So flash back to the end of the school year. You were high-fiving and hugging your practically first graders and sending them off for som...

This has been my favorite project for two years now! I have reserved the computer lab for an entire week each time and let the students show...

Writing at the beginning of the year in kindergarten is all about building confidence. The kids have to see themselves as writers - even w...

Whatever you call it...sneaky e, super e, magic e....Silent E (in all its forms) is the man! I love teaching Silent E and my kids love see...

A list of job options you have as a special education teacher (outside of the traditional classroom setting), given the skills you possess as an educator.

Don’t get me wrong — I love candy. And, a jolly rancher, a tootsie roll, or a starburst can work wonders in the classroom for student motivation and enthusiasm. So can pizza parties, and cupcake days, and brunch, and…I’ve had so many types of food parties I can’t even keep track! Recently, however, I’ve been […]

Through the years I have had a few students with selective mutism. When I met my first student with S.M., I thought she was just very shy. For this post, I will call her Sally but that is not her real name. But, after a couple of weeks of school, it was clear that there was more going on that a case of shyness. That is when I asked for a meeting with Sally's parents to get their insight into what was happening. Her parents told me that she would only talk to the people in her immediate family and one neighbor. She wouldn't even speak to her grandparents or cousins. After observations and meetings with her pediatrician, counselor, speech pathologist, she was officially diagnosed as having selective mutism. Luckily, Sally's parents were very open to ideas and happy to try anything that we suggested. Sally's mom would send me something to school on a weekly basis. Sometimes it was a bag of cookies that Sally and her mom had baked together. Other times Sally's mom let her pick out a packet of stickers to donate to our class. Sally's job was to hand the item(s) to me. We set the following goals: 1st: Hand the item to the teacher without mom standing beside her. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 2nd: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 3rd: Hand the item to the teacher and say you're welcome. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 4th: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher and say you're welcome. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 5th: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher and say you're welcome. Answer teacher's question with one word. I said thank you and then asked her a question that could be answered with one word - usually a yes/no question. 6th: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher and say you're welcome. Answer teacher's question with 2 or more words. I said thank you and then asked her a question that required a few more details. Once again, Sally's parents provided extra support to help her build relationships with her classmates. Sally and her mom loved to bake. Usually students only brought treats for their birthday. I gave her mom permission to send in treats more frequently. When Sally passed out the treats to her classmates, she was concentrating on the actual process of passing out, and less about her anxiety about communicating with her classmates. We set goals for this too. 1st: Pass out treats without teacher support. 2nd: Pass out treat and make eye contact with classmates. 3rd: Pass out treat, make eye contact with classmates, and smile when student says thank you. 4th: Pass out treat, make eye contact with classmates, and say you're welcome when classmate says thank you. Sally received weekly support from our school counselor. Our counselor let Sally choose a buddy come with her. She and the buddy played games in the counselor's office. In the beginning, Sally would only smile and shake her head for yes or no. But, over time she slowly began to whisper to the counselor and her buddy. I think it helped that there was only one buddy and they were in a quiet office so she felt more comfortable. By the end of the year, she was able to invite 3 buddies to go with her. As you can imagine she became very popular because she got to pick her buddy(ies). Word quickly spread that if Sally chose you, you got to go play games. Students wanted to sit by her at lunch and invited her to play games with them at recess. There are different reasons why a student may have S.M. Sometimes it is an anxiety issue. Click HERE to read more about this topic. Interested in reading more posts? Click on the pictures below.

Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...

Differentiation is the buzzword that just keeps on buzzing! Teachers, administrators, and evaluation systems are placing more and more emphasis on differentiation in the classroom. Sometimes, the thought of organizing lessons to meet the individual needs of all of your students can feel like an overwhelming challenge. One of the best and simplest ways I have found to do this is with colored pocket folders.

Got a talkative class? Check out these 5 ways to quiet the chatter!

Do you need an engaging End of Year Math Project for your students? Do your students like to color, doodle, and draw shapes? Here is a NO PREP End of Year Math Project for your 6th, 7th, and 8th graders! {Click HERE to DOWNLOAD} What is included? This packet teaches students about tessellation history, how to make and use tessellations, and how to create beautiful art with shapes. How can I use this packet? For bellwork, classwork, extra credit, fast finishers, or homework. {Click HERE to DOWNLOAD} THIS TESSELLATIONS MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH PROJECT FEATURES: *5 different engaging Math Activities *NO PREP, Print & GO Activities! (Only materials needed: scissors, tape, and a pencil). *FUN & rigorous activities centered on reviewing math curriculum *HIGH QUALITY CLIPART is included *Topics covered: Geometry (Translations, Reflections, and Rotations) {Click HERE to DOWNLOAD} Activities Included: -Introduction to Tessellations {with answer key} -Tessellation Art #1 -Tessellation Art #2 -Tessellation Art #3 -Make Your Own Tessellation Project {with teacher directions, rubric and pictures} Happy Tessellating!

Do you Dojo? Class Dojo is an awesome classroom management website and app. It's free! If you haven't yet, check it out! My class has been loving it! I created this certificate to award the student who has the most points each week. Now includes a text box so you could type the student's name be...

Are you back to school yet? The schools in my area returned last week. As you get settled into your routine and start shifting into the a...

Here's a peek into our February Activities and Units! Be sure to look through for freebies! My kids LOVE learning about Ruby Bridges, because she was their age when her story unfolded. Here are a few videos. First is a read-aloud of The Story of Ruby Bridges. Next is an interview with Ruby Bridges as an adult. The quality is a little poor, but the questions and responses are great. Here are some activities we do while learning about Ruby Bridges! First we read about Ruby Bridges with this non-fiction teacher read-aloud and an emergent reader for the kids. After learning about Ruby, we complete these activities! You can find all of these activities and more by clicking this picture! If you didn't cover MLK in January, you can learn about him in February. Here are some of the activities we enjoy! These activities can be found by clicking the image below. Grab these freebies for Goundhog Day! This one has 3 cute literacy activities that work for whole group or small group! Click the image below to grab them! This one from Eberhart's Explorers has lots of great activities that I like to use whole group! Click the image below to grab them! I give glowsticks for Valentine's Day because, #1... the kids LOVE them, #2... They are CHEAP at the Dollar Tree, and #3... It's a nice change from candy and I have had allergies in the past. Grab these cute little tags from The Teacher Wife by Clicking Here! We make these sweet and simple Valentine's bags from Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten For parent gifts, we make adorable torn paper mosaics like this. SO easy! Just grab some different colors of paper and set your kiddos loose! They will tear off small pieces and glue them into the heart. Perfect for fine motor and independent... win-win! Grab one of the templates to make your own by clicking HERE!! And of course I love any excuse to use candy conversation hearts around valentine's day! These pattern mats from my friend Michelle are perfect for an independent station! Click the picture to download and leave her some feedback on TPT as she is just beginning her store! :) Valentine week is important to me for another HUGE reason! If you've been following my story for long, then you know my daughter is kinda sorta a major miracle baby! She was born with a condition called HLHS, which is essentially half a heart. She has since had 3 open heart surgeries, 3 cardiac arrests, 10 long months in the ICU, two runs on complete life support through ECMO, and a heart transplant. She is now 18 months old and doing well, all things considered. The week of February 7 - February 14 is CHD Awareness week! CHD stands for Congenital Heart Defect and 1 in 100 babies is born with some form of CHD. Learn more here! Here is my miracle baby when she was very sick and pictures a picture since she has recovered from her heart transplant! I made this fun Valentine's Day freebie in honor of my daughter and it includes a page to spread CHD awareness! Grab it up and tell someone you know about CHD! Get this freebie by clicking below! This will be a fun experiment for students to see the effects of a cavity. Grabbed this idea from Fun Fabulous First. Just poke a hole in the apple to signify a cavity and give it some time to start decomposing. Re-assess the apple at the end of the week and discuss what happened over time with the cavity. I whipped up a quick little sheet for students to use to record their observations. Grab it below! Love this idea from The Moffatt Girls! Great hands on practice at flossing! We learn about what helps teeth stay healthy and what causes harm, then complete this sort and the kids search through magazines and grocery ads to cut/paste onto their own templates. We read several dental health books, and then the kids get their own mini reader! We learn this poem then create the writing craftivity. It's perfect for a hallway display! The tooth fairy sends out an ad looking for assistants and the kids apply for the job, then complete a math task that she leaves! They search the room for teeth pics numbered 1-50 and put them in order on ten frames! Ending Digraph Sort CVC Write and Wipe. For added fun, throw some dollar tree toothbrushes in to erase the dry erase marker writing from the teeth! Use marshmallows or white dry beans for a subtraction manipulative! Kids race to fill their mouth with marshmallow teeth in this comparing numbers game! They each draw a number, compare the values, and the person with the higher value gets to put one of their teeth on the mouth template! Then they get to eat their marshmallows at the end. SO FUN! You can grab all these activities by clicking the picture below! That wraps things up for our February. We also spend a couple of days for Presidents Day. So much to do in February... tough to fit it all in! Hope you all have a great month!

Teaching dependent and independent clauses in upper elementary does not have to be as tricky or difficult as you think.

Do you find yourself grading all the time? Do you want to know a secret? I stopped grading papers after hours and am always the first teacher to sign out grades before the end of each quarter. How do I do it? I plan for it. Follow these 3 guidelines for grading and you will be a pro at leaving grading at school and having more personal time outside of school. 1. Plan What are you grading? For each subject you are grading, think of the categories it can be broken down into such as classwork, homework, and tests. Why are you grading it? For each category, think about why you're grading it. Does it need to be graded? If yes keep the category, if no do not grade it. Does it have an academic value? If there is no academic value to the work, then don't grade it! This is the most important step in planning to grade. If there is no academic value in an assignment and it cannot be tied to a standard, then the students should not be held accountable for completing it. Can you narrow down your assignments? My rule of thumb is 9 to 10 assignments for homework (1 per week of each quarter) is graded. 1 test for each chapter, which is about 2-3 tests each quarter. 5-6 classwork assignments each quarter. So I only assign and grade 16 to 19 assignments each quarter per student. I pre-plan these on a calendar and display it in the classroom for students to see and will email it to parents who need it to help their students turn in assignments on time. Also I love my EZ grader! If you don't have one, you need to get one. It's my favorite gift to give student teachers or first year teachers. It calculates the grades for you every time. (Affiliate link included). 2. Follow Through Now that you've thought about your categories for grading, list the assignments on a calendar. When and how many are you going to assign? List them on the calendar and follow through with assigning and grading a limited amount. When I write them on a calendar ahead of time I might not have a specific assignment name already, so I just pre-plan and write "Assignment 1" and so on. This helps me plan when to grade at school. Another strategy for only grading at school is having other do it for you. I have used the "trade and grade" method for small quizzes and homework. I have also used student assistants to grade homework assignments. It's helpful in that most of the work is done, but you will still probably need to glance at each assignment to make sure it's completed to your specifications. Do you have students who do not perform well on tests the first time? Do you like to give them opportunities to retry or makeup the work? I found a strategy that helps with test retakes. It also helps me with less grading, and students earn higher test scores. It's a win win in my book! Check out the video below about using test retakes to help your students achieve higher results. Click HERE to download. 3. Reflect Did you stick to your goals? Did you not bring home any grading? Did you leave when your teacher duty day was done? If you YES, then you are well on your way to starting a successful habit of not grading after hours. You need a break. You deserve a break. Let yourself have the time after school to rest, relax, and enjoy your family and friends. These suggestions and ideas are meant to be reflective of your grading practices. When we reflect as teachers on what we are doing in the classroom, we continue to grow and mature into better teachers. Think about how you currently grade, what you currently grade, the time it takes you to grade, and how you could make the process more efficient. My favorite motto for teaching is "Work smarter, not harder." There is so much on our plates as teachers, let's simplify the process of grading and make it more efficient. Happy Teaching!

Item description Your students will love this math and literacy packet with a fun Fall/ Halloween theme! This packet was created with consideration to the fact that not everyone celebrates Halloween. There are Fall-themed activities for every Halloween-themed activity. This should give you the ability to choose the most appropriate resource for the occasion.   Includes: •Color by number •Count and Trace •Count and Color/dab •Ten Frame Counting •Count and circle •Patterns •Count and Write •Making 10 •Addition •Measuring •Alphabet Tracing •Roll and Trace the Letter •Uppercase/Lowercase Matching and Sorting •Beginning Sounds •Rhyme •Halloween and Fall writing prompts •Pumpkin Life Cycle mini book •Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Pocket Chart Pieces •Life Cycle of a pumpkin worksheet •Fall Word Wall Words & Write the Room •Candy Corn Beginning Sounds Match Cards   Two options for printing give you flexibility! Choose full page or 2 worksheets per page when printing.   This packet can be used as distance learning for your classroom.   I hope you enjoy using this resource!

Rhythm Practice Click here for the pie rhythm maker to practice your note names and durations. Treble Clef Practice How quickly can you name the notes of the treble staff? You can go to Mr. Riley’s

I first used this craft as part of an “All About Me” themed session where we also made a fingerpainted house and created some fantastic self portraits on the painting table! It's really simple idea and craft but very often the most simple ideas are the best! It was such a popular craft for younger children that it’s one I’ve taken out and about again and again. Kids love to make their whole family so it’s worth printing out quite a few extra templates – and it’s a craft that can be used as a great learning tool for colours, families and body parts as well as exploring different textures. Older kids can also use it as a scissor practice exercise! This is what you’ll need Stiff a4 card Glue Pens or crayons A box of different materials – fabric, card, papers,wool, tissue…….. Firstly, print out the A4 template below onto card – like I say it’s a good idea to print out a few! You should hopefully be able to copy and paste this template and then resize it if needed - if not then you can download templates elsewhere or just draw your own person! Let your child get creative with the template, materials and glue – dress it, colour it in, add hair (or not!). You can either leave the person as he/she is on the card – or try cutting it out to make a cardboard doll!

Have difficulty dealing with trauma, anxiety, or demands of life. Learn to recognize your window of tolerance and self-regulate with these simple steps.

Let’s have some patriotic fun! Enjoy these great freebies to celebrate Memorial Day, Flag Day, and 4th of July! American Flag Mystery Picture Graphing Activity By: Mrs. Thompson’s Treasures Memorial Day Mini-Book Craftivity By: Elementary School Garden Flag Math Freebie By: Kelley Dolling Patriotic Cube Game By: Kelly and Kim’s Kreations Think Tac […]

Have a chatty class? It can feel impossible to teach. Read this blog post to learn 5 simple steps to get your students to actively listen!

Use the special ed inclusion documentation forms to keep track of service times, lesson plans, and more. Streamline it all quickly and effectively!

Marilee Sprenger discusses the benefits of teaching academic vocabulary and offers ten minute lessons to fit the school day.

Tic Tac Booyah is a fun and engaging review game!

Learn what is impostor syndrome, what are the characterstics and find if each one of is facing impostor syndrome in our lives or not. Read the blog about how to cope impostor syndrome.

These printable books can be used with your early childhood students. Add them to a learning center or print one for each student to use in a Small Group.

Here’s a cool resource if you have some lego-lovers in your house! Homegrown Learners has free downloadable plans to teach a 10-week Lego Class.

Here are some social skills worksheets I put together for my class. These are some of the issues we deal with on a daily basis. I bought some cute social skills books that I read prior to writing each lesson. "My Mouth is a Volcano" "How to be a Friend" and "How to lose all your Friends". To be honest, I had a particular student in mind when I bought each one of these books (you do not need the books to use the worksheets). I wrote the worksheets to represent some of their actual issues. I have more books on the way "I Want to do it My Way", "The Bad Case of Tattle Tongue" and "Sorry I Forgot to Ask". Check back for worksheets soon! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Friends-Social-Skills-Worksheets