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I know many teachers love to have a classroom elf who moves places every night and helps keep the behavior in check and it works for some! But I know my students just go insane when they see that thing. We have ladies in our cafeteria who have an elf

I am always trying to find the best strategies in working with my English Language Learners. Today I am going to share with you why you should be using photos with your English Language Learners to improve oral and written language skills. Why use photos with English Language Learners? First,

Do your students struggle with spelling? Writing is the time when I really want my students to use all their strategies to spell a word. Also they can use all their resources. This is one reason I love using personal dictionaries or word books. Students can look up a word

Today, I am talking formative assessments. We have been focusing on Formative Instructional Practices in my school using strategies like posting clear learning targets for students, making sure students know their learning targets and regular formative assessments to drive your instruction. So, I want to share with you 5 quick ways

Can we talk about Hall Passes? I just can’t even begin to think about how germy those things are! I have a thing about lanyard passes because they are so long they get wet and whatever else…..so I really wanted to get some ideas together that are an alternative to

Students love to celebrate their birthdays! Teachers love to keep it simple! Am I right? I know in my school (and probably in most schools) we are not allowed to use instructional time to celebrate students’ birthdays. If a student brings a birthday treat, we eat it in the lunchroom

Learning about the US Government is often a hard concept for students. The branches and levels of government can be confusing. Also, students at this age often do not understand the difference between city, state and country. One thing I do is to try to use visuals as much as

Ready to jump into Literature Circles but don’t know where to start? Check out this list of Do’s and Don’ts to get you going!  Student Centered Do: Literature Circles should be reader response driven! Not teacher driven. With a little modeling and practice, students can meet and discuss their books without

Spiral Review is a critical part of my day. There are several reasons why I believe spiral review is important. The very first reason why I love spiral review is purely management. I don’t like a chaotic morning. I feel like it just starts the day off wrong. So math

Turn Your Group Into A Team Being a team leader or grade chair is not an easy job! The job often involves making sure everyone on your team is happy, mediating disagreements or relaying unpleasant news from administration. Often team leaders have to tell everyone more things they just “have