Checking for Understanding with Exit Tickets

…behind it. Besides strategically planning a question that aligns with your learning goal, this method requires very little preparation after the initial setup. Paper Exit Tickets (and a Freebie!) Another…

Managing Whole Group Instruction

…popcorn day – I pop a bag of microwave popcorn and draw out tickets to see who will share the popcorn. I keep the tickets all week and get rid…

How to Cure the Classroom Library Blues

…with pages inside. Each page has numbered library pockets attached (4 per page). I place the card into their pocket. When they want a new book, they get their card…

5 Math Games Every Classroom Needs to Play

…their understanding of math facts to figure out what they other person’s number is when added or multiplied by their number. The first player to say the other person’s number

Bucket Seats… Made Easy!

…super easy tutorial on how to make bucket seats from those cheap 5-gallon paint buckets that you can get from pretty much any home improvement store. I actually got mine…

Teaching Informational Text with Magazines

…your students read magazines every day, host a monthly Magazine Power Hour. This activity is one of the Power Reading Tools in Power Reading Workshop: A Step-by-Step Guide, and the…

Helping Children Cope with Tragedy

…both natural and those caused by man. It models effective parenting and teaching responses. This book can help assure children that through love, empathetic understanding, preparation, and effective communication, they…

How to Introduce Decimals with Base Ten Blocks

…practice activities throughout the year. You’ve heard that practice makes perfect, and that definitely applies to place value concepts. Plenty of place value practice is needed to make perfect!  …

5 Ways to Engage Parents Using Google Drive

…account and download the Google Drive app to their phone. For parents without e-mail addresses, I also help them sign up for Gmail, and download the app on their phone