“I’m done!” This is one of the most common phrases I hear in my ELA classroom. Ninety-nine percent of the time, my students are far from done, especially when it comes to their writing. I am always trying to tell my students that step one is to get all our ideas out. It doesn’t need …
Back to school can mean a lot of things. It means a fresh start, a new set of students and the start of something special. It also means a chance to get a new crew of students excited about reading. One of my favorite ways to do this is through First Chapter Friday. What is …
Poetry is one of those genres that tends to get a bad rap. I find students either LOVE poetry or HATE it. They are rarely in the middle. One of the big obstacles is students have to re-read poetry to really get to the heart and meaning of it. I find that exposure is important. …
Writing is hard. Teaching writing is even harder. For some, it comes naturally. For others, it is quite a struggle. My favorite writing strategy is using a joint construct to help students understand what I am expecting in their writing. What is a joint construct? Let’s start from the beginning. A joint construct is when …
I love using picture books. Anytime I can, I do. I find that they engage and excite my students instantly. As teachers, we have the students who love writing and the ones who would rather be doing anything else. This year, my class is filled with students who despise writing. I am constantly trying to …
Back to school season is upon us. With that comes juggling new routines, figuring out where everyone is and most importantly getting to know the students in front of us. To me, getting to know my students is the most important part of going back to school. I prioritize it over everything else. I strongly …
Vocabulary is one of the biggest struggles my students face in my room. They often just skip over unknown or difficult words because it is easier than trying to figure out the meaning. I strongly believe that using context clues is one of the biggest and most important lessons we teach our students. We need …
Hello spring! We survived winter! That is always a huge accomplishment for me. Spring means more daylight, sunshine and warmer temperatures. It also means test prep season is officially upon us. Test prep season often brings a lot of extra stress, but it doesn’t have to. Let’s discuss some tips to make test prep season …
Do your students dread having to write? Do you struggle to get your students to write complete responses? I have a solution for you that has changed the way my students respond to text dependent questions: RACES. What is RACES? RACES is an acronym that gives students a step by step formula on how …
“That was so much fun; I didn’t even realize we were learning!” When I hear a student say this, it makes my teacher heart so happy. Reading and writing instruction is a critical part of education. We want our students to be engaged and invested. When they are excited about a topic or lesson, …
