Latest on the Blog

Math Inquiry Outside: Patterning

As teachers, I think it's a good idea to try to find learning opportunities outside of the four walls of our classrooms. Most of us do field trips here and there but I'm talking about teaching regular lessons outside.There are so many learning opportunities right outside of your school that don't require a bus or fees.Step outside of your classroom and do some exploring with your students!We were beginning to learn about patterning for math so I told my students we were going on an adventure. I ... Read the Post

How do you celebrate Halloween in your classroom? Spooktacular Giveaway and FREE Samples!!

I'm joining up with a bunch of great bloggers to share how we celebrate Halloween in our classrooms! From October 17th to October 19th you can visit our blogs to get some great ideas and some great freebies. Don't forget to enter our giveaway for your chance to win a gift certificate to TeachersPayTeachers.In my class we usually do some Halloween themed art work:I always check out the dollar store for inspiration. Every year they have something different that I can bring into my ... Read the Post

Subitizing and Brain Breaks!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Beattie to share some awesome things we did in my class this week!You might think that subitizing and brain breaks don't really fit well together for a blog post.... but you haven't met my class this year!I have the antsy, can't sit still, can't stop talking, need to move, kind of class this year. We need to take frequent brain and body breaks in order to stay focused for even a little while. I'll share my Brain Break strategy at the end (at which point you might need ... Read the Post

Teaching Writing by the Trait: Generating Ideas!

In the past I used to focus on teaching various forms of writing that I was told were important to teach (letter writing, procedural writing, recounts etc.). I never quite understood why I was supposed to spend so much time on making sure all student's writing would essentially look and sound basically the same. The students were bored and I was bored reading their writing! You can read more about that in my review post of the book, "No More I'm Done" (I'm a big fan of this book). Once I ditched ... Read the Post

A Great Read Aloud For Inquiry Based Learning

If you do a lot of open ended inquiry type learning with your students than I have a great read aloud for you!! It's especially great if you do things with your students like the Caine's arcade challenge.One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was about Caine's arcade and I wish I had known about this book before I did the activity with my students. You can click on the image below to view the book on Amazon. The book is about a little girl who wants to make something...the most ... Read the Post

Book Review: No More “I’m Done”

Someone that I work with had recommended this book to me so I decided to check it out for myself. It's called, No More "I'm Done". I'm in love with this book. You can click on the image below to check it out on Amazon.One of the reasons I love this book is that it is an easy read. I have other teacher resources that are hundreds upon hundreds of pages long that I'm sure are full of great content but I just don't have the time to sit down and read them. So they sit on my bookshelf in ... Read the Post