WHY USE BOOK COMPANIONS?
Book companions allow teachers to use one story to practice a number of core reading and writing skills.
In my classroom, it ensures that I continue to use literature to explore things like story structure, sequencing, character traits, letter writing formats, comprehension and more. We can also have fun with stories using partner plays, comic book writing, and art projects.
Using book companions keeps all the lessons focused and organized, makes my planning easier, and makes assessment simple because [Read More…]
Books That Teach Friendship and Social Skills
Our class spends a LOT of time learning social skills, problem solving, friendship and conflict resolution. This helps to create a peaceful environment where learning can thrive, and we do not have to spend the majority of our time solving interpersonal conflicts. We use interactive lessons from The Kindness Classroom SEL curriculum, along with many of the books listed below to reinforce concepts.
Click on any cover to see details of the story.
Llama Llama Time To Share by Anna Dewdney
Franklin Plays the [Read More…]
Teaching Social Skills: Growth Mindset Classroom
Welcome to the Social Skills Ideas Bank!
The Social Skills Idea Bank is a series of related posts, each dedicated to sharing strategies for teaching a particular social skill.
As teachers, our strength lies in sharing our ideas, experiences and strategies!
This is a growing list, and you are invited to contribute in the comments section. We hope you will, because there’s nothing like a good idea shared between teachers to make our jobs easier.
This post is about simple ways to guide students to thinking [Read More…]
S.T.E.M. and Growth Mindset
Here’s some real talk about my experience using STEM in the classroom.
When I am coordinating S.T.E.M. curriculum for grades 1-5, I observe many students exploring the STEM process who are truly engaged with hands-on learning.
For the most part, students LOVE it!
However…
Sometimes I also see students who are not yet comfortable with taking risks.
Some students are not emotionally equipped for dealing with the disappointment that arises when their great idea doesn’t quite work out the way they wanted.
Other students feel threatened by other students [Read More…]
Teaching Empathy and Kindness: A Book List
The Social Skills Idea Bank is a series of related posts, each dedicated to sharing strategies for teaching a particular social skill.
As teachers, our strength lies in sharing our ideas, experiences and strategies!
This is a growing list, and you are invited to contribute in the comments section. We hope you will, because there’s nothing like a good idea shared between teachers to make our jobs easier.
This post is about books you can use to teach empathy in the classroom
Let’s get started!
How do [Read More…]
Thanksgiving Art and Writing
How do you celebrate Thanksgiving in your classroom?
Do you celebrate “Friendsgiving” too?
WHAT EXACTLY IS “FRIENDSGIVING”?
Have you heard of “Friendsgiving”?
I was hearing this phrase everywhere and wondered what it was all about. Was I missing some new trend? NOPE. Turns out, it’s just like Thanksgiving, only you’re with your friends!
This is perfect for a group of friends who can’t afford to fly home to see relatives. But it’s also perfect for celebrating in the classroom. We’re all friends, and we’re all thankful!
I used [Read More…]
Teaching Gratitude and Kindness
How do you teach the concept of gratitude to your students? Many young learners don’t realize how much they have to be thankful for. They may not realize that not everyone has the things they have. Teaching appreciation for these things is an essential part of being a well-rounded person, so it’s well worth the time!
GRATITUDE AND KINDNESS CLASS BOOKS
We do a whole class project based on Random Acts of Kindness.
This is a simple page to send home with students. The [Read More…]
Strategies for Teaching New Concepts To Anxious Students
When introducing a new topic of learning, especially in math, I notice the anxiety levels in some students rise significantly. The more anxious students in my class begin to fidget and look uncomfortable when they see something unfamiliar because it falls outside of their comfort zone for known success.
These students are afraid to try and fail; since school is all about introducing new concepts and embracing the learning process, this is quite a problem. Here are some strategies I use in [Read More…]
Brain Breaks for the Classroom
Most teachers I know use brain breaks of some sort.
There is a lot of great research behind the idea of taking a few minutes out of your work block to refresh and move, before starting back again.
To me, brain breaks are like resetting your computer so it’s much more efficient when starting up again on the next task!
There’s a lot of fascinating research around how movement affects student learning.
Here are a few things I use the most through [Read More…]
Quotation Station: Writing About Quotes
I’m a big fan of good memes or quotations, and love to share and discuss them.
If a quotation is educationally meaningful, I often will share it with my students. They are perfect for inspiring meaningful discussions and higher level thinking! Sometimes we use these quotations or sayings as a springboard for journal writing.
While collecting quotations for students, I thought: Why not add them to my writing center choices?
Because I teach primary students, I created templates to support student writing by [Read More…]
