Celebrating all of the little holidays stops when students get to high school but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t enjoy a themed lesson. You can still engage in meaningful learning and …

This laws of exponents reference, easily slipped into a binder or enlarged to poster-size for a classroom, summarizes the rules of exponents when simplifying expressions. You may also like: Exponent Rules Math Pennant Activity 8th Grade Math Word Wall - print and digital

Tournament of Technology is a content focused game for the history classroom.

History teachers! Look no further! A feudalism activity your students will love!

This blog post features a contraction anchor chart. Plus, two free concentration games are provided... one contraction game for lower elementary and one for upper elementary!

Poem of Mulan Podcast on TpT

Pinterest I love teaching. It’s the thing that I know I’m good at. The one thing I KNOW… I think I would say that I have a gift to form relationships. To think outside the box. To create engaging resources. And…. to ignite a passion for learning. I’ve taught for 14 years and, besides the […]

French verb practice can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be! Here's how to make verb practice more fun and engaging!

Click on the picture for free download from TpT. I've been thinking a lot about formative assessments lately. Formative assessments are all about gathering information from your students - during instruction - in order to inform your teaching. The most obvious place to gather that information is from student work (click HERE to see a post about that), and it can be a lot of fun. Another place to gather information is also from your students. But now you have to get inside their brains, and find out how they assess their own learning. How in the world are we supposed to do this? And why is it important? Let's tackle the importance question first. Studies show that students who are partners in their own assessment show increased engagement in all subject areas, and are more likely to become life-long learners. Also, students who are taught to analyze their own learning show increased motivation to learn. Well, that's enough to convince me. It just makes sense, and I think we can agree that this is important. So the next question is, how do we do this? Here's the bad news. Most students don't walk into your classroom knowing how to assess themselves. In fact, many adults have trouble with metacognition. Here's the good news. Metacognition can be explicitly taught. In fact, every teacher I know is already doing this (though perhaps we are not always aware of the fact that we are teaching metacognition. haha). We model reading strategies such as activating prior knowledge, summarizing, finding the meaning of a word through context, and stopping and rereading, just to name a few. Click on picture to see Pin. Here's another great Pinterest idea. If you have not invested in a tap light, it is fabulous for modeling reading strategies! Just tap the light on when you stop reading to model what you are thinking. Run to Walmart and get one. You won't be sorry. The only downside is that students will remind you to use it every time you interrupt your read aloud. So if the phone rings in the middle of the book, be prepared for 26 voices to yell, "Turn on the light first!" when you go to pick up the phone. When it comes to math, those of us teaching the Common Core State Standards are modeling the 8 Math Practice Standards (see that post, HERE). These practices are vital to teaching students to monitor their own mathematical thinking. We model ourselves not giving up, even when something is difficult to master (MP1), or looking for a shortcut (MP8), etc. (I have to share this... the other day, one of my students was struggling with a math concept. I asked him if he could find a shortcut to use. He looked up at me and said, "I'm going to use the long cut, because I really want to learn this.") So what about metacognition as it relates to self assessment? Well, we have to model that, too. And here is where it gets fun. We get to model for our students that we make mistakes. All. The. Time. Then we walk them through the thought processes involved in fixing the mistakes. I want my students to see mistakes as something positive - as the poster says, mistakes are proof that you are trying! Here are some ideas: Model mispronouncing a word, catching yourself, and then correcting it. Make a mistake on a math problem. Model how to find the correct answer. Revise something. Decide (out loud) in the middle that it is not quite right. Then fix it. Stop in the middle of a sentence and ask, "What am I doing right now? Am I on task? What is my strategy for learning?" © 2011 woodleywonderworks, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio In the past I have used the idea of Marzano's levels of understanding for the process of self assessment. I gave each student the "stoplight" colors to keep on their desks (red - I need help, yellow - I'm trying, green - I can do this), but I felt as though I needed more than color coded paper. I've also used the number system (A student who holds up one finger needs help, and so on), but I wanted to use them together, with the addition of light bulbs to signify learning. I checked on Teachers Pay Teachers, and there are many excellent versions, but nothing quite matched the picture in my mind. So I made my own. (So here you can see my own version of self assessment posters, a rubric, and cards for students to keep in/on their desks. There's also a notebook page. Click on the picture to take you to my TpT store and see for yourself, if you like.) This process of going from 'not knowing' to 'trying' to 'understanding' to 'explaining' also has to be modeled for students. Here are some ideas: Model those mistakes, and why they are a good thing. Model that it's okay to ask for help. Model that everyone is different, and some people need more practice than others. (I use drawing for this one, because I'm terrible at it, but I still try. And I need lots of practice!) Model that being on #1 is not a bad thing. It just means that you haven't learned something yet. (I use the Spanish language for this example. Sometimes I don't even want to try, because I know I will make mistakes. About half of my third graders are bilingual, and when I mispronounce something, they let me know!) Model the difference between explaining how to do something and simply giving the answer. Thank you for reading along as I think about my thinking (and teaching). I truly believe that writing this blog is helping me to become a better teacher. I'm sure that most of you are light years beyond me in this journey, and I'm humbled by the fact that you choose to read my meanderings. I hope you can use the free posters at the beginning of this post, and I hope you will come back again to read some more. Next time, I'll show you my new KWL charts. And KWHL charts, too. Happy Self Assessment and Metacognition,

Writing is such an important skill to master. It's so important to let students write every day. Here are a few back to school writing prompts to get them started right away: - All about me - What I love about school - This is what I want to learn this year - Write about a book you read this summer - What is the thing you are best at? I'm 100% sure that you've already heard your students say "I don't know what to write"! Of course you did! Didn't we all?! Do you have a Writing Center in your classroom? A writing center is NOT magical. But it does help if you follow these steps: This is what you can do to see positive results: 1 Hang the writing center posters in class and take the time to explain each one. 2 Give students a chance to write at least 3-5 times a week. 3 Before writing: ask students what they're working on or what they want to work on. Are they thinking of a new subject, writing, editing? It's important to know this information. Writing Process -Prewrite -Draft -Revise -Edit -Publish It's important because it will indicate which student might need help right away. You can also use a mini-lesson to start your writing lesson. 4 During writing: walk the class, help students,use mini-lessons and meet with small groups. 5 After writing: Choose a few students that will share what they're working on. Choose students that are in different phases of the writing process. This will help others understand each step. If you're looking for a writing center, here are a few images of the one that is available in my store for an awesome price. If you already have a writing center, don't forget to grab the FREEBIE below. Two background options: Polka Dot Perfect Glittery Green Students can have a writing folder or writing kit like the one below. You can find these at a Dollar store. Students can insert the freebie (below), a pencil, an eraser and their writing notebook. Everything they need will be in one spot. Print the freebie in color and insert it in the kit. This will help your students with the 'Prewrite phase'. FREEBIE Click on the picture I would really like to know what you do in your classroom. Please leave a comment. Happy writing! Thanks!

Do you want (or need) to cut down on paper? Is there a paperless initiative at your school, a harsh photocopying limit, or new 1:1 technology in your classroom? (Or, are you simply tired of hauling 60+ journals to and from school?) Whether you’re already a digital native or are terrified of letting go of hard copies, here are 12 baby steps to start taking if you want to tiptoe (or cannonball) into a paperless classroom. Joining me today is Christina, who blogs at The Daring English Teacher. 1. Do a Quick Inventory of Resources (and Permissions) Sara: Find out not only what your goals are, but what software and programs are already provided to you by your school. Then, find out what limitations you have and how to go about getting the programs you WANT (including how to fund them). For example, I wanted the Teacher edition of Quizlet, and I was able to get reimbursed for that $35/year registration fee. But when our team wanted to use Edmodo as our course management system (more on that later), it involved getting more permissions from the school than actual costs. 2. Utilize Valuable EdTech Sites Christina: There are so many EdTech sites available to teachers and students. From sites that help students improve their writing to vocabulary quiz sites, you are sure to find one that fits your classroom. Check out this blog post I wrote about my five favorite EdTech sites. 3. Make Your Digital “Home Base” Sara: Some students (especially disorganized ones) can feel overwhelmed when there is a long list of websites, apps, tools, and logins to keep track of. Consider creating one “home base” (such as Google Classroom or a class website) to make clear lists that tell students where to go and when. (Their parents and tutors will appreciate you, too!) Christina: When using Google Classroom, be sure to take advantage of the labels feature to help keep all of your assignments and information organized and easily accessible. 4. Ditch Your Flash Cards Sara: Quizlet is one of the easiest starting points to lose some paper. Even with the free accounts, you can create vocabulary sets that are interactive for students. (However, I’m a huge fan of the paid Teacher account and the data that it gives you about every student and/or class!) Feel free to check out some of the vocab sets I’ve made here. Christina: While you are on Quizlet, try the Quizlet Live game option with your students. They will love the competitive and game show nature of the activity, and you’ll love the collaboration required to complete each task! 5. Google Forms Christina: Start using Google Forms in the classroom. You can read about ten different ways on how to incorporate Google Forms in your classroom here! One time-saving feature I love about Google Forms is how it collects data and even grades quizzes. I use Google Forms at the end of the school year as my year-end survey. 6. Make Quizzes that Grade Themselves Sara: One massive time-saver is Edmodo’s option to make self-grading quizzes that I can assign to an entire class. In addition to each child’s score, I get basic pie charts that show me how the class trended on each question, so I know which questions are going to need more review. (Christina uses Google Forms as a way to administer self-grading quizzes.) 7. Assign Collaborative Work in Docs Christina: I remember back in high school when group work was so difficult to complete because you had to coordinate everyone’s schedules, find a parent to drive you to a designated location, and work as quickly as you could in the one-hour-long block you could meet with everyone. Those days are over now! It is so easy to assign collaborative work using Google Docs and Google Slides. Some of my favorite collaborative projects are digital novel introductions. I have my students work in small groups researching various aspects about a novel’s context before we read it in class. This project helps to engage and excite students! 8. Digital Note Taking Christina: If students have access to Chromebooks in your classroom, encourage them to create notes digitally in Google Docs. Use the Google Draw feature within the Google Suite so that students can create diagrams and drawings to enhance learning. Sara: Regardless of the software you use, seize this opportunity to have a nonfiction discussion about whether it’s better to type or handwrite your notes. During this conversation, encourage students to try a variety of tools (Word, Google Docs, Evernote, or other) to find the note-taking tool that works best for them. 9. Gamify the Classroom Christina: Whether you prefer Kahoot, Quizziz, or Quizlet Live, utilizing live, online gameplay for classroom review is a great way to encourage classroom participation and make learning fun! Sara: If you want to try a more complex game, you can make your own game board (digital or hard copy) that sends students off to do digital tasks in a set order. 10. Let Students Create Your Tech Sara: One of my most meaningful grammar activities is the instructional video assignment, in which students teach each other concepts (using Google Slides and a screen recorder). Sharing the ownership of our content makes students excited to not only use tech for creation but also watch (and learn from) the videos. Christina: Another great site to utilize in the classroom is Adobe Spark. With Adobe Spark, students can easily make great videos for projects. 11. Choose Tools with Timestamps Sara: The best paperless tools for me are the ones that allow me to prove that a student actually did the task (and when). For example, I love the revision history in Google Docs that lets me see if (and when) a student contributed to a doc. This information is important if I need to verify who contributed what on a group assignment, if the student used class time effectively, or if the student procrastinated. 12. Show Off Your Digital Work! Christina: One minor drawback to going paperless in the classroom is that it becomes difficult to post student work. Since I can’t post digital work in my classroom, I create a digital corkboard for my class instead. Once students turn in their completed assignments, I use Padlet to create a digital corkboard where I post student work. I then post the digital board onto each class’ Google Classroom Stream! Sara: Depending on what you want to display (and where), you can try making screenshots that appear on screensavers or as images in a digital picture frame. Also, host “view only” folders where students can read or listen to each other’s work, which is what I do when we are sharing recordings from our Digital Poetry Slam. Do you have more suggestions? Tell us in the comments!

Wordless videos in speech therapy are a fun way to target a variety of goals, including inferencing. Check out these gems I found

This math education blog helps elementary teachers keep afloat with diverse and rigorous resources, activities, and ideas for the math classroom.

Click to see 3 different ways to rotate a shape about the origin. These 3 strategies have helped my students master rotating a shape.

As a teacher author, feedback is vitally important to me. Not only does feedback give you Teachers Pay Teachers credits, it lets me know if you are happy with my teaching product or if you'd like more or less of something. I read every piece of feedback and, as a teacher myself, I consider what I need to teach that particular subject. I like to go back every so often and update an older product to make sure it's aligned with the current Australian curriculum (ACARA). These last few weeks I have run a critical eye over two of my most popular products, to see how they align with the updated ACARA Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) version 8.3 for Foundation Year. I'm excited to announce both the Foundation Year History and Foundation Year Geography packs have both been updated to reflect the new curriculum and I'd like to quickly walk you through the improvements. TIGHTER ALIGNMENT TO ACARA At the front of each pack is a table showing you how every activity, slide, poster or worksheet aligns with each of the ACARA elaborations. This makes it super easy for you to plan your unit of work and ensures you cover every aspect of the ACARA expectations. LOTS OF COLOURFUL POSTERS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM WALL A great way to engage young students is through colourful posters. Dedicate a wall to HASS and rotate posters as you focus on different concepts. MORE VOCABULARY CARDS FOR YOUR WORD WALL New vocabulary cards have been added to both packs. Each with a child-friendly definition of each concept. REAL-WORLD PHOTOGRAPHS OF CONCEPTS DISCUSSED! This is my favourite aspect of the two new updates - getting some real-world photographs in these packs! Cartoons are great for colouring in or to decorate a colourful poster, but nothing beats images of real people and places to explain HASS concepts to young students. I use these photographs as a whole class discussion prompt to unpack the concept further. Often I use inquiry questions such as "Who is in this picture?", "What is this picture telling us about...?"or "Why do you think they do...?" which works to scaffold their thinking before we move towards written work. Studying photographs in this way, can also help students develop their visual literacy skills. MORE DIVERSITY I have had many requests to make images more diverse with single parent families, same sex couples and different races included. I've listened and made the changes. Posters and photographs include different family structures and are more representative of your student's backgrounds so they can relate better to the concepts being discussed. QR CODES Both the History and the Geography packs contain some new QR code activities which link to videos they can watch in pairs or on their own. The worksheets have been designed to allow students to explain their understanding of the concepts shown in the videos and demonstrate their learning. MORE ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER CONTENT I'm very proud to have been given permission from the Torres Strait Islander community to use their flag in my materials and inside this pack, I'm pleased to say, I have provided a more equal focus on both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. The new updates include, as part of the new ACARA version 8.3 HASS requirements, a greater focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practices and culture. In addition, I have included some teacher instruction sheets and a link to useful videos you can watch to help you integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture into your everyday classroom practices. HOW CAN YOU GET HOLD OF THE UPDATED RESOURCES? If you already own any of these products - you can just click the link below and download the update for free! If you would like to purchase one, please follow the links below. ⭐ HASS Bundle Foundation Year Geography Unit and History Unit aligned to ACARA ⭐ HASS Geography Unit Foundation Year special places, features, mapping activities ⭐ HASS History Unit Foundation Year Family Histories and Commemorations ⭐ HASS Mega Bundle Geography and History Foundation, 1, 2 & 3 aligned ACARA If you purchase the Foundation Year HASS Bundle you'll also get the History and Geography matching Tags as a bonus!

Incorporate the cross-curricular approach to teaching by assigning projects that integrate multiple subjects and allowing students to explore various standards simultaneously.

Ready to teach digital literacy? Here are ten ideas to help you teach important critical thinking skills to your students.

As far back as student teaching, my weakness was wrapping up my lessons. I felt like I always floundered with the “well we’ll stop there for today” line or asking a few wrap up/r…

Why the nucleus isn’t King of the castleEver since middle school when students learn about cells, they are taught that nucleus is the control center of the cell. They hear that the nucleus is “the brain” and in charge of all cell functions. When teachers do the cell-as-a-factory analogy, the nucleus ends up being the ... Read more

To compare and contrast means to look for similarities and differences in people, places, things, or ideas. Several different graphic organizers can be

"Why even do this?", students might ask when they are not sure why they need to complete certain tasks. Student motivation and engagement are possibly the most important variables in the learning process. Identifying clear objectives and providing students with a purpose for carrying out various activities will more likely engage them as they will see the benefits of completing the proposed tasks. Because most of my high school ESL learners need a lot of motivation in school, I like to assign di

This 4-page handout is an effective print-and-go option for character analysis. Eye-catching design and graphic organizers along with creative questioning makes it an interesting and engaging write-to-learn activity for your students. Keep on hand for when you need a lesson on characterization. Also includes an uneditable crossword puzzle on basic characterization terminology (dynamic, static, foil, round, flat, etc.). Great to use for a sub, as well! List of Products for You and Your Students to Love: Lessons with Song Lyrics 1. My Life Symbolized by Song Titles 2. Coldplay's "Violet Hill" Song Lyric Analysis Lesson ELA Games 1. Literary/Poetic Devices "Tab-shoo" 2. Literary Elements "Tab-shoo" 3. Characterization: Character Portrayal Game 4. "Name That Tone" - Author's Tone Game 5. Hangman Template (a step-by-step easy approach to the process of the game) Poetry 1. Poetry Unit Test - Summative Assessment with Passages 2. Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" Close Reading 3. E.E. Cummings Poem "maggie and milly and molly and may

Looking for an alternative to the essay? Try an infographic!

With the New Year right around the corner, I am counting down 2018 with some of my favorite things from the year. Today’s 2018 countdown is all about my

This post originally appeared on the blog Real Learning in Room 213. This is a serious issue in secondary classrooms when the required reading is longer and can’t be completed in class. There are not

My best tips for teaching story grammar elements, plus my packet of visual supports and 13 no-prep short stories for story grammar practice.

Check out these activities to teach students to use higher-order thinking skills using easy-to-remember methods.

Last week we were very busy learning about force and motion . We learned about friction and the force that moves a roller coaster. Then we p...

Put your teacher observation fears to rest with lesson plan ideas to maximize student engagement. Discover what administrators look for the most!

This geometry activity for the first day of school is a great way to assess students' prior knowledge. It is a fun and free way to pre-test them! Click to..

Analogies are such an important skill for students to master. With these activities your students will have fun as they learn about analogies.

Need pirate bingo? Free? Printable? Look no further than this blog post. I've got an English version and a Spanish version!

Do you need an engaging activity to analyze plot and characters? Examine characters and analyze plot with this fun, engaging activity in a cell phone format. This analysis activity can be used with any piece of fiction, and a completed example is included. There is no prep for you. Just print and go...

Note: Friends, this is a long post. And, in it, I am promoting a resource... something I've mentioned before that I don't like to do!! However, I feel so passionate about this product, that I

This post is also featured on the TPT Blog.

Are you one of the many teachers who is struggling to teach summarizing? Summarizing can be a difficult skill for students to master. It requires strong reading comprehension since students need to be able to

In this trigonometry lesson, students will create their own word problem involving right triangle trigonometry. This is a creative way for students to...

As an ESL teacher, I often hear from classroom teachers that they don't always know where to start when it comes to working with beginning English language learners (ELLs), or newcomers, in small group instruction. In this post I'll share a typical "guided reading" lesson that I would give to my beginning ELLs, as well as a glance of at what a typical week would look like. Let me start by saying, the very first thing I do before I start instructing my newcomers is, I assess what they already know. First, I see if they have literacy skills in their native language...can they read and write? Then, I see if they know alphabet letter names and sounds. Next, I assess their reading level. Since they don't have English literacy skills yet, their reading level typically starts at level "A" (emergent). I can say that most students do have some literacy skills in their home language, and often times, many know some letter names and sounds. So now I've got my starting point! When I first begin working with my newcomers, the main components of reading that I typically focus on are building vocabulary, phonological awareness/phonics and sight words. So a typical week would encompass all three of these skills. Down the road I add comprehension skills, but they are not ready for that yet. Step 1 - Choose an appropriate book. I carefully select books that have relevant vocabulary. For the most part, my main focus is to build their vocabulary. The literacy skills in their native language will transfer to their new language, however, they have an extremely limited vocabulary, so... vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary! I chose this book because I wanted to teach my students the word "big." It's also about animals, and I know that most kids are interested in reading about animals! I used gestures to SHOW them what "big" means. It's important to be mindful of your students' age when picking out books. You don't want to give 4th-6th graders books about bunnies or teddy bears. Try picking age appropriate books; which I know can be a challenge if the selection is limited, but you don't want your students feeling embarrassed. Step 2 - Preview the book. Point to and say each animal's name and have the students repeat the names back to you, keeping in mind to speak clearly and to enunciate the sounds in each word. It's important for them to hear how to pronounce the names. A side thought...Think about "A" level books... they are not created with English language learners in mind. "A" level books have repeated sentences, which are GREAT, but they also have very specific vocabulary that students are expected to decode using picture cues. In the book my students read last week, the repeated sentence was, "We go to the _____." The pictures show the family in different locations like the pool, park, library, soccer game, etc. In one picture the family is standing in front of a large fish tank. If I asked English only students where the family is, some might say a fish store or they might even guess aquarium, depending on their background knowledge. Then they'd cross check their thinking with the word and see that it begins with the letter "a" and hopefully they'd say, "It's an aquarium!" But our newcomers don't know what a big fish tank place is called in English, so it's important for us to support our students by saying the names of each vocabulary word. Step 3 - Choral reading! Newcomers feel more comfortable in a choral reading setting. They need help pronouncing the words. They need to hear YOU pronounce the words. Choral reading helps to keep anxiety levels low. (In a few weeks, the choral reading decreases and I will start focusing on decoding.) Step 4 - After reading, review the animal names. Point to an animal and see if they can remember the name. Perhaps make a matching activity with animal pictures and names. Support as needed. Encourage a LOT! Step 5 - I always provide a guided writing activity based off of the book we just read. I use sentence frames to support their thinking and writing. Sometimes I create my own, like the picture below, and other times I'll use a graphic organizer as a follow up activity. On this day I wanted them to understand the meaning of "big," so their writing supported this goal. As they finish their writing activity, I'll ask each student to read some of their writing to me. Then they'll draw a quick picture, which I always ask them to label. I know that my newcomers don't understand every word in the book, and that's OK! They are being exposed to new words and ideas in a repeating format. I want them to get used to the structure of our lessons so that they know what's expected. So, here is what a typical week of small group work entails for my newcomers. Knowing what the focus is each day helps me to zone in on their learning goals. The variety keeps it fun and interesting, yet it's consistent so they know what's expected. As you can see, on Tuesdays I include direct vocabulary instruction, either using the vocabulary from the book, like the animals, monthly themed vocabulary, or content area vocabulary. October Themed Vocabulary (along with sight words and phonics review) One vocabulary activity I have my students do is called the K.I.M. Strategy. In their notebook they write the key word (K), important information (I), sketch a memory clue (M) and write a sentence (S). For my newcomers, I leave out the (I) portion. They are not ready for adding "information." Right now the goal is for them to learn the names of things and simple sentence structure. My higher ELLS definitely include all components of the K.I.M. Strategy in their notebooks. This is what the K.I.M. Strategy looks like. And this is how it looks modified for my newcomers... On Thursdays, I focus on building sight words. When teaching sight words, it's important to teach them in context. Your beginning ELs need context in order to make meaning of the words. I pull a sight word from our books and I include an extension activity with that word. (A link to this resource is provided at the bottom of this post.) I do teach sight words throughout the week, but on Thursdays we always have an extension activity for one of them. As an "exit ticket" I have them orally use the sight word. Today, I asked each student, "What can you do?" And they responded with "I can _____." Then they get a high five, a sticker (big kids like stickers too!), or some encouraging praise. I also include Word Study activities in my small group work. I like using the sorts from Words Their Way. Each Monday they receive a new spelling pattern. Remember, I assessed my students to see what they already knew. Most already knew initial sounds, so I started them with word families. If they did not know initial sounds, I would've started there. I do have one student in this group who does not know many initials sounds, so I spend a little extra focus with him on initial sounds. This resource is from "Words Their Way." My newcomers use this activity to learn spelling patterns AND vocabulary. They are introduced to their new word list on Mondays, then they have independent activities to do with their word list throughout the week in their gen ed classrooms. (It's so important to set newcomers up with meaningful activities that they can work on independently during Reader's Workshop.) Below is their Word Study Activities list. It gets glued into their Reading Notebook. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays they work on their independent activities. Friday is Word Study Quiz day! FREEBIE - Click Here And that's what small group instruction looks like with my newcomers. To recap, assess what students can do to evaluate your starting point. Focus on building vocabulary, sight words in context, word spelling patterns and choral reading to start. My guided reading lessons usually looks like... preview the book, front load main vocabulary, choral read, and end with a guided writing activity with sentence frames. Here's a TIP: Many times I make my own guided writing activity based on what I want the students to learn from the book. I'll write the activity in my notebook, make copies, cut them to size, then have students glue it into their notebook. Keep this notebook! You may get a newcomer next year, and when you do, many of your guided writing activities will already be made. You'll just need to find the book that goes with the activity. My notebook where I write out the guided writing activities. I know that many school districts lack ESL resources and often times the classroom teacher is the only one providing instruction. Knowing where to start with beginning English learners is probably the biggest challenge. I hope that this post gives you some ideas about where to start and what to focus on with your new students. To read more about the K.I.M. Strategy, click here. Affiliate links below for Sight Words and Word Study.

Doug Savage's Savage Chickens "comics" are a single-frame comic drawn on a sticky note that illustrates the life of chickens whose experiences reveal the "savage" truths of the human existence. Teaching satire in secondary ELA is a high-interest and humorous way to engage studen

Today my recorder lessons did not go as planned. Sadly, I could not place the blame on anyone but myself. Last week I spent a few hours maki...

In this trigonometry lesson, students will create their own word problem involving right triangle trigonometry. This is a creative way for students to...