Cooperative Learning – More Than Group Work

…suggests chips, but I use craft sticks because those chips roll everywhere! I assign a discussion leader, and that role changes for each new discussion question. The leader gives each student 3…

Fun with Customary Measurement Conversions

…but they are really effective for helping kids memorize basic units of measurement. They’re also great to use in math centers and math stations because they can be played almost…

A “Smart” Way to Motivate Students

…class. It’s called Build-an-Ice Cream Student Motivator, and I created it to use on the Smartboard. This is a great strategy, especially if students need something fresh and new to…

Mighty Math Tasks!

…mean. This is a third grade task that I actually used in my classroom. You can get it here for your own use. If you are like me, your first…

Learning Goals in Workstations

…meaningful, the learning goals need to be written in kid-friendly language. Use concrete, student-centered language. They’ve got to be able to understand what the goal means, after all. The objective…

5 Ways to Help Students Become Word Collectors

…you to help YOUR students become Word Collectors — learners who notice, learn, and use interesting and meaningful words! 1. Encourage reading! Pretty obvious, right? Read aloud to your students….

Checking for Understanding with Exit Tickets

…formative assessment educators can use to check for student understanding. Depending on your purpose, exit tickets can assist you in determining … what students already know about a topic what…

Five Ways to Teach Your Students Empathy

…benefit your community, because your students will feel safe because they have the tools to solve conflicts. 1. Use Reading Standards that focus on character to teach empathy. Most reading…

Teaching Kids How to Write Super Sentences

…from the Fall Sentences to Expand freebie for this lesson, but you can use task cards from any of the seasonal freebies below. Whole Class Modeling: Start by selecting a…

Tips for Classroom Goal Setting

…of writing their own goals and plans. Use this one-page My Goals and Action Plans freebie as a place for them to record their ideas. Academic & Personal Goals –…

Math Problem Solving: Knowing Where to Begin

…The assessment is available in two versions, the American Version which uses customary measurement and the International Version which uses metric measurement. If you’d like to use these assessment with…