October 31, 2019

How to Implement Correct Reading Techniques

October 31, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Today, I’ve decided to write to you, the adult reader, about a topic that most of us take for granted: Reading. I’ve chosen this topic because improving reading skills is not just a concern for students only! We all need to practice. The truth is that your reading ability may be more important to you after you have completed your formal education.

Here’s the thing. Reading isn’t just for pleasure. In fact, reading all kinds of written material and processing the information quickly is part of our daily lives at work, at home, and everywhere in between. The scary part is that you don’t always have much time, yet it’s important to interpret many of these written messages with accuracy. So, what can you do about it? I’d like to give you just a couple of tips. First, you can start by

October 23, 2019

Teacher Toolbox: Even a Motivator Needs to be Motivated

October 23, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

If you’ve ever found yourself in the middle of a tumultuous situation like a rip-roaring, indoor recess due to inclement weather, or a rigorous test preparation right before a holiday, you know how it feels when you need a break! …You need it, and you need it NOW!

Now is when you have to dig a little bit deeper into your teacher toolbox and pull out that shiny tool that you know will give you the extra boost needed to get you over the hump. In my mind, I imagine it might be

October 16, 2019

The Joy in Play—Benefits of Unstructured Fun

October 16, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

In previous blogs, we’ve discussed the benefits of taking some time to slow down, relax, meditate, and focus on being more of a human-being rather than a human-doing. For teachers and students alike, that all seems easy to do during the summer months, but how do you avoid getting sucked into the busyness of being that human that is always “doing” during the school year? …“PLAYTIME” might just be the answer for both you and your students.

I recently read an interesting article in a local health magazine that focused on why children need unstructured fun in their lives. Trust me, I don’t need to be convinced that playtime-fun is beneficial to human development, but I wanted to read what the experts had to say. Play was described as

October 08, 2019

More Than the ABCs: Vowel A

October 08, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Last time, I showed you how to help students own the alphabet as more than just the ABCs. Each symbol or letter is a picture of sound. Our job is to teach kids how to attach the sound or sounds that each symbol represents.

We’ll start at the very beginning with the letter A a . As you can see, I printed both the capitalized version and the lower case versions. I do that because children need to see and use both forms. I start with A a, not because it is the first letter of our alphabet, but because it represents the first three vowel sounds I teach. I repeat…it has THREE sounds that should be taught right out of the starting gate: a, a, a. Click the play button below to hear the correct

October 02, 2019

Grammar Extension: The Empowering Acrostic Poem

October 02, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

The ideal scenario for the first couple months of a new school year would be a classroom running smoothly. You want to be comfortable with your daily schedule and know that you can meet the needs of all of your diverse students.

Realistically, some of you may already feel like the expectations and duties increase even more as the fall progresses. Before you become consumed with the busyness of the new school year, always remember this: “YOU are a TEACHER!” You are the one that works to mold the future. You make an incredible impression and impact in the lives of all the students who enter your classroom.

This year is a brand new one, and if you’re ready to level-up your teaching, you should consider this question: “What kind of teacher do you want to be this year?”