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Active Critical Thinking Cooperative Learning Activities Your Students Won’t Hate

Hey there, teacher friend! Welcome Back! We all want our students to develop strong critical thinking skills while learning to work well with others. These skills are essential for life beyond the classroom, but how do we encourage these skills during the daily hustle of classroom management, lesson planning, and curriculum goals? It’s not just about group work—it’s about meaningful interaction and engagement. So, how can we foster a collaborative environment where students practice these skills regularly without losing instructional time? It’s no secret that teachers face tight schedules, overcrowded curricula, and students with diverse learning needs. You’re already juggling

How to Create a Powerful Vocabulary Builder with Personal Student Glossaries

Hey there, teacher friend! Are you looking for a fun Vocabulary Builder for your kiddos? Helping your students build a strong vocabulary is like giving them a key that unlocks many doors to new ideas, stories, and adventures. Building a strong vocabulary also improves reading comprehension. But how do we make vocabulary learning engaging and meaningful? Enter the Personal Student Glossary—a fun vocabulary builder for your word study! What is a Personal Student Glossary? A personal student glossary is a place for your students to keep their new words and definitions. Imagine each student having a unique book where they

Icebreakers: Fun and Effective Getting to Know You Activities for the First Week of School

What is an icebreaker? How do you get to know your students? What fun ways can my students get to know each other during the first week of school? This post has some fun ideas to help you build your classroom community starting on the first day of school! An icebreaker is an activity to get people (students) talking in order to get to know each other better. Breaking the ice gets the awkward part over with so you can get to the real conversation. This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links, I

Blog Post cover image of child's drawing with text: Fun Back to School Ideas for Teachers!

What do you do on the first day of school? 16 Fun Back-to-School Ideas for Teachers!

Hey there, teacher friends. Welcome back! This is a little Back-to-School Ideas blog post round-up for all your back-to-school needs. From planning ideas to setting up your classroom, you will find some great ideas for preparing your new students! Back to School Ideas: Before School Starts If you are anything like me, I started planning for back-to-school in the summer. I would start looking for ideas and pinning them to my Back-to-School Ideas Pinterest Board. Here are some other ways that I would start getting ready for back to school: Setting Up Your Classroom for Back-to-School I am a total

Images of students having fun with end-of-year-celebration activities. Text: End-of-Year Celebration Ideas for Primary Teachers.

9 Fun End-of-Year Celebration Ideas for Primary Teachers

Hey there Teacher Friends! It is getting so close to the end of the school year! Here are some fun End-of-Year Celebration Ideas to end your school year with some fun! Now that the school year is winding down it is time to PARTY! A Celebration of Learning Party of course! *This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something using this link we will receive a very small portion of the sale. The price of the item purchased remains the same whether you use an affiliate link or not. I will only recommend products and resources

From Piles to Smiles: Transformative Tips for Elementary Paper Grading

Hey there Teacher Friend! I am so glad you are here. Today, by request, I am talking about paper grading! Such a fun topic right? Here are some ideas for keeping up with paper grading that won’t be overwhelming! *This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something using this link we will receive a very small portion of the sale. The price of the item purchased remains the same whether you use an affiliate link or not. I will only recommend products and resources that I believe will be of value to you, my readers. By using my

Image of a picture writing prompt being used as a spelling test alternative. Text: 10 Unique ways to test spelling skills. Fun Spelling Test Alternatives.

10 Unique Ways to Test Spelling Skills: Fun Spelling Test Alternatives

Hey there my amazing educator friends! Today I want to share some fun spelling test alternatives to help you assess your student’s spelling skills! Spelling Test Alternatives to Assess Spelling Skills 1. Label it!: Find or create an image with parts your students can label using words from the patterns you are studying. 2. Spelling Skills Race: Similar to the traditional spelling bee. Teams get a point for each letter that is correct when spelling a word. The team with the most points wins! 3. Word Hunt: Provide a passage and let students circle or highlight words in the word

Small Group Instruction hack with Menu Covers! Image of menu cover with a phonics comic, read the punctuation, and word mapping mat.

1 Easy Teacher Hack for Small Group Instruction: Menu Covers!

Ah…Small Group Instruction. It seems so easy, doesn’t it? But, we know better! Here is a fun little hack that will make small-group instruction just a little easier. Menu Covers (yes, the plastic covers that you find in a restaurant with the menu inside) will become your new favorite teaching tool! This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks so much! The Power of Small Group Instruction Small group instruction is essential for personalized learning. It allows for targeted instruction, individualized support,

Silly Spooky Halloween Ideas for the Classroom!

5+1 Silly Spooky Fun Halloween Ideas for the Classroom

I love the Fall! Halloween is such a fun time of year. Here are some spooky fun Halloween Ideas for the Classroom that will keep your little goblins engaged throughout October! Halloween Ideas for the Classroom #1: Non-Fiction Text Features! October is a great month for teaching about features of non-fiction! There are so many great non-fiction topics to read about: Pumpkins, Spiders, and Bats (Oh my!). I also loved reading books about Halloween to my students during the month of October. If you have not read Gail Gibbons, you are missing out. These books are written in a narrative

Image of a giant red pushpin. Text: Pinterest for Teaching: How You Can Use Pintereste to Get Inspired and Enhance Your Teaching.

Pinterest for Teaching: How You Can Use Pinterest to Get Inspired and Enhance Your Teaching

Hey there, teachers! This post is all about using Pinterest for Teaching! I admit, that even though I am not in the classroom anymore I still use Pinterest daily! Here are some ways that you can use Pinterest to help you stay organized and enhance your Teaching! Get ready to be inspired. If you are looking for some great teacher ideas to add to your teacher boards look for me on Pinterest! Pinterest for Teaching: Create Lesson Planning Boards Get organized by creating boards for your lesson plans! Create different boards for each subject or topic you teach, and easily

Image of teacher. Text: Fun and easy substitute teacher lessons plans for writing

Fun and Easy Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing

Hey there! Looking for some Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing? I have some fun ideas that will keep your students writing even when you have a Substitute Teacher. This post does contain an Amazon Affiliate link. If you purchase anything through this link I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thank you! Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing: Pick a Prompt Leaving lesson plans for a substitute teacher is always a challenge. So, I started leaving these fun Picture Writing Prompts with Choices for my substitute teachers, and my students always looked forward to writing

Image of a shark. Text: Shark Week Ideas for Your Classroom.

How to Celebrate Shark Week in Your Elementary Classroom!

Shark Week! Every year I have a student or two who is obsessed with sharks. Why not capitalize on this interest with some fun Shark Week activities? Let’s dive right in and explore these Jawsome ways to celebrate Shark Week in your classroom! Sharks and Ocean Animals also make a “fintastic” Summer School theme! This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase through these links I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! What is Shark Week? Every year the Discover Channel has a week where they feature shark-based programming! It has become a popular time

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Active Critical Thinking Cooperative Learning Activities Your Students Won’t Hate

How to Create a Powerful Vocabulary Builder with Personal Student Glossaries

Icebreakers: Fun and Effective Getting to Know You Activities for the First Week of School

What do you do on the first day of school? 16 Fun Back-to-School Ideas for Teachers!

9 Fun End-of-Year Celebration Ideas for Primary Teachers

From Piles to Smiles: Transformative Tips for Elementary Paper Grading

10 Unique Ways to Test Spelling Skills: Fun Spelling Test Alternatives

1 Easy Teacher Hack for Small Group Instruction: Menu Covers!

5+1 Silly Spooky Fun Halloween Ideas for the Classroom

Pinterest for Teaching: How You Can Use Pinterest to Get Inspired and Enhance Your Teaching

Fun and Easy Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing

How to Celebrate Shark Week in Your Elementary Classroom!

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