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I have been a teacher now for 17 years.  My biggest passion as a teacher is teaching children how to read and love books.  When you walk into my classroom, the first thing that you notice (besides the bright orange couch) is my book collection.   I have a problem passion for collecting books for my classroom library!   So, just for fun, a rough estimate mind you, I probably have over 2,000 books in my little classroom library.  I believe the best way to get children interested in reading is to give them a choice in what they read.  Of

Today’s Book Talk Tuesday is about this great little book by Jon Klassen called We Found a Hat.  He is also know for two other “hat” books:  I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat. I love them all! This book is a lovely tribute to friendship in three parts.  “We” are two turtles who come upon a hat.  It looks good on both of them, but there are two turtles and only one hat!  They decide that they will leave the hat and try to forget about it and move on with their lives.  This is

  Hello all!  Thank you so much for stopping by!   Today I want you to stop for a moment and re imagine Writing Prompts. Usually when I think of writing prompts, I think of a narrow, specific task that the students need to address.  What if I told you that Writing Prompts could be fun, scaffolded, and engaging?  What if I even told you that your kiddos would ask for them during Writer’s Workshop or Writing Centers (even your most reluctant writers)?       Let me introduce: Pick a Prompts and Story Starter Cootie Catchers!   First up:

So, I will admit…sometimes I buy things that I want BEFORE I know what I am going to do with them. For me teaching is more than just my career, it is also my passion and my hobby.  Most of the things that I buy anymore are things that I plan to use in my classroom. So, when I saw these fun little Zip Printers, I knew I had to have one.  I didn’t know what I was going to use it for, but I HAD to have one! If you haven’t discovered these little wonders yet, you are in

Back again for another Book Talk Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by! This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon (if you would like to get your own copy of this book!).   This week I want to share with you this adorable book by Hallie Durand: Mitchell loves to knock things down, that is just how he rolls.  His dad decides that bowling will be the perfect sport for Mitchell! They go and dad gets a strike and does a “steamin’ hot potato dance”. How cute is that? This is a great story about the love between a father and

Hello again!  Thanks so much for stopping by for another Book Talk Tuesday! This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon (if you would like to get your own copy of this book!).   So, now that the school year is up and running, most of my Reading Workshop procedures are in place, so we start with all of those great mini-lessons to help us improve our reading! One of the very first lessons that I do is Voracious Reading! The best way to become a better reader is to read. I try to instill this into my students as