“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 […]

Editable resources… they are every teacher’s DREAM!!! It is magical how typing words on one page transfers to other pages. Watching activities get completed in mere seconds! But this amazing technology can cause some frustration. We get many questions each day about our editable resources, and since we strive to make the lives of our […]

Do you switch out the books in your library with the changing of the seasons or months? It’s a great way to share changes and information with your students in a way they understand, through picture books. Books are such a vital part of our educational tool kits because reading is so important to instill […]

Getting our students reading is no easy task! We have our choppy readers, fast readers, super slow readers, and even non-readers all bundled together in our classrooms with needs. Oh my, the needs! But teachers like yourselves do miracles daily! Then by the end of 2nd and 3rd Grade, these kiddos are becoming masters of […]

I love Color by Number activities as do my students. Color by Number or Color by Skill can be classified as coloring activities with a math or other skill embedded. However, if you’re like me, then I’m sure you’ve been met with hesitation a time or two by colleagues or admin. Here are a few […]

Are you starting to see some behaviors in your classroom, such as non-stop talking, bullying, and problems with sharing and staying kind? Me, too!!! Well, I love to use a ton of children’s books throughout my year to focus on specific behaviors and then allow my students to engage in some meaningful, problem-solving dialogue so […]

September 15th to October 15th is when we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. It traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latinx Americans. During this month and throughout the year, we, as educators, should celebrate heritage rooted in all Latin American countries.  As was the case with Black History, LGBT Awareness, Women’s History, […]

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 […]

Guided reading and math groups are where all of the magic 🪄 happens. You get to hone in on the specific skills your students in that particular group need. You can do quick checks and explicitly reteach skills in new and innovative ways. But how do you ensure you maximize the time that you have […]

Developing phonemic awareness and mastering rhyming is crucial for our kinders, but do you ever feel you repeatedly do the same rhyming activities every day? Do you love all your rhyming picture books and matching games but sometimes think about changing things up?  We know how essential it is for rhyming activities to be fun […]

Have you ever had that one student who just seemed angry about everything?  Or the one that just cries at the drop of a hat?  Let’s start bringing in some books about various emotions and start the dialogue on teaching kids how to deal with some of them.   Identifying emotions is important at a young […]

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 […]