After teaching third grade, I realized just how important it was to make sure students do rigorous multi-step word problems in the primary grades. Last year, I made it a point to be sure that my 1st and 2nd graders were solving word problems that required them to do multiple
Last year I wanted to be sure that the Thinking Hats were visible in my classroom so we could utilize them as much as possible. I created this bulletin board to make that possible: The hats are a thin plastic from Party City that allowed me to punch a hole
A focus I had last year and will continue this year is goal setting. My students were very motivated by setting goals, and I think it is important for us as teachers to help students learn how to set realistic goals and teach them how to track progress. If you’d
One of my favorite things to do with my class at the beginning of the year is any kind of team building activity. We often think about it for the first week or two of school, but I think it’s a great thing to do throughout the year, too. Building
One of the most popular posts on my blog has been this one about Spiral Multiplication. I taught my 3rd graders how to play last year, and I thought I could modify it and make it work for my 1st and 2nd graders this year as well. The best part
Here it is! This is part one of my linky party “Gear Up with Teaching Strategies”. I wanted to create this linky party to get teachers ready for the year. As tempted as we all are to go straight to decorating and organizing our rooms, it’s also good for us
Knowing that I am going to have a room full of not only gifted children but highly gifted children this year has really got me thinking about how I am going to challenge them from the start. It’s what made me decide it would be a good idea to have
Last year I found this great idea of turning a straw dispenser into a pencil dispenser DIY. I love it because the students can’t shuffle though the pencils forever just to find that special one. They get whatever comes out! I originally found the idea here: After scouring the Amazon.com
When we have our Meet the Teacher Night before school starts, I’m planning to have a photo booth in my classroom. Since it’s a new program and that kids don’t know each other at all yet, I thought it might be nice if on the first day, they come in
I’ve been eying this back to school wreath for a few weeks now and decided it was time to make it! You can view the original post from Create.Craft.Love here. You make recognize it from my recent Pinterest Finds! I went to Hobby Lobby after making a list of what
