Well friends, today was snow day one thousand. Actually, I am not sure what number it was, but I am calling it June 11th. When I woke up from my morning nap, this 'snow' was gone. GONE. Like I said, I ...
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Highlighting STEM Careers
There are so many 'buzz' words in education - Common Core, reading workshop, rigor, goal-setting, project-based learning, STEM...just to name a few. ;) In my district, STEM has been THE spotlight ...
Puzzle Galore!
Happy Thursday, Friends! Well it's official. I have been in school three days in a row this week...a post-Winter Break record, and I am exhausted. For reals. Monday we mourned another snow day, ...
Video Mini-lessons {Keeping Parents Involved}
Parent communication has been a huge learning curve for me this year. Being departmentalized, parents have five different teachers sharing about their classrooms and expectations for students. ...
7-Up Vocabulary Practice
Today I wanted to share about about using 7-Up to introduce new vocabulary. This is a quick and material-free way to engage students with words they are learning! When introducing a new word to ...
Following the Trail: Point of View!
Are you up for an adventure this week? A number of fellow intermediate teacher-bloggers have teamed up for blog-hopping fun this last week of January. Snow probably covers the ground where you are ...
A Day in 5th Grade: My 5th Grade Schedule
One of the most common questions I receive from readers is: What does my day look like? What does a reading class look like?. Today I am thrilled to share what my day-to-day life looks like, the ...
January 5th Grade Reading Centers
Happy Sunday, friends! This is the week. The week I have been dreading. DRA Week. Yep, I kind of want to cry thinking of it. I really hate losing a week of instruction, but DRAs makes this a perfect ...
Winter Break Challenge
Winter Break - the thought that my kiddos might go 2 or 3 FULL weeks without picking up a book breaks my heart. Knowing that many of my kids might revert back to their non-reader habits, I created ...
Reflecting and Goal Setting
Happy day, friends! Today was our first day back, and it was glorious. Last night I was so terribly nervous that I laid down at 10 PM and did not fall asleep until 3 AM – egad! Regardless, today ...
Words Have Power {Book Display}
Happy day, friends! One of my favorite parts of 5th grade is how much ‘content’ we can dig into. 5th graders have such an interest about the world and what’s going on. Reading is a ...
Greek and Latin Roots
Many English words have roots derived from Greek and Latin, and understanding these roots helps students deduce meanings and make connections between words. It enhances vocabulary acquisition, ...