When I first started teaching, the New Jersey standards required my first graders to learn to count coins up to 99 cents. It was always an extremely difficult concept because it require a lot of skill at once (skip count by different amount, identifying coins and remembering their value, addition etc) Thankfully, the standards have since been revised, and new…
Have you ever had a parent point to the fact that their child was struggling on “new math” or questioned the “crazy” or “illogical” ways that their child is learning? What about a parent who just doesn’t understand why the kids can’t learn how to do things the “normal” way, like they did when they were in school? I’ve been there…
Struggling writers. I will never forget the Aha moment when I realized WHY writing was so hard for my students. It was my second year of teaching, mid-writing lesson, mid way through our year in first grade. I had modeled, read great mentor texts, modeled, modeled, and modeled some more, and it JUST didn’t seem to be helping the majority…
I don’t know about you, but my favorite learning activities are those that normally the most simple. They’re typically my students’ favorite activities as well. Today I want to share some simple activities to that will help your students build their number sense in a fun and engaging (and simple) way. If you’ve been reading my blog, following me on…
If your classroom is anything like mine, recess is getting shorter and shorter each year and students are getting more and more wiggly. So now, more than ever, teachers need ways to add some much needed movement into their day. Here are 3 simple and effective tips to get your students moving that you can implement tomorrow! Watch my Facebook…