behind my back, standing stiff as a board.  Hoping and wishing for an easy word.  I didn’t want to be the first one to sit down if I spelled it wrong.  The exercise is called our “spelling practice” to […]

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 and pencil weren’t working and […]

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 words. And since many do not follow […]

Teaching grammar doesn’t instill a sense of joy in the hearts of many teachers. Likewise, you don’t hear students often raving about the grammar lesson they had that day. It just seems so dry, so boring, so blah. Not that it isn’t an important skill, but when you don’t love what you’re teaching, it is […]