On his Facebook page a colleague of ours recently quoted a passage from American journalist Po Bronson’s work, “What Should I Do with My Life?” Bronson states, “I learned that it was in hard times that people usually changed the course of their life; in good items, they frequently only
Exit tickets for ELA are one of the easiest ways to incorporate formative assessments into your regular classroom routine! You just taught an amazing series of mini lessons! Then, as you review your students’ work, you realize they did not get it. Has this happened to you? It has certainly
As with anything in the classroom, high and clear expectations are a must when it comes to students’ independent reading time. Independent reading time is so important. Students need time to read books of their choice at their level for sustained periods of time, and we just can’t count on
Skill Groups vs. RtI Groups First things first! Before we can dive into the nitty gritty of creating the perfect small group rotation schedule, we need to make a few distinctions. For the purposes of this post, when we refer to our small groups, we are talking about our math
Before you start meeting with your small groups, you need to make sure you’ve set a solid foundation that will allow you to maintain effective math and reading small group instruction. There three things you need to do- plan ahead, get organized, and maintain rigor. If you account for all
There is no tip toeing around the fact that the success of your small group instruction is directly tied to the success of your students’ independence during this time. You will never be able to run an effective small group if you are constantly interrupted by a student outside the
One of the main components of running effective math and reading small groups is organization. How you organize your groups is essential! Organizing your small groups doesn’t have to be overwhelming or complicated. You can create well organized small groups in just three simple steps! Step 1: Choose a Focus
Finding Time for Small Groups We’ve been hearing it a lot lately, and I’m sure you’ve thought it too… “I don’t know how to fit it all in!!” We all want to make the use of every minute we have with our students, and yet, at the end of the
When I think of Christmas shopping, the first image that comes to mind is the frantic scene of Whoville filled with Whos running here and there and everywhere. Between shopping for your own kids, your parents, siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, etc. it can be a lot. It can be stressful
A Craft Worth Keeping If you’re a parent, I know you have thrown away your fair share of beautiful homemade treasures! We all have! This stained glass ornament craft is one that kids enjoy making, and parents can keep for years to come. We still have our kids’ stained glass
We have a combined 54 years of elementary teaching experience, and we are passionate about helping other teachers bring enthusiasm and rigor to their classrooms using best practices! When we aren’t at school, you can often find us reading new books or drinking a good cup of coffee!