Should Your Students Memorize the Multiplication Facts? That is the question that many teachers and parents ask every year. I am a firm believer that students should know their multiplication facts but I am also adamant that repeated multiplication drills are not the way to do it. It is very helpful to know the multiplication facts…
Using a student planner has many benefits. Do you want to help your students work on their organization skills and at the same time open up communication with families? I have the answer for you… a STUDENT PLANNER Over the years I have always had my students use a planner, daily, and I have notice…
Are you looking for some addition and subtraction practice pages? I love using the holidays as a way to engage students in practicing their math skills. Halloween is my favourite holiday so of course I want to bring it into the classroom.These printable Halloween worksheets allow students to practice 4-digit addition and subtraction skills and…
Oil Pastel Art lessons for 3rd- 6th Grade Oil pastels are one of the art supplies I love using to teach students about blending colors. They also make excellent supplies for printmaking. If you get a good quality oil pastel, that does not dry too quickly, your students can be in awe when they transfer…
Making Student partner groups Putting students into groups or partners can be a tricky thing. We all know that who a student works with makes all the difference in how successful an activity will be. Many times teachers (and I was/am guilty of this too) put students together based on abilities. The students know who is…
Picture Books to Teach About REsidential Schools Teaching students about the history of Canadian Residential Schools is necessary but can lead to some very heavy conversations. I have found the best way to do this is through the use of picture books. 14 Picture Books It can be difficult to know which books are appropriate…
Top 12 Must Haves for Math Math is so much easier to teach (and to learn) when you have resources to use. I am a firm believer that learning math is best done with hands on activities and lessons, rather than just doing worksheets. Don’t get me wrong, I think worksheets provide valuable practice but…
Growth Mindset Lessons As soon as I read After the Fall by Dan Santat I knew that I wanted to use it in my classroom. Besides the amazing illustrations, it has an incredible growth mindset message. I have tried many different behaviour management and self-regulation methods in my classroom over the years. I have seen…
Do you search for a teacher planner every year? I don’t. Well let me start by saying I use to but then I stopped. Year after year, I would hunt for the perfect planner to use as my day book and year after year I would spend way too much time filling it out. I…
I am a firm believer that EVERY classroom should have a day plan posted on the board. It helps everyone know what is going on and what is coming up next. Student anxiety can lower when they have a predictable day. Before I started putting a day schedule on the board students were constantly asking…
Helping Your Students to Connect The first few days back to school can be a difficult time getting students talking in front of the entire class. I have worked at a few schools in my small district and I saw the same thing happening each year. Students tend to need some coaxing to take to…
Are you starting to plan for Back to School? The summer is the time that I start getting organized for the upcoming school year. The very first thing I do is print off a school year calendar and start planning when I will teach what, based on the school year events/holidays. There are definitely some…
Let me help you organize your math centers I spent MANY years scrambling to get math centers ready or digging through drawers for a center I just knew I had somewhere. I don’t want you to go through this so I am going to share with you how I now organize my math centers (and…
Are you looking for new read Alouds for your Grade 3 or 4 Classroom? Whether it is on Instagram, Facebook, or in the school, I am always hearing the question “What book should I read to my class next?” I decided I would let you know which read alouds my 3rd and 4th grade students…
Are you looking for an eye catching display for St. Patrick’s Day? This St. Patrick’s Day art and writing project will have everyone stopping to take a look. This project is also a great way to get your students reflecting on their life and all they have to be lucky for. You will need at…
Why Attendance Time is Our Most Valuable Time Taking attendance is a valuable part of my day and it is something that students look forward to. In my classroom we go beyond just having students respond with “Here” and we use this time as a way to build classroom connections. Everyday an attendance question is…
Are you looking for FREE ways to engage your students at the beginning of the school year? Some much is going on at the beginning of a new school year. Setting up routines, going over expectations, gathering information, and so much more. All of these bring moments where you need to have your students working…
Are you wanting to add physical health to your distance learning plans? With so many students spending so much time on the computer as part of their at home learning, it is important to motivate them to keep being active. This was my answer. I will let students choose what they want to do everyday…
For years I struggled to organize my listening to reading materials. I never remembered to change out the books. Books and cd players were getting wrecked. Students had to listen to the same books over and over again because I didn’t have many books. It took a few years of struggle and many organizational tries…
Ready to Go Christmas Multiplication Activities Those crazy weeks before the Christmas break are upon us and if you are like me you are trying to find activities that will hold your students interest. Multiplication facts are a skill that students will need to practice over and over again. I try to bring practice pages…
Are your students too old for the traditional desk plate name tags? I want my students to have name tags but they feel that the ones with the number lines and other reference items are too young for them. Because of this I have my students design their own name tag. By having them design…
How do I start getting ready for Back to School? The summer is the time that I start getting organized for the upcoming school year. The very first thing I do is print off a school year calendar and start planning when I will teach what, based on the school year events/holidays. There are definitely…
Are you looking for an engaging multiplication activities to practice facts with? I bet your students love sharks as much as mine do! I have combined sharks and multiplication to create a fun, FREE way for my students to practice their multiplication facts and I am sharing it with you. Students learn multiplication facts quicker…
I have read a lot of research articles about the importance of teaching students the ins and outs of syllables and I could bore you with all the technical mumbo jumbo, but I won’t. I will let you know the highlights of my research (and 14 years of teaching) and do so in easy to…
Do you have a class that needs differentiated St. Patrick’s Day activities? All your students can be working on alphabetical order with these St. Patrick’s Day alphabetical order pages. They are differentiated to help with students who need extra time to complete an activity. The pages look similar, one just has fewer words. There are…
This year I noticed that many of my students were using a lot of negative self talk and that they were giving up on a task before they even started. Something needed to be done about this so I did some research on Growth Mind Set and decided that this is exactly what my students…
Have you been wanting to do a Halloween (or fall) art project with your class but still want to incorporate some art elements? Are you wanting a Halloween bulletin board that is not just a cut and paste craft? I’ve got you covered. We have been working on blending colors during art. We’ve blended different…
To start Reading off this year we are focusing on learning the Reading Power strategies.If you haven’t heard about Reading Power by Adrienne Gear (Note: All book links are aff. links) it is a must for anyone teaching reading. We have started by learning about how to make connections to what is being read. The…
I love changing up my Math centers to match the upcoming holidays. Even though students are practice skills they are familiar with, there is something about a holiday themed center that instantly gets them engaged. I recently completed math centers for multi-digit multiplication that will be part of my math centers this week. I (like…
It feels like Valentine’s Day has snuck up on me this year. These last few days all I have done is shovel snow and haven’t had time to think about planning Valentine’s Day. I am glad I have my Valentine cards already printed. I just have to cut them out and label. Oh yah….and buy…
I have been doing a lot of updating of products lately. I have added more engaging, interactive activities that I have tried in the classroom and are student approved. One of my favorite updates has been to my Homophones unit !It went from being boring worksheets to engaging activities and literacy centers. Here is a…
I LOVE Halloween time! There are so many wonderful, descriptive words that go with Halloween which leads to many literacy activities. If you have a class that you have to differentiate work for, these FREE alphabetical order pages will be perfect. They look similar, and have most of the words the same. The difference is…
I beg you to STOP buying those tissue paper flowers. Yes, you can buy them everywhere and they are convenient to throw in your shopping cart, but please, please, PLEASE stop. They are super easy and cheap to make. I am going to show you how you can make your own and in any colors/patterns…
It has been WAY too long since I posted last. I will be teaching at a new school next year that will be way less stressful and time consuming and one of the things that I am going to make a priority is my blog. I feel I have been neglecting it for the past…
Most years we don’t really celebrate New Years in school because we usually go back to school around January 9th. This year we go back on the 3rd so we will get to do some New Years activities!!! I just updated my mystery grid activity for 2017 so that will be an activity we will…
A couple weeks ago I was looking for a quick art project for my class to complete. I cannot remember where I saw a picture of a winter scene done on black paper with chalk, but it was likely Pinterest. After searching town for white chalk (our school only had yellow) and finding some, I…
