Have you ever stopped to examine your classroom library and compare the make up of the characters in your chapter books with the make up of the students in your classroom? Even if the make up of your classroom and school isn’t particularly diverse, it’s still so important to share a variety of diverse chapter books with our students that reflect…
Dear Teacher, The school year is winding down to a close, and whether or not I’ve let you know it, you’ve become a very important person to me. You’ve acted as more than just my teacher over the last nine months, and our time together has helped chart the course of the rest of my life. In addition to my teacher, you’ve…
Student writing and reading are intrinsically linked. As teachers, it’s not just our responsibility to teach our students the mechanics of writing and reading. Rather, we must work to ignite a passion for both! That connection between reading and writing is key to unlocking our students hidden potential as strong writers. We can use rich literature as mentor text (read more about why…
Sight words are important to reading success. It’s certainly not the only focus in our reading instruction, but students who receive effective sight word instruction improve as readers and have more confidence and they read! So, let’s talk about one way to engage students in sight word instruction. I’ve shared in the past some of my favorite hands on ways…
Escape rooms are engaging and fun, but can you incorporate them in your primary classroom? The answer is yes! Your primary students will love completing break out room activities in school, and you’ll love how easy they are to implement. They’re easier than you think! Here are 5 simple ways to make escape rooms work in your classroom! 1. Keep It…