Classroom teachers have tricks and shortcuts we use each day. We need things to help manage and protect time, supplies, organization and classroom management. According to Merriam-Webster “Hack is to manage successfully or a creative solution.” Here are some classroom hacks to help with a variety of things in your elementary classroom. * Use old (clean) […]
Lori H Rice
Lori Rice is a fourth-grade teacher at West Elementary in Wamego, Kansas, who has taught K-2 reading as well as kindergarten, first grade and fourth grade since 1996. She has a passion for creativity, learning, questioning and the whole child. Her classroom is a place of acceptance and celebrating differences.
Posted inElementary School, Opinion
Extending A Helping Hand: Mentor
Teaching is a blending of science and art. Colleges across the nation prepare teachers to write lesson plans, understand discipline and teach content. Interwoven in a great classroom, however, is experience and heart. If you are a new teacher, find veteran teachers in your building who have strengths and ask questions. If you are a […]
Posted inClassroom Management, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum
Simple Student Hacks for Elementary Teachers
Education is personal and teachers work with an ever-moving target of standards and expectations. Throw children into the mix and there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Each student comes into the classroom with their own history, experiences, needs and circumstances. We have students who “fit the mold” of a learner. These students learn in many situations, […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Parents
Watch Your Mouth: Speaking with Parents
Each year we get a new group of students and they bring along parents. We have opportunities at the beginning of the year to set up a relationship here that can work towards learning or against learning. There are a few simple things you can do as you start the school year to invite parents […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum
Teaching Champions
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] We had an amazing in-service in our district this week. In a time where your focus is on class lists and curriculum, bulletin boards and name tags, it is refreshing to […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School
In This Classroom We Do…
As you think about setting up your elementary classroom this year, start with your theme. What interests or passions do you have? How can you share these with students to demonstrate life skills of persistence, listening with understanding, thinking flexibly, questioning, creating, imagining, learning from failure? Our school-wide theme this year is CHAMPS and I am using […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum
Science Inquiry: Take the Plunge
This summer the Kansas State Department of Education hosted three academies led by teachers for teachers. I attended a session on science curriculum to learn about the next generation science standards that will be implemented in my classroom next year. I have been teaching inquiry based science for five years (or more) and enjoy the learning […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum
Integration: Bringing it Together For Kids
Dictionary.com defines integration as: “an act or instance of combining into an integral whole.” Schools across the nation are using this idea to purposefully combine curriculum and standards in meaningful ways for student learning. Just like making a recipe or putting together a puzzle, you must combine different pieces of your curriculum, disciplines, concepts and skills under an essential question, theme, or unit. There […]