How To Set Your Students Up For Success With High Independent Reading Expectations

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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

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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.  […]

3 Ways to Prepare for Effective Small Group Instruction

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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 three of these things, you […]

10 Things To Do with the Rest of the Class During Small Group Instruction!

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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!

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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 […]

Compare and Contrast “A Visit from St. Nicholas”

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Using A Visit from St. Nicholas to Compare and Contrast Perspectives   It’s no secret that we love “A Visit from St. Nicholas!”  You can read all about our favorite group project using the beloved poem here.  To add even more depth to this project, we like to present different versions of the poem to our […]

Promoting Reading in the Classroom

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Promoting Reading in Every Season! We believe in promoting reading at every opportunity is important, and there are so many different ways to do so!  Don’t overthink it!  Today’s 12 Days of Christmas Freebie is a set of December themed bookmarks, and to go along with the bookmarks, we’d like to share some of our […]

A Visit From St. Nick: A Collaborative Performance Project

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What can you do in December that is fun, engaging,  and aligns to standards? You could fill December with cute crafts and fun movies, but we wouldn’t recommend it!  You can really dig into the excitement of the season and still teach important skills and standards.  One of our very favorite projects happens to fall […]