(*probably a bit of an exaggeration but you get it) For every test I give, I lose track of who took it, who still needs to finish it, who took the graded test home to be signed, and who returned it. Not to mention the plethora of other papers that students need to return to… Continue reading How Grading Lists Can Save Your Sanity
Randomized “Assigned” Seating on the first day of school? Yes! In the past, I’ve assigned seats AND I’ve allowed my new students to choose where they’d like to sit on Day 1, with mixed results. I want to give my students some control over their environment whenever I can so in my flexible seating classroom… Continue reading A Fun Way To Assign Seating To Your Students On the First Day of School
Alex has 12 pieces of fruit in a basket. She has oranges, apples, and bananas. There is the same number of each kind of fruit in her basket. How many pieces of each type of fruit does Alex have? There’s no debate that students need to be proficient with their multiplication facts, not just for… Continue reading Strategies for Multiplication and Division
I always found that taking attendance in a virtual setting was extremely challenging. I used this Jamboard on my recent virtual snow day, and it was a hit! Try using this to take attendance on days when you have to teach virtually. Students choose an image to move to their class student number to indicate… Continue reading Fun (and Functional!) Virtual Attendance Jamboard
Let’s face it: every teacher has their own style and set of expectations for their students, which means that each year groups of kids must learn and acclimate themselves to new procedures. How do we share our classroom routines with our new students without taking up too much time? Before I jump into how I… Continue reading How to Introduce (or Reintroduce) Students to Your Classroom Procedures
Third grade math word problems are no joke I’ve used these group response pages for reading plenty of times, so a couple of years ago I updated them to use with math. They are crucial for encouraging students to discuss their thinking. After demonstrating the process, I posted different problems around the classroom and assigned… Continue reading Math Problem Group Response Pages
Stinky Feet will forever be my favorite way to review for math! When I saw this from Kelsee { @mrshudsonteaches on Instagram } I knew I’d love it (and my students would too!). As a former special education teacher, I’m hyper-aware that review “games” don’t always help every child. Time limits don’t allow kids time to… Continue reading The Best Review Game Ever!
What is one thing you implemented during crisis teaching that you’ll continue to do because it’s just good practice? For me it’s Mindful Breathing. To be honest, I knew about Mindful Breathing before last year. In fact, teachers at my school shared out about the importance of Mindfulness years ago, after several of them attended… Continue reading Mindful Breathing
Our state testing begins in a few weeks and I’ve been thinking about how my students might be feeling about it. My usual “Fruit Puns Motivation Tags” are always a hit (who doesn’t love a good pun?), but I realized that my comments are just empty praise for kids with anxiety and self-doubt. We talk… Continue reading #PositiveSelfTalk
Do you have your students participate in the 40 Book Challenge? I’ve been doing it ever since I read Donalyn Miller’s book The Book Whisperer. The idea of a tangible way to inspire my students to read a wide variety of books was exciting. The problem was I couldn’t figure out a way to manage… Continue reading Genre Punch Cards
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