School and the City

I don't know about you, but I have my students work with partners constantly. Sometimes partners are assigned strategically, based on data for intentional instruction. Sometimes, however, I just need my students to find a partner or at least someone to turn and talk to during think-pair-share. I was tired of my students taking forever to find a partner. I was tired of my kids working with the same people over and over. I was tired of saying "make a better choice" or "you aren't allowed to work together." I have equity sticks and use them often, but the partnerships aren't planned and therefore often aren't great. Here's a management trick to partner your students successfully - the first time,  every  time.  Thus, I introduce to you... The Partner Wheel! I originally heard this idea from Amie Dean, The Behavior Queen . (Side note: SHE'S AMAZING!) It's perfect for partnering your students. Put students that you...

I've already written all about HOW and WHY you should use choice boards in your classroom. Are you convinced yet? (If not, revisit that blog post here .) I've made tons of choice boards for my own classroom (13, to be exact!) and many others for YOUR classroom based on requests. View all of my choice boards here .  So are you ready to try choice boards, and maybe even wanting to make one personalized to your own classroom? THIS is the blog post for you!  Recently, I was featured on the Edverything Podcast reiterating why I love choice boards and telling teachers step by step how to make their own. (Listen here ).  Want a quick recap of the design segment of the podcast? Here are the basic steps I go through when making my choice boards: 1. Choose your topic and zoom in. 2. Review your standards BEFORE designing tasks... I learned this the hard way!  3. If needed, pull up a visual aid for Bloom's Taxonomy to get your...

Spring has sprung, and  a new season means new text features passages! First, let me tell you about how I teach text features in my classroom.  I love cutting up an old book, magazine, or Scholastic news to make an anchor chart. It's a great way to teach text features in context and make the concept a little less abstract.  Hand motions! Lots of hand motions. Whole brain teaching strategies help vocabulary stick.  See the full video here .  Revisit constantly. Every time you see a text feature, point it out, and discuss how it can help you with comprehension.  Three words: text features passages!  Learn more: I love using text features passages as practice and assessment. I originally created these products for my own classroom. I needed a way to assess my students’ understanding of text features other than by observation, and I wanted the assessment to tie in to our science and social studies curriculum...

I'm so excited, because April is HERE! It's my favorite month because... 1. spring break (duh) 2. my birthday 💁🏼 3. NATIONAL POETRY MONTH! I love using  poetry books  to teach my students poetry. I recently updated my poetry books to meet the needs of my third grade classroom: Use this book as a tool to teach your students poetry! Types of poems included: acrostic bio shape 5 senses haiku personification cinquain diamante (synonym and antonym) This product includes an example, a scaffolded prompt (You Try It!), and a blank space (Write Your Own) for EACH type of poem.  You can print 8.5 x 11 size books, or choose the format suitable for the mini books found in the Target Dollar Spot - sooo cute!  You can purchase the poetry book  here . Use it year after year for fun with your students! *                  *     ...

It's almost that time! *sigh* I've learned a lot about standardized testing throughout the years - unfortunately. Here are 4 of my favorite ways to help reduce my students' testing anxiety: 1. Put a Positive Spin On It Your language is important and will absolutely impact your students' attitude towards the test and therefore their performance. Start saying things like, "This is your opportunity to show how much you've learned this year," and "Your parents and I cannot wait to see how much you have grown!" Do you test in your classroom? Me too. That means I have to use butcher paper to cover up basically everything in my room, which is U-G-L-Y. One idea to make it better: Write inspirational quotes on top of that butcher paper. 2. Read All The Books There are many books about testing, but it's also a great time to talk about reducing anxiety and having strong work ethic. Here are some of my favorites: Testing: Testi...