One of my favorite things about word sorts is that you can do SOOOOO many different things with them!! Let's explore all of the cool things you can do to help students with reading fluency, comprehension, writing and more! For Fluency Fast "Pencil" Once the sort is complete, use the utensil of your choice (pencil, pen, pointer, finger) to point to ... read more
The Maker Mindset
Recently, Teachers Pay Teachers reached out to me to inquire about what I thought about the makerspace movement and specifically the maker mindset. They posed wonderful questions and I thought my responses were worth sharing with you! (I don't remember the exact wording on the questions they asked, but here's the gist.) What is the maker mindset? I ... read more
Word Study: How to Run Word Sorts in Your Classroom
Word study is a key component of learning to read. We want students to be aware of the patterns in words, so that they can become more fluent readers. This is where word sorts come into play. Word sorts help students recognize the spelling patterns in words, all while manipulating the words to incorporate hands-on learning. If you are considering ... read more
Character Cash; How To Encourage Students to Exhibit the Character Traits We Teach
We teach the ins and outs of character education all the time. We teach multiple character traits on a daily, weekly or monthly basis all throughout the year. But when do we let our students know that we are watching for them to exhibit those traits? When do we let our students know that they actually have exhibited the trait we are focusing ... read more
Using Highlighters as a Math Strategy
Using highlighters is one of my all-time favorite math strategies. It is hands-on and helps students hone in on exactly what the problem is asking them to do. Maybe it's adding color to their problems. Maybe it's the fact that it's helping students focus in on the problem. Or both! The best part is that it can be used anytime, anywhere and in ... read more
Acting Words Out; A Reading Strategy
Movement, action, excitement, pretending, play; all things kids love. When we can incorporate these things into learning to read, we've hit the memorization jackpot. Engagement instantly goes up and retention of information skyrockets. To top it all off, having students performing actions while practicing the words they are learning helps their ... read more
Giving Compliments; A Classroom Management Strategy
They say compliments go a long way and it's oh so true. While giving compliments can seem more like positive praise and classroom community building, it also works wonders for classroom management. Below are a few different ways you can incorporate giving compliments in your daily classroom routine to not only provide that positivity and ... read more
How to Increase Reading Fluency and Stop Sound by Sound Decoding
C-a-t. Caaaaat. Cat. For those of use teaching our students and children to read, the sounds above are so exciting to hear! We jump for joy, give them as much as praise as possible and instill in hem how proud they should be for learning to read. Fast forward a few months and these same actions are less exciting and a little more monotonous. Day ... read more
5 Student Created Name Tag Ideas for Any Grade
` After almost two decades of writing out name tags serveral times a year for my students in primary grades, I was ready for something different when I moved up into the world of upper grades. I wanted to take a new approach with different, creative ways that my students could create their own name tags and take ownership over their own learning ... read more
Homemade Gifts from the Heart; The Good, The Bad & The Happy
I am the first to admit that I am no Betty Crocker. At times, I try to harness my inner Martha Stewart, but...well, let's just say that doesn't quite work out either. This fact of life has never really bothered me. We've gotta know what our strengths are, right? And after all, that's what restuarants and bakeries are for. At least that's what I ... read more
