Close Reading in Action in the Primary Classroom

Is close reading making you pull out your hair? Don’t think your primary kiddos can handle it?  I’ve created a 5-part  Close Reading Series to help you get more comfortable with it in your classroom.  Once you get the hang of it, you’ll see how powerful and beneficial it is for your students. Part 1- What is […]

Best Classroom Hacks You Can Use Tomorrow

Classroom Hacks make me so dang happy because they’re efficient and make sense.  I love when I figure out a clever way to implement an idea, probably way more than I should, but I can’t help it.  If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that efficiency makes me giddy and I’m pretty sure I’m not […]

Books Teachers Love: April Read Alouds

I know we’re not suppose to choose an April Read Aloud by it’s cover, but I couldn’t help it with this adorable book.  What can I say, I’m a sucker for bright colors and cute illustrations.  Each month, a few teachers get together and share our favorite read alouds and activities that will help you […]

What is Close Reading?

Close Reading is something we all should be doing with Common Core but don’t always know how to implement because it’s so tedious.  It’s being able to figure out what a challenging text means with little front loading.  It’s reading closely and with a purpose   You may be wondering, how can I get my first and second graders […]

Make parent conferences more manageable

 It’s that time of the year when things are getting CRAZY!  We have a ton of district assessments for the next two weeks because our trimester is ending and you know what that means…REPORT CARDS and PARENT CONFERENCES.  Oh my!  I use to really dread conference time.  It wasn’t that I didn’t have friendly parents, […]

Level your classroom library by lexile

Over the years, I’ve organized my library by genres, then by Accelerated Reading (AR) level, then AR level within genres and then nothing at all!  Oh my!  I loved it because it was so organized and made this semi-perfectionist heart smile.  But with moving schools, classrooms, and states, my little library had to be sold […]

March Read Alouds for Primary Grades

I want to share with you one of my favorite series as part of this March Read Alouds post.  Not because it has a lot of depth and requires a lot of thinking, but because it’s fun!  The “There was an Old Lady” books remind me of my childhood and my students think they’re hilarious. […]

My Favorite Teaching Supplies I Can’t Live Without to Get Organized

I’ve got a few teaching supplies that I use in my class to help with organization.  These resources have helped me organize my to-do list, all of my materials for the week, papers, and more! Bell Stop passing out papers and wasting time, seriously!  You’ve got so many other things to do, right!  So, get […]