Morning meetings and morning meeting questions are a fantastic way to build a strong classroom community! In just a short period of time each day, connections and friendships can be nurtured and developed. Giving students a voice and the opportunity to express their feelings, thoughts, viewpoints fosters conversations. It is through genuine conversation that relationships are built. Using funny,…
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Will you need some back to school cursive practice when you return to the classroom this fall? I will be reviewing cursive letters and connections with students during the first few weeks of school. The students learn cursive handwriting before they get to me, but they will need a review. I use these Back to School Cursive Practice pages to…
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Create a word wall with these classroom expressions and commands for your ESL classroom! I know that getting my students to speak English aloud is a real challenge for me, especially when most of their classmates speak the same home language. I set up words and expressions around the classroom for them to refer to so there are no excuses…
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Lesson planning is one of the most important parts of this job. Yet, too often when we are pulled in too many directions, this critical area is not given enough of our time. There is just so much to think about at the beginning of the year it is hard to know which direction to go in first. For me,…
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Writing poetry isn’t only for National Poetry Month (April) ! I enjoy teaching it all year with my second grade students. I usually start out with acrostic poems, as most have had some experience with them. We also try simple rhyming couplets and cinquains also. I have also tried other types like Haiku and Limericks. I usually…
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