Three Mindset Mantras Every Teacher Needs
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 talked about change. Hard times […]
How To Set Your Students Up For Success With High Independent Reading Expectations
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 students getting this time outside […]
How to Create the Perfect Math and Reading Small Group Rotation Schedule
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 and reading ability small groups. […]
10 Things To Do with the Rest of the Class During Small Group Instruction!
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 group needing help or instructions. […]
How To Organize Your Small Groups to Maximize Student Learning!
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 The first thing you need […]
Festive Exit Slips
Can you make formative assessments festive? Yes! You sure can! It’s no secret that we love a good exit slip! In ELA, one of my favorite ways to use the principles of exit slips is quick writes, or accountable writes. Quick writes are easy to customize to fit the season! I like to take whatever […]
How to Use Silent Signals in Your Classroom to Increase Your Student Engagement
We love silent signals, and you should too! Silent signals for the classroom are a great way to increase your student engagement! Every single student is involved 100% of the time, and you can tell what the entire class is thinking with just a glance. Silent signals can be for every classroom- not just elementary; […]
Exit Slips as Formative Assessments
Exit slips are a clear and powerful formative assessment tool. Every teacher should be using exit slips to drive classroom instruction! Take the guess work out of planning your instruction, and let exit slips be your guide!