Organizing your classroom library is probably one of those things you never thought of until it was time to put it together. That’s how I was. I had accumulated a decently sized collection of books, and then I walked into a classroom where I was also given a good supply of books for my classroom library. I also had zero built in space for a library and I knew I needed to be shelving and
Last year, I found the book How to Catch an Elf through Scholastic and fell in love with it immediately! If you don’t know it, the elves and Santa go through various contraptions that are set in an effort to catch them. After reading it, I was inspired to create a fun, thematic, procedural writing unit with the book as the jumping point. If you aren’t familiar with the book, you can find it on
Learning sight words can be tricky and I’m always looking for new ways for students to practice their sight word recognition. One of the best way to improve students’ abilities to read sight words, is by having them read the words in various settings and fonts. Often, while doing sandwich drills with flash cards, I’d grow frustrated that students would know the word when they were working with me, but if they saw it anywhere
I used to use journal prompts as a quick and easy center, or in my morning work rotation. Over time, I started to only use prompts during the first couple weeks of the school year when we weren’t quite into our regular routines and I needed something students could easily do without having to spend too much time on procedures and expectations. Then, those journals would sit in the students’ desks for months at a
As a first and second grade teacher, my guided reading time is probably the most important and crucial time of my day. It’s where the magic happens: where students become readers. It also can be cumbersome and quickly dominate my planning time. I’ve had up to 6 different reading groups at a time with levels ranging from A to M in first grade! That’s a ton of levels to plan for, a ton of skills
I’ve spent the last 15 years teaching in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, and working beside elementary classrooms as an instructional coach and resource support. I’m passionate about math, literacy, and finding ways to make teachers’ days easier. I share from my experiences both in and out of the elementary classroom. Read more About Me.
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