Teachers, we are so close to the finish line! Spring is right around the corner, and we need all the motivation we can get. Something that keeps me going is all the fun units we get to do with our students near the end of the year. One of my all-time favorites is fairy tales. […]

Typically, as teachers, we put more time and energy into focusing on the students that have fallen behind or are struggling.  That’s where our focus lies, however, that doesn’t mean we ignore our middle-of-the-track or high flyers.  Yes, we want to make sure that those struggling students progress. It is also important to spend time […]

For many of us, our reading block lasts anywhere from 90-120 minutes every day.  That time is extremely important because it is the one time during the day that is protected and uninterrupted.  However, our reading block can seem like a huge chunk of time to keep students engaged.  For me, the time goes by […]

Ah, literacy, My personal favorite to teach. We do literacy in the afternoons and it makes for such an easy and relaxing end to the day. While all subject areas are important to teach, I find that literacy is where everything really ties together. The phonics they’ve been working on, the spelling patterns, the writing […]

“What lesson can we learn from the story?” When it comes to teaching the central message, choosing the story is my favorite part. Over the years I’ve compiled a list of tried and true tales, as well as some NEW titles to use when teaching central message. Keep reading for 19 read alouds for teaching […]

It is the phrase that we all dread “Your class has to go on quarantine for the next (insert number) days.” We have to prepare to continue instructing our students during the quarantine time. Right now, teachers have enough to stress over! Let Education to the Core help alleviate a little bit of that. With […]

Students with Dyslexia are sometimes the most challenging students to figure out! They seem brilliant at specific tasks but then never master the alphabet. They can recite facts about things that are so unbelievably high, but they can’t remember numbers past 20. Some of these students don’t appear to retain information daily, although we repeatedly […]

“Brush-a, brush-a brush-a”… anytime I pick up a toothbrush I act like the sleepover scene in the movie “Grease”.   This is of course before I start a refrain of “Look at me I’m Sandra Dee” in the mirror.   Alright, now that I am finished embarrassing myself let’s get back to the topic at […]

Improving reading fluency in our students is one of the main goals of any elementary school teacher. I personally struggle with finding additional resources to help build student fluency.  However, I knew I found my answer when I began using Education to the Core’s Reading Fluency Passages within my lessons.  I am not sure if […]

Should I still teach sight words? Teachers everywhere question whether they should pitch their sight words activities and resources and instead focus on phonics, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness. We know that sight words are essential to helping our emergent readers gain confidence, fluency, and comprehension. We also see the importance of students learning to […]

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 […]