Guided reading is under the microscope right now with the rise of the science of reading, and for good cause (but we’ll get to that). Can I tell you a secret about small group reading instruction? In my entire teaching career (and I pre-date Pinterest), I have never done traditional guided reading. Never. So, here’s what I do instead of…
Narrative writing is often one of the first forms of writing kindergarten and first grade students do. This is because writing a personal narrative, or writing about our own experiences, is often less challenging than other form of writing. Still, teaching young children how to write narrative pieces can feel overwhelming. Here is how to introduce narrative writing step by…
Sight words are words that you just have to memorize because they don’t “follow the rules”, right? Actually, wrong! Many of us, including myself, have taught this for years. In fact, I was taught this as a student. However, this is just not true. The good thing is that the truth is this: sight words actually CAN be sounded out.…
Being a teacher is hard work. So is being a teacher mom (or a teacher parent, if you’re not a mom). It’s been a steep learning curve to get back into the swing of teaching full time while also getting my own 3 kids out the door each day. Add trying to feed my family and keep my house (semi)…
When winter break ends and you head back to school, it’s so easy to want to jump right back into where you left off. However, if you’ve had a week or two, or maybe even three off, there’s a handful of things you’re going to want to do first. Here are 5 things to do when you get back from…