The holiday season is full of opportunities to have meaningful classroom conversations, and picture book read-alouds are the perfect place to start. Many of the books in this post aren’t your typical holiday stories. But,…
Practicing multisyllabic words can feel dry if the kids aren’t engaged. And when it feels boring, they usually won’t put in their best effort. With simple, engaging activities, you can give students plenty of multisyllabic…
If you’ve ever listened to a student read aloud and try to decode a multisyllabic word, you recognize the pause, the sigh, and then either a wild guess or a skip. It’s not that they…
Spiral review is one of those things we know our students need, but it can get boring fast. Another worksheet. Another set of problems. Students rush through it, without putting in much effort to understand…
Have you ever listened to your students read and noticed them stumble, pause, or skip over longer words? Multisyllabic words can feel intimidating. Even for otherwise confident readers. That’s why it’s so important to give…
Math games are a great way to keep students engaged but they can also be used for differentiation. And you don’t need to create separate versions of the same game or prep a bunch of…
Teaching word parts like prefixes and suffixes doesn’t have to take a ton of time. And it definitely doesn’t have to mean adding another program or complicated routine to your day. There are simple, low-prep…
The first few days of math instruction can feel like a race to get started with your new curriculum. But before jumping into the first unit, it’s worth pausing to see what your students actually…
One of the biggest challenges at the start of the year is figuring out how to get every student engaged with reading. Especially when some of them claim they don’t like to read. That’s why…
The first few weeks of math instruction is the perfect time to focus on establishing classroom routines while easing students back into math in a fun and low-pressure way. Choose activities that are simple to…