Finding great books for the first days of school, especially new ones, is always on my list! These are some of my favorite books that lend themselves to higher level thinking first day of school activities. I like to make sure we start the year off right with critical thinking!
To run a successful writing workshop, holding individual writing conferences with students is a must! For many teachers, this can be an uncomfortable task. I’m here to show you how to use a writing notebook to support your student teacher writing conferences so you always have something tangible to leave
In order to best prepare students for their futures, we need to infuse creativity in teaching. We often use the word “create” in objectives for students, but does this always mean students are truly being creative? Think through the following examples and see what you think. In order to foster
So, you want to use word problems in math class, but you aren’t sure of the best way to do this? Maybe you’ve been using them for more years than you can count, and you and your students long for something fresh? I’m not here to teach you an acronym
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a beautifully planned cooperative learning lesson only to watch it crumble? I have found this to happen in my classroom when I plan group work. I used to think the struggle stemmed from my classroom management. Some student behaviors would derail
Finding unique Thanksgiving activities for elementary aged students can be a challenge! I’ve compiled several Thanksgiving enrichment activities to give your usual Thanksgiving activities at school a boost! First Thanksgiving History When planning to teach about the first Thanksgiving, I used to have trouble coming up with something that
Using math warm-ups that require critical thinking everyday is a great idea. Not only does it help students practice thinking at higher levels, but it can also serve as a review of tough concepts. When you start out a lesson expecting students to think at high levels, they will likely
As teachers, we want to make sure we are doing our best to reach our students, right? You may already be pre-assessing to help you differentiate for your students which is amazing! But have you thought about how you can use formative assessment in the classroom to help you meet
Assessing students to inform instruction is certainly a main part of what we do as teachers, especially when we are aiming to differentiate lessons. However, it doesn’t always have to end with the teacher spending precious time grading and analyzing the scores. Well… that is as long as you are
I know, I know. For so many teachers, they have had it with being told to differentiate instruction. What seems to have become a buzzword in education has brought on quite the headache for many educators! But the truth is differentiation is not a new topic. It has been
