Halloween can be a crazy day for teachers in the classroom. In all of the excitement of the day, students are bound to be a little extra. Keeping them focused on learning can be a huge challenge. In this post, I will share some activities that I do with my students to make sure that it is not a lost day. I used to just skip over holidays in the classroom since we needed to stay on pace to cover ... Read More about Halloween Activities that Teach
Early Finishers in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Early finishers...I don't recall being taught about them in college but the struggle of what exactly to have them work on is REAL. Teacher Struggles with Early Finishers When I first started teaching, I would just have them read if they finished something early. Seemed easy enough. But some students don't enjoy reading (*gasp* I know) and I didn't want them to hate it more by having to do it ... Read More about Early Finishers in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Student Accountability During Centers
Before teaching 5th grade for 10 years, I taught Preschool (3 year olds). So, using centers to teach and engage learners has always been a part of my lessons. It wasn't until I taught 5th grade, though, that I knew I needed a student accountability piece during centers. During the time that I taught 5th grade, I had students who would play U-Know just like UNO (without answering any of the ... Read More about Student Accountability During Centers
7 Classroom Procedures Games that Students Will Love
I always knew as a teacher that I needed to teach my students the classroom procedures. What I didn't know was that I should teach EVERY procedure. I just thought that there were some things that they should just know. Boy was I wrong! Once I figured that out, I would stand up there and tell them about each one. This is how you do this and this is how you do that...and then here do it this way... ... Read More about 7 Classroom Procedures Games that Students Will Love
6 Ways to Make Close Reading More Engaging
Close reading is a strategy where students read a passage multiple times in order to gain a deeper understanding of the text. When I first attacked close reading with my students, there was a lot of complaining. They didn't understand why they had to read a passage more than once and I didn't exactly know what I was doing. It was boring...for me and for them. That's when I decided to dive into ... Read More about 6 Ways to Make Close Reading More Engaging
