[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”] Flat Stanley is on his way! I love doing this project for so many reasons, the first being that it is a great way to introduce geography to young elementary kids. […]
third grade
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instructional Strategies
Behavior Bugs Are On The Loose!
Every school year I use some type of token system with my class. Since I have students who loop with me for several years, I don’t like to use the same system every year so as not to repeat something that has already been done for students I have again. One year I used poker […]
Posted inBook Review, Current Events in Education, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
Read Alouds With A Purpose For Third and Fourth Graders
I have been working through several books this summer to read aloud to my students; books that I’ve never  read to them before. I love my old standbys but really wanted to find some books that could strike up some discussion instead of just entertain. I have read twenty-five books and have chosen the top […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
A Year of Third-Grade Activism
[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”] My sixth year of teaching is behind me now, and like every year, I’m thinking about what to celebrate and where I need to grow next year. Each day I come home from […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Fine Arts, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
Implementing Art Across the Curriculum
I started teaching back in the days when supplies were limited and you saved everything. I remember days when I taught kindergarten with only toilet paper rolls, markers and a package of rainbow construction paper, which was expected to last for the first nine weeks, with the possibility of getting wiggle eyes to add to […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten
Incorporating Hands-On Activities For Wiggly Kids
We have 20 school days left. 20. The weather is warming up, the kids are counting down and the ‘end-of-the-year-itis’ has hit like the plague. Ugh. Every unit I plan for the last six weeks of school is hands-on. I simply cannot handle a classroom full of fidgety, wiggly, non-focused kids for several days in […]
Posted inChild Development, Common Core, Elementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Mathematics, Science
Hands-On Science For Young Learners
My elementary class and I have begun my most favorite science unit of all: plants and life cycles. I look forward to this unit every year. There are five concepts that I want to drive home with this unit. First, that everything has a life cycle and what that means. Next, that not everything looks […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
Creative Writing Strategies For Elementary Students – Outside Of The Classroom
Writing is a huge component in my second and third grade classroom. Next to speaking properly, communicating through the written word is an important life skill that needs to be developed which will follow children throughout their lives. The sooner the basics of writing are introduced and honed, the easier this skill will become as […]