Looking for a clickable link for something spotted on my Instagram account?
Click on the links and images below!
See All SOCIAL SKILLS: Click HERE
See All DIRECTED DRAWING VIDEOS: Click HERE
See All SOUND WALL: Click HERE
See All PHONICS CENTERS: Click HERE
See ...
Read More
Showing all results for: writing
Sound Walls in the Classroom
When students learn to read and write, they focus on individual letters and their sounds. However, this can be overwhelming as there are 26 uppercase and lowercase letters to know. So, the Science of Reading transformed how students learn individual sounds and phonemes with sound walls. By ...
Read More
Setting Up A Sound Wall
Making Sense of Vowel Valley
When I first saw a sound wall I was ...confused. After teaching reading intervention for 25 years, I didn't understand why letters were posted in a V-Shape. I also wondered why there were pictures of mouths everywhere! Fast forward to the present time... I now ...
Read More
7 Socially Distanced Learning Activities in Primary
Here's another bunch of socially distanced learning activities that you can use in a primary classroom. You can see the first 8 ideas in this previous post! These are activities I used with my student when we went back to in-class teaching, but still had to maintain social distancing rules. ...
Read More
8 Socially-Distanced Learning Activities
There are many fun teaching activities that we can do while still keeping students socially-distanced! With a bit of creativity there are a lot of adaptations we can make - preferably with very little preparation. I've listed eight activities below (and seven more here) that were popular in my ...
Read More
5 Tips for Free Boom Cards
Confession time: When I first heard of Boom Cards my thought was, "I can't learn another new thing right now!" But when distance learning became a reality, I decided to give myself 20 minutes to read and learn, and then decide if it was something I wanted to try.
Guess what? TOTALLY worth ...
Read More
Online Stories for Distance Learning
As more and more of our teaching involves online learning, I've realized that I have to get super organized with my online resources. This includes my huge collection of online stories! Here's how I'm keeping everything simple and organized this year:
Organizing Online Stories
Google ...
Read More
Math Videos for Primary Classrooms
I start my math lessons with math videos almost every day.
They are a great way to warm up and start thinking about numbers. They're a great review of the concepts we're working on.
Most of all, they are so fun and interactive that my students LOVE math time!
Here are some of our ...
Read More
Online Math Tools for Distance Learning
When teaching both online and in person, organization is a must! I found that organizing my online math tools and online stories was an important first task - it really helps having them all in one spot.
With this in mind, I'm sharing the online math tools that I have compiled so far - I ...
Read More
Phonics Center: Six Simple Ideas
When my students enjoy a particular phonics center, I want to keep using it even when we move on to a different phonics focus! This way I know students will be happily engaged, and I won't have to spend time explaining a new activity every week. Below are some of the phonics centers I ...
Read More
Teaching Phonics With Simple Centers
How do you manage the rest of the class while you're doing small group lessons? There are many ways to organize this situation, and I've tried them all! The most important part for my students is to make sure the centers are both engaging and easy to manage (so I don't have to stop and explain ...
Read More
Directed Drawing Videos: Dinosaur
Have you tried directed drawing with your students? There are so many ways to use it in the classroom!
COMBINE DRAWING AND WRITING
Use your drawings as writing prompts! You can see more photos of the directed drawing activities we use in my classroom by clicking HERE.
USING ...
Read More
Social Skills Stories
Do you use social skills stories in your classroom? One of my favorite things about teaching is sharing books and stories with my students. Even better if students can learn about important topics while they enjoy the stories and characters!
Bunny And Bear Social Skills ...
Read More
Phonics with Centers
Every classroom has students with different needs. While some need more help, others need a challenge. So, teaching the entire class at once is often not best for students. Instead, they need lessons in small groups to ask questions and receive instruction on their level. However, this ...
Read More
Spelling Switcheroo – Word Building
Segmenting and blending sounds can be tricky when students are first learning to read. Reinforcing these skills, particularly with hands-on manipulation of letters, can be a great help for reading development.
Segmenting (separating sounds like /d/ /o/ /g/) and blending (combining sounds ...
Read More
Directed Drawing Videos
Check out the free directed drawing calendars at the end of this page!
Why Directed Drawing Videos?
There are lots of reasons to try directed drawing with your students!
Here are a few skills and benefits:
improved skills in following directions and attention to detailpractice ...
Read More
Instagram Archive
Looking for a clickable link for something spotted on my Instagram account?
Click on the links and images below!
See All SOCIAL SKILLS: Click HERE
See All DIRECTED DRAWING VIDEOS: Click HERE
See All SOUND WALL: Click HERE
See All PHONICS CENTERS: Click HERE
See ...
Read More
Polar Bear Art Tutorial
Do you study polar bears or arctic animals with your class?
We love doing this fun art project!
Each year while studying the Arctic, we make these cute polar bears with chalk pastel and construction paper. When I have younger students, we work step by step as a directed drawing. If ...
Read More
Teaching Social Skills with Social Stories
WHAT ARE SOCIAL STORIES?
Do you use social stories in your classroom?
Social stories are simple stories that describe common situations which occur frequently in the classroom.
Social stories:
state a situation clearly
possible feelings that may occur
self-talk strategies that can be ...
Read More
Social Emotional Learning
Years ago, I got some disapproving looks when I mentioned how much time I dedicate to social-emotional learning. However, I always got through my curriculum, so I knew it was worth the time. Now, there is a significant focus on social-emotional learning. Kids experience many different things ...
Read More
Christmas Kindness
Christmas is such an exciting time in the classroom! Students are excited about the special day and cannot wait for a break. However, they must remember that Christmas is not just about presents. It is about family, showing appreciation, and caring for others. So, incorporating activities ...
Read More
Guided Spelling Ideas
It can be tricky to support your emergent writers who are tackling spelling. Early writers may have a delicate confidence when it comes to spelling, and they often don't realize that guessing and making mistakes is an important part of learning.
It's our job as teachers to explain that ...
Read More
Top 20 Tips for Classroom Organization
While teachers enter an empty, calm classroom, it only stays like that for a short time! As students enter, the classroom has tons of love, energy, and excitement! However, this also brings on a bit of a mess. Between supplies on the floor and papers sitting all around, maintaining ...
Read More
Phonics Strategies and Ideas
Phonics: Classroom Practice
Much of our phonics instruction comes from our daily practice. Most of the activities are embedded into PLAY. Apart from some direct full class and small group lessons (including guided reading lessons), most of our phonics practice takes place through game boards, ...
Read More