Being a teacher over the last year has drained me! What seems to be making it harder this year are the false critiques of my curriculum choices for my students! Depending upon who you talk to or what Facebook group you follow, people are coming down hard with their opinions about the best way to […]

Teachers, there is so much on our plates this year. It feels like every teacher could use a 4 week paid vacation to the tropical destination of choice right about now. Anyone else? The work we are doing is so important, but the stress of being a teacher is no joke. We are always striving […]

Any teacher that has been in a primary classroom for some years knows that reading protocols change often. Too often, people make decisions that our curriculum needs improvement. And our teaching methods must change. And typically, it is people who do not teach young children to read that make those decisions! Right now, there are […]

Read-aloud time is one of my favorite parts of the school day! Your students are engaged, they get to listen to fluent reading, and everyone gets to rest and reset. There are so many great skills that your students can learn from books. Read-alouds can be an introduction to any topic. So… what about using […]

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 […]

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 […]

Teachers like myself sometimes have to scramble to find the right ways to use comprehension questions and the right materials for the job. I know that comprehension is such a vital skill for reading. I use my teaching skills of asking comprehension questions to check in with my students. But too often, I find myself […]

The month of April brings more than just showers and flowers. It is a time when we celebrate our autistic students and children. It is also National Deaf History Month. We need to take the time to educate ourselves on the best practices of inclusion, and how we teach equity to our students.  Think about […]

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 is spring!!!! I love […]

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 their reading so it sounds like talking. Not […]

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 skills.  Here are […]

Make no mistake…Black History is American History and should be taught year-round. Sadly, in classrooms across The United States, this isn’t always the case. Black History should be looked at as a critical opportunity to allow students to make connections to our Nation’s past with their lives, and the world they live in today. If […]