The end of the year is a fantastic time to take your class on a field trip! By then testing is over, most curriculums have ended, and you need something to keep students attention until the year is over. Why not go on a field trip?! Now, you might be thinking, “Why is she writing this post at the end […]
Fantastic Free/Low Cost Field Trips
Stay Checked In Until the Last Day
Many of your students may already be checked out for the year. That is why it is important for us to not follow suit and check out along with them. I’m entering the last 3 weeks of school and I know some of you may have more than that and some of you may have less. Regardless of how many […]
LETRS Training: Final Update!
Well, I did it! I successfully completed LETRS training this past week. I had finished the last live Zoom session last month, but still had a unit to go on the online platform along with the final assessment. It really is a two year commitment that takes many hours to complete. Here is my final update now that I have […]
Thank You, Teachers!
Teacher Appreciation week is next week! Is your school/district doing anything fun to celebrate all of you amazing educators? My school does a little something extra each day and encourages students to bring in gifts for their teachers. A gift idea sheet is sent home with students and all are free and require minimal supplies. That way all students are […]
10 Splendid Spring Read Alouds
Do your students have Spring Fever yet? It is certainly starting to spring up around my school! With warmer weather, more sunshine, and summer coming ever nearer, student behaviors are starting to ramp up. One way to promote a calm environment is by reading to your students. Here are 10 splendid spring read alouds to add to your collection! 1. […]
5 Marvelous Mother’s Day Gifts to Make in the Classroom
Mother’s Day is three weeks away! That makes it time to start thinking about and having students start creating a gift for their mom or other important female (grandma, aunt, like-a-mother etc.) in their life! As a mom, I always loved when my kids would bring home their Mother’s Day gift from school. They would come home with big grins […]
10 Best Short Videos for Teaching Phonics Rules
We want students to retain what we are teaching them. A great way to do this is by using videos! And what’s better than that, is a video with music! Typically, I play a video at the beginning or the end of the lesson. I will play it either as an introduction to what we are going to learn or […]
The Most Important Thing for Increasing Reading Fluency
I hope everyone got the opportunity to get some much needed R&R over Spring Break! If your Spring Break just started, lucky you! Well, I am back to work tomorrow and looking forward to it for the most part. I don’t love getting up early, but I do love working with my students. And with that, I want to share […]
The Importance of Teaching Syllable Types
I was not familiar with syllable types until recently. Reading came naturally to me, so I never really thought about words and word parts having a finite amount of combinations that can be taught. After beginning training in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) last year, I was introduced to the 6 syllable types. Teaching the 6 […]
5 Eggs-cellent Easter Read Alouds
Easter is only a couple weeks away! It’s unbelievable that Easter is on the last day of March this year! I haven’t even worn my green for St. Patrick’s Day yet and I’m thinking about Easter. With thoughts of Easter, it’s time to share my book list of Eggs-cellent Easter read-alouds! 1. How to Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam […]