Whiteboards, or dry erase boards, are such a versatile and helpful classroom tool. They’re a great way to reduce paper use, do a quick, informal assessment, and give your students a chance to quickly jot down ideas. Today, I’ll share some ways I like to use whiteboards in my classroom. A Classroom Tool that Every Teacher Needs When first year…
Learning how to plan writing is incredibly important. If we are able to teach students how to make a plan before beginning writing, we are setting them up for writing success. If students don’t learn how to plan their writing, we end up with very long stories that don’t make sense, or super short stories that are lacking in detail. Today I’m going…
Back to School Must Reads for Teaching Empathy, Kindness, Acceptance, and Determination
July 8, 2018Back to School books your students will love that teach the important characteristics of empathy, kindness, acceptance, and determination. Perfect for the first weeks of school! The first week of school is all about two things in my classroom: setting up expectations and procedures and reading, reading, and more reading. I want my students to understand from day 1 that…
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…
November is a time for cooler temperatures, turkeys, and thankfulness! Today I’m going to share a simple way to instill an attitude of gratitude in your students this November as they prepare for Thanksgiving. By spending a little time each day focusing on thankfulness, by the end of the month, your students will see that they truly have so much…