Beyond Texting: 5 Reasons Why Teaching Grammar is Still Essential

When it comes to teaching grammar, the struggle is real. You might think, ‘I know some ways to teach grammar, but what’s the best way?” This thought aligns with research showing that disconnected grammar lessons often lead to disengagement and minimal impact on student writing. So, let’s dive into a game-changing five-step approach that turns grammar into an exciting and purposeful journey for both teachers and students.

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Halloween Books

Decorations are going up everywhere, and Halloween is just around the corner! This is my favorite time of year because the weather is changing, and the students are always so excited! Why not fuel their excitement with some fun Halloween books? Here are some of my favorite Halloween books and a few tips about how they can be used in the classroom.

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5 Proven Strategies to Find the Main Idea in Any Text: Unlocking the Key to Understanding

Are you tired of your students only having a vague understanding of the main idea? You’re not alone! You might need some new strategies to help students find the main idea. Many people struggle with identifying the central point of a text, especially when it’s buried under layers of information. But fear not, because there are proven teaching strategies that can help your students unlock the key to understanding any text. Below we explore five of these strategies that will aid students finding the main idea, whether it’s a news article, a research paper, or a novel. From scanning for key phrases to analyzing the structure of the text, we can teach students to approach any reading material with confidence and clarity. Let’s dive in and start unlocking the mysteries of text comprehension!

Strategies to Find the Main Idea - main idea of nonfiction text reading passages and graphic organizer resource
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Differentiating Instruction

Differentiation for some educators, conjures visions creating different lessons for every student in the room and long nights of planning and grading. That insanity is not what differentiation is all about. Differentiating instruction is really a way of thinking – not a preplanned list of strategies. Often times, it’s making plans in the moment. It’s recognizing that fair does not always mean equal and that all of our students bring different gifts and challenges. As teachers, we need to recognize those gifts and challenges while we flexibly differentiate instruction.

Differentiating Instruction blog post picture of a student in the classroom
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Strategies for Behavior Management

Are you looking for better strategies for classroom behavior management? Have you found yourself thinking: “What do I do for that student that continually chooses to misbehave? I have tried everything, but nothing has worked. I feel like I argue and nag all day and I know there must be a better way.”

Strategies for behavior management - A teacher in a classroom of wild students

Here are 5 tips for curbing extreme student behavior: when NOTHING else seems to work:

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Making Inferences 101: Teaching Upper Elementary

Let’s talk about teaching inference in upper elementary. We all know that it’s a crucial reading skill, but did you know that we can continue to develop and refine it with our students every year? Whether you’re teaching third or fifth grade, I’ve got some tips and tricks that will help your students go deeper than the surface level when reading. We will break teaching inferences down into three steps.

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Editable Report Card Comments for Elementary School Teachers: Tips and Examples

Teaching can be equal parts fulfilling and exhausting. However, coming up with report card comments can be especially difficult because we are exhausted after teaching, assessing, & juggling all the extra duties. We have students with IEPs, ESL students, gifted students, and students with all sorts of challenges. Writing these comments can be downright daunting. However, writing report cards does not have to be a painful experience. I’m here to help take some of the overwhelm out of the end of the year & make the process more manageable. These pre-written, editable sentences, you can save hours of time and still provide thoughtful and personalized feedback to your students and their families. These comments cover a range of topics, from academic progress to social skills and behavior. Check out the editable report card comments I use HERE.

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Quick & Fun Test Prep

One of the best ways to prepare students for testing is through spiral review and quality instruction over time.  However, right before the big test there are a lot of fun test prep activities you can do in the classroom to review!

Here are a few of my test prep favorites:

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How to Welcome ESL Newcomers to Your Class

ESL newcomers are students who do not speak English as their first language. As a newer teacher, I remember the first time I received a student who spoke little to no English. I don’t know about your teacher training program, but mine had given me very little in the way of concrete steps or resources to use in this scenario. If you are reading this, you are probably finding yourself in a similar situation.

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