My Professional Development Math Book Recommendations There are so many different professional development books out there that it can be overwhelming to choose ones that will actually help in the classroom. I am betting you have read, just like I have, professional development books that are not that practical for today’s classrooms or your particular…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
Hi All, I have this 15 minute block of time, once a week, first thing int he morning before we go to PE that I have to fill. I usually have my students do some morning work activity. Most times it is Math or Language Arts but it ALWAYS has to be independent work, as…
Here is a quick freebie for you. I always want to set expectations at the beginning of the year for how I want students to answer questions. Since I teach grade 4/5 I don’t want just one word answers (unless it is an adaptation for a student) but rather more in depth answers that have…
I am always looking for new ways to dismiss my class. Whether we are going from the carpet area back to our desks or from our desks to the carpet area or from either place to the door, I don’t want my students rushing in a big mob to where they are asked to go….
Hi All, Just a quick post here today. I am off to work to get things ready for next week but I thought I would post one of my classes favorite place value review activities. Who doesn’t love Duck Dynasty? Students play concentration/memory with the cards to match the standard form of a number to…
I know Christmas is over but I wanted to share a last minute art project we completed where my students exceeded all my expectations. Let me set the scene first…. It is the day before the Christmas concert (3 days before winter break) and my kiddos are WILD. I needed some filler activities because there…
I feel like I was very productive today because I got a lot of little things crossed off my to do list. That is always a great feeling. I still don’t know what I will be teaching so I can continue with getting those things done that aren’t planning for a specific grade. The first…
Today I tackled my filing cabinet. I call it “tackled” because it was a DISASTER. There was still stuff in there from the previous teacher and I just grabbed my files out of boxes and shoved them in the drawers the night before school started last year. EVERYTHING was mixed together and every time I…
This year is a little different for me because I currently hold a Grade 2 position at my school but I want the Grade 4/5 position at my school that will be coming up soon. Long story short — the way postings are done in my district I can no longer just internally transfer into…
I am super excited to announce that I have been included in this years Winter Ebook for Grades 3-5!!!!! All of the Ebooks are amazing and it is hard to get a spot in them so when I found out my page was going to be included I was ecstatic. Click on the picture to…
Well it finally feels like we are in the swing of things at school. Everything is behind because of our late start so it is weird that we only have a few CAFE strategies done. Here is an update on our most recent activities. We had a Seusstastic time with our Tune in to…
We are still not back into our classrooms. I just finished my 5th week (2 in June, 1 in August, 2 in September) on the picket line 🙁 Since we are not back at work I have had extra time to get things ready. Well what I can do with the stuff I have at…
All last year I battled a cluttered desk. I would have piles of papers on my desk waiting to be put somewhere. Once I marked students work they went into 2 piles — Completed and ready for duotangs or Corrections to be done. These piles would get in the way and make my desk look…
All teachers know that kids learn more when they’re excited and engaged. Today a team of bloggers come together to help your students take a BITE out of learning with a theme your students are sure to love! I use individual whiteboards in my classroom all the time to keep all of my students engaged….
One of the things I anticipate every back to school time is the TpT Ebooks. This year I managed to get in this one!! I am excited about that. There are over 40 TPT sellers who each created a page which has teaching tips and at least one free item. Believe me when I say…
I love back to school time. I love buying new supplies to start fresh with and I love decorating my room. I get excited and nervous to meet my new students and this year I will be changing schools so I have new colleagues to meet! I also love the Teachers Pay Teachers Back To…
I am tres excited to introduce a project I am part of. It is the first ever TpT French Tips and Freebies Ebook. There are 21 TpT sellers who have come together to collaborate on this Ebook and I am hosting it in my store !!! Each page has a free item and a teaching…
