The number one thing to avoid to get kids to love reading!
Last fall, when we still had teacher candidates out in schools, there was a classroom I visited that had a sign on the front door that said, “Everyone is a reader, but some just haven’t found the right book yet.” It immediately caught my attention and put a smile on...
Top 5 tips for student writing conferences
In my humble opinion, student writing conferences are really the heart of a writer’s workshop. Sure, it is important to have strong, succinct mini-lessons (more on that in a future blog post!) and it is important for writers to have the opportunity to share their...
Organization For New Teachers
Welcome to Week 3 of the Summer Workshop for New Teachers! This week we are talking about organization for new teachers - it is a necessary topic for all teachers! This could be the never-ending blog post if I tried to share all the organization resources, hacks, and...
Classroom Theme – How To Choose
Choosing a classroom theme is one of the most important early decisions a teacher will make. Classroom themes vary widely from simple decoration to themes that become incorporated into every aspect of the classroom. Every teacher is different, and that is okay! A...
Nailing Your Teacher Interview
Cue the confetti! Start the disco lights! Welcome to the Summer Planning Workshop! I am so very excited to begin and help you prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. I know that everything seems confusing and overwhelming right now. I firmly believe that if we take...
Stop Living In the “What If’”
How to move past the ‘what if’s of our ever changing teaching environment during the time of COVID-19 Teaching.
Earth Day
Next to Christmas and my birthday, my favorite day of the year is Earth Day! I found out about it for the first time in college through a wonderful science methods professor that I had, Dr. John Beaver. Since then, I have always made a point to teach environmental...
Two Small Changes That Made All the Difference in My Classroom
Want to know the best way I have found to curb excess talking? How about the most equitable and easy way I found to handle classroom jobs? These two seemingly small changes made a huge impact in my classroom! Let’s talk about ways to curb the chatting first, shall we?...
Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King Day is a great opportunity to teach our students about the great legacy that Martin Luther created. This blog post contains a few activities that Michelle has used to help incorporate this in the classroom
Christmas Art Day, Part 1
Christmas is a great time to get students (and parents) involved in creative activities within the classroom, Christmas Art Days help to facilitate this.