Recently growth mindset has become a major buzzword in education. When I began hearing the term, I started reading about growth mindset and quickly realized that the idea of growth mindset was something most great educators already believed long before the term was coined. However, there was now data and research to prove and justify […]
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There are many, many different approaches to teaching math and structuring an upper elementary math block. Over the years I’ve tried more strategies than I can count, and I’ve found that there is no one right way to teach math. Different concepts and activities lend themselves to different structures. The key is to be flexible,
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Over the years I’ve read countless blog posts, social media posts, and comments over the debate of balancing cute and content. I think we can all agree that there is value to both, and it’s certainly possible to teach with both style and substance. The purpose of this post is not to criticize one or
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Some of my absolute favorite teacher memes are the teacher tired memes. This is probably because I can completely identify with each and every one. Without a doubt, teaching is an exhausting profession. We go hard mentally and physically all day long without breaks or downtime. I work with many new teachers, and one of
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Students love this ecosystems project and activity! Science should be engaging and exciting for students, and they should leave a science lesson feeling curious and intrigued, not bored. This ecosystems project hits the mark! In this post I’ve shared ten of my favorite ways of teaching ecosystems, which are all centered around engaging and creative
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Starting the day with a soft start morning work is a big change for me. For the past several years I’ve had a morning work routine that I loved. I’ve blogged about it a few times, and you can see one of my more thorough blog posts here. My morning work procedures were a well-oiled
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Productive struggle time in math is not natural. Allowing children to struggle with something goes against every instinct I have. When I see a child having difficulty, every pore in my body wants to take over and fix the problem. However, as a mom and as a teacher, I know that is exactly what I
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Teaching reading can be overwhelming with today’s instant access to curriculum, resources, and pictures on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram. This post shares the ins and outs of teaching reading through reading workshop, guided reading, and literature circles and how you can use these strategies teach reading to upper elementary students. Teaching Reading With Reading Workshop You
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Book talks are an amazing way for you and your students to share books you love with each other and increase reading engagement. Book talks are informal presentations designed to inspire others to read a book you enjoyed. The purpose of a book talk is to “sell” a book. Students may think of a it
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Math work stations or math centers play a crucial role in my math instruction. They provide fun learning opportunities for students and give me time to work with guided math groups. You can learn more about the implementation and management of math work stations at this blog post. While I don’t begin math centers until
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