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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

Image of a group of students giving a thumbs up. Text: Classroom Management Strategies. Fun and Cheap Classroom Rewards and Incentives.

7 Classroom Management Strategies: Fun and Cheap Rewards and Incentives

Classroom Management can be hard. Rewards and incentives can motivate students to behave positively and help create a positive classroom environment. While I was still in the classroom, it seems that my classroom management changed all the time. What worked with one student today, doesn’t work tomorrow. Each class was different and unique. That being said, the teacher can not do it all. Sometimes it will take parental involvement and administration involvement. Sometimes it will even take the help of another teacher. Here are some fun and cheap classroom rewards and incentives to help keep your students on track. None

Image of Water Slides with title: Tips for Preventing "Summer Slide". Preventing summer learning loss.

How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss: 5+ Tips for Beating Summer Slide

Summer is the best, isn’t it? Except for the dreaded “Summer Slide” or Summer Learning Loss. Read on for some tips to prevent summer learning loss! (This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thanks so much!) Prevent Summer Learning Loss Tip 1: Read! Encourage your child (or students) to read over the summer! Many libraries host summer reading programs where children can earn prizes for summer reading! Our local library also has an amazing app that lets you check out and read books digitally.

Learning through Play: 5 Easy Play Ideas for Your Classroom

Learning through play is important in EVERY classroom, but with so much to cover it can be really difficult to find time to play during a school day! Here are 5 Easy Play Ideas that you can use to get more playtime into your day! This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. If you purchase anything through these links I will recieve a small commission at no cost to you. Learning Through Play: Morning Tubs/Afternoon Tubs Start your day off with some play! Ease your students into their school day by letting them play! Morning Tubs can be done in a

Image of a happy coffee cup with text: Fun Ways to Teach Student to Edit their Writing with CUPS!

Fun Way to Teach Students to Edit their Writing with CUPS

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by! Teaching students to edit writing can be a bit of a challenge. But, if we want our students to produce writing that others can read, teaching students to edit writing is essential! Let me help you with some fun ways to help your students to edit their own writing! Edit Writing with C.U.P.S. Teaching your students to edit their writing is an ongoing process. We use C.U.P.S. to teach editing. We introduce CUPS pretty early in the year and use this acronym all year long to help our students to edit their writing. We

Cover image: Helpful Everyday Word Work Ideas and Spelling Activities for Primary Students

Helpful Everyday Word Work Ideas for Primary Students

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by! I am a certified word nerd! I love words and working with words. Word work is an important part of our students learning to read and write! Here are some helpful everyday word work ideas and spelling activities to help your students! Word Work Idea: Word Sorts I love doing word sorts with my students! A word sort is a group of words that your students sort into groups using some sort of criteria. There are so many ways that you can do word sorts. My favorite is to start with an

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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!

7 Classroom Management Strategies: Fun and Cheap Rewards and Incentives

How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss: 5+ Tips for Beating Summer Slide

Learning through Play: 5 Easy Play Ideas for Your Classroom

Fun Way to Teach Students to Edit their Writing with CUPS

Helpful Everyday Word Work Ideas for Primary Students

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