Enriching Young Minds & Hearts - Page 2 of 4 - Meeting the needs of all learners

Word Sort Extension Activities

October 1, 2019

One of my favorite things about a word sort is that you can do SOOOOO many different things with them!! Let’s explore all of the cool things you can do with word sorts, 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,… Read More

The Maker Mindset

September 25, 2019

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 would describe… Read More

Word Study: How to Run Word Sorts in Your Classroom

September 2, 2019

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

February 24, 2018

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… Read More

Using Highlighters as a Math Strategy

January 29, 2018

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,… Read More

Acting Words Out; A Reading Strategy

January 22, 2018

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 brains to recall the information they have learned. Add a… Read More