Creative Tips & Resources for Busy Teachers
hy spend time teaching “Soft Skills” to my students? If you haven’t heard the phrase “soft skills” basically it means, how to teach that stuff students aren’t assessed in standardized assessments. We used to call them social skills, manners, etc… Now it includes a bit more like how to handle
Preventing the summer learning loss known as “The Summer Slide”, is a tremendous issue for teachers and schools. Personally, I hate sitting down with parents at beginning of the year conferences and informing them that their child has a lower reading level at the start of the year than they had
This time of year, teachers get a wistful look in their eyes as we think back to days gone by, when social skill were as much a part of our curriculum as the 3 R’s. We know that social skills are important, and that many of our students could
My favorite alphabet book of all time hands down is, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I love to include in my classroom library a magnetic version of the alphabet tree. This is a seriously easy DIY you can complete in an afternoon. My students love building words on the sides of
Writers Block: It’s a problem for adults, and children alike. Ever had a student tell you they don’t know what to write about? Actually it’s not usually that they tell you. They start acting fidgety, whine at you, or even misbehave during writing time. Worst of all sometimes they simply
I have been teaching long enough to remember the days when celebrating a child’s birthday at school involved gigantic cakes, party games, treat bags for students, and huge interruptions to the day. I also remember when it swung all the way to only being allowed to give a no homework
I know I’ve seen posts on this topic up somewhere, but I wanted to add in my 2 cents on the subject. First of all, I LOVE thematic teaching.It makes planning so much easier, when you have a bit of inspiration for which lessons you may choose to do. Also
My favorite end of year writing assignment was inspired by my daughter’s amazing second grade teacher. It prompts students to write heartfelt notes to you and to each other. Every year I need to grab a box of tissues for while I read mine, and I bet you will need
We are currently working on identifying the authors purpose and central message of a story. It is a concept we find very hard but one of my cutie patooties wrote as her goal for the rest of the school year that she would “Learn more about what P.I.E. means and
