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 […]

Starting your 1st year of teaching and don’t know where to begin? Starting your 20th year of teaching and need some new ideas? Somewhere in the middle? We’ve got you covered. Just in case you’re not like me (ahem – highly obsessed with picture books – I have shelf after shelf full of picture books and […]

Have you ever heard of MORNING MEETINGS? (Also known as, the couple extra minutes to take attendance, submit lunch counts, read parent notes, etc.😜🙌) This is a small moment at the start of the day (15-20 minutes total) that focuses on building classroom community. After the school year we’ve endured, we NEED that community now more […]

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, […]

Reading is everywhere. As an adult, you have to read books, lesson plans, emails, texts, posts, blogs, recipes, directions, etc., every single day. So you already know how essential it is for your young students to become proficient with reading skills. And comprehension and comprehension activities are vital for reading. Our students must, in simplest […]

We asked first-year teachers in our Fearless Teachers Facebook groups to ask their burning first-year teacher questions and some seasoned teachers gave us their answers… question #3 is always one that I get asked. 😊 There is a first time for everything, but sometimes we forget what it was like doing what we do every […]