In Stopping the Revolving Door at Your Guided Reading Table – I share a strategy that takes the focus off of you as the sole source of help, empowering your students to identify others in the classroom that can help problem…
Interruptions during guided writing, math, or reading are inevitable — no matter how many times you’ve practiced and practiced working independently! We’ve done the “IF, THEN” problem solving chart. While these types of lists help, they are not inclusive of…
There will be no anchor charts adorning our classroom walls this year. “What?” you ask! Yes, no anchor charts. They’re going digital (more on that in a future post). I wanted to have something on the walls, and didn’t want…
It’s not uncommon for my class to sometimes arrive late to recess, lunch, or a specialists class. Why? Because when we’re in the hallway, it’s expected that all students are making wise choices. This isn’t an easy task to accomplish. Whether it…
Students have a lot of voice and choice in our classroom. Our classroom offers them flexible seating areas, learning options from which to choose during independent work time, and a plethora of tools readily available to help them orchestrate their work….
Today was our first day back from break! I knew that students would be excited to see one another. They get very social after long weekends! Our Daily 5 Room Maps are helpful during days like today! The maps serve…
I noticed it the first day of school. My class likes to talk! They talk over one another. They hold side conversations. They get off topic. They like to talk and I’m not even sure if they’re truly listening to…
While on my annual Schoolhouse GB shopping trip, I ran across a display at the checkout counter. You know where this is leading…right? =) It was the kind of display that was purposely put at the checkout counter because buyers-beware:…
We work together to establish classroom expectations. These expectations are our rules. They go hand in hand with our school-wide PBIS expectations. Our process? Whole Group Brainstorm: Students share ideas for classroom expectations. We try to aim for expectations that meet…
We start the year out by determining how learners look and act. We talk about being “EAGLE listeners and learners” (an EAGLE is our mascot). As a class we participate in team-building activities that help us to understand that in order for…
