Guest Writer: Stephanie Machado @givethatgirlasnack Stephanie Machado is an educator and blogger from Central Florida who has a passion for writing and sharing her thoughts with others. She launched the transformational blog and Instagram campaign @givethatgirlasnack where she shares “snack-size” bits of information filled with teaching tips and educational strategies that parents and teachers alike […]
second grade
Fostering Responsibility
My class still works off of a weekly job chart. I have always tried to incorporate community responsibility into our classroom lives. We have the basics listed as jobs, such as computer helper, line leader and light helper. But I also have not-so-standard jobs listed as well, jobs like trash helper, a vacuum-er and a […]
The Whos, Whats, Wheres, and Whens of Teaching Grammar to Younger Children
I love to teach grammar to my second graders, and they are usually very eager learners when they figure out that the grammar they are learning ties in to the writing that they enjoy. I introduce grammar by engaging students in a ‘hunt.’ We are always searching for parts of speech, punctuation and proper sentence […]
Connecting Motor Skills And Academic Achievement
We know how important it is to allow young children time to just play and be kids. We want them to run, be active and engage in group games that will help hone gross motor and social skills. Play is an integral part of learning for children, and believe it or not there is an […]
Easing Those First Day Jitters
It is so important to make our students feel comfortable upon the first day of school. We need to remember the backgrounds that our students come from. And we can’t assume that just because we have kids in the middle class that they are coming from homes that have everything together. We also need to […]
Teaching Fractions, Piece By Piece
Ugh. Fractions. I love to teach math, but fractions-blah. So like with any challenging unit, I like to bring in something tangible. Remember, kids were designed to manipulate items and are tactile learners, some on into ten and eleven years of age. This activity is great for all ages and will teach several different concepts […]
Allow Young Readers To Unfold
My firsties get so excited when the ability to blend sounds together to make words starts to click! They start sounding out anything and everything they come into contact with. Inevitably though I have two or three students in my classroom that things don’t ‘click’ quite as readily as the others. This is definitely a […]
What My Second Graders Have Taught Me- A First Semester Reflection
Well, I can officially say that I survived my first semester of teaching. I’m not sure that if I had climbed Mount Everest I’d feel much different. Averaging about five and a half hours of sleep a night, I have to thank Starbucks for helping me through the days where caffeine was my only hope […]