Teaching children to read is perhaps the single most important job we have as elementary school teachers. Reading is the foundation for everything! There have been a lot of theories and much debate about the best strategies for teaching reading. I’ve spent a lot of time studying literacy—enough to know
Do your students struggle to write content that actually follows the prompt? If so, you are not alone! It can be frustrating when students don’t comprehend the writing prompt, especially because the state tests are jam-packed with prompts that must be followed. In recent years, the Common Core writing standards have gotten laser-focused on writing to sources rather than process writing.
One of my favorite ways to teach students to edit their writing pieces is through a collaborative activity that I like to call Musical Papers. In my classroom, I really value student collaboration and I make opportunities for the kids to work together whenever possible. This activity can be done with any writing piece, and it’s great for teaching students how to hone in on their editing skills. It’s also super fun!
Growth mindset is one of the most important values we can instill in our students. Growth mindset teaches that no matter what, we are capable of succeeding with the right amount of perseverance, dedication, and hard work. What teacher wouldn’t want to base lessons on this concept? Inspirational mentor texts are one of the best methods to teach growth mindset, in my experience.
How do you teach point of view to your students? It’s one of the most important concepts we can teach because it helps our kiddos take other people’s experiences, feelings, and life situations into account. In other words, empathy!
It’s not easy being a kid! Helping our students develop a positive self-image is one of the most important roles we can play as teachers. One of my favorite themed units to teach is “Be Yourself,” where we explore what makes us unique and learn to celebrate our differences.
The goal of using mentor texts in the classroom is quite simple: students learn by example, so in order to learn awesome writing skills, kids need to read awesome examples of writing!
Writing + Community Building = Awesomeness When it was time for me to graduate from the fifth grade, we were told that our culmination theme was “America, the Beautiful,” and that there would be a speech writing contest where the winner could read their speech at the ceremony. I remember
Often times when I’m teaching my students how to write a multi-paragraph essay, I find that they can get repetitive when adding their details to their body paragraphs. They also write short, simple sentences that do not provide much detail and therefore are not that interesting. My favorite way to
