How many times have you given a direction and the results went something like this? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jay Salazar (@thejaysalazar_) I image you only see this on days that end in Y. (My students never get that joke.) This is a common problem in the classroom, and it […] The post Solving “I Don’t Know What To Do” appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey ..read more

We all have our teacher pet peeves. These are the things that drive us crazy! They can be serious, and they can be petty (crooked desks). Either way, they’re real to us! For the most part, my classroom runs smoothly. When working with students, I’m flexible, accommodating, and choose my battles carefully. But, there are […] The post Teacher Pet Peeves appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey ..read more

Have you finished your education degree and finally get to experience your first year teaching? Are you moving to a new school? Have you taken a few years off and are reentering education? Are you serving as a mentor teacher? Are you looking for advice for new teachers? If yes, keep reading. You’ll see that this article is full of contradictions. That’s appropriate, because teaching is full of contradictions. Differentiate for your students, but they will all be taking the same standardized test. Be sure to practice self-care, but don’t take any time off of work or try to leave early. Meet you ..read more

Teaching prefixes, suffixes, and multiple meaning words, plus root words and base words is a full-year endeavor. It’s not something that can be done in an individual unit of instruction. Instead, there must be continuous and intentional instruction along with reinforcement throughout all reading units. However, time is never our friend. As teachers, we know how valuable time is. We need more time to plan and develop lessons. There’s almost always a time crunch when we try to squeeze in all our lessons into the school day. Plus, there’s never enough time in the school year to properly teach all ..read more

Teaching adjectives and adverbs doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, there are many ways to make this meaningful and engaging for students. This can absolutely be embedded into your writing instruction. However, you may have times where your students need a little extra practice, so I’ve made a few activities to help you out. Adjective Acrostic To incorporate a little art, have students write their names vertically on a piece of construction paper. If you’d rather everyone work with the same letters, you could use your school’s mascot, such as “EAGLES” or even grade level “THIRD GRADE”. Student ..read more

This decimal escape activity is a math lesson your students won’t forget. To be over-the-top cheesy, some might say it’s out of this world! In the decimal escape, students must work together to escape from outer space. To escape, students unlock a series of locks to acquire the extra fuel from the international space station. There are multiple versions of this activity to meet various classroom needs. One version is for a physical set-up of the activity that uses locks and boxes. The second version is for a hybrid digital version of the activity that does not require boxes or locks. Instead ..read more

This geometry escape room activity is a perfect way to end your upper elementary geometry unit! In this activity students work together to escape from a zoo where all the animals are out of their cages. To escape, students use clues and codes to unlock a series of locks to find the key that allows them to escape the zoo. I have included multiple versions of this geometry escape room activity to meet your classroom needs. One version is for a physical set-up of the activity, and the second version is for a digital version of the activity that does not require boxes or locks. Students enter the ..read more

This measurement escape is a culminating activity for the fourth grade measurement standards. In the activity, students must work together to escape from a coral reef. To escape, students must unlock a series of locks to find their way out of the reef. There are multiple versions of this activity to meet your classroom needs. One version is for a physical set-up of the activity, and the second version is for a digital version of the activity that does not require boxes or locks. Instead, students will enter their codes on their computer or device through Google Forms. Clue 1 In clue 1, studen ..read more

This shares 4 procedural reading lessons you don’t want to skip. At the start of the school year, it can be challenging to find your groove.  Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to get back into the routine. It can also be difficult to find your starting place teaching reading. Your first few lessons of the school year are building toward your “normal” reading lessons. This post focuses on how to get started with your upper elementary reading lessons. Guidelines of Reading Workshop My first reading lesson of the year is Guidelines of Reading Workshop. This is typically a refresher lesson for ..read more

I like to start the year off with hands-on place value activities, because place value is the foundation for all other math concepts. It’s important to spend time on place value to ensure students are prepared for more challenging concepts. These place value activities and practice pages can be printed as a booklet and area a great supplement to any math program or curriculum. You can use them for centers, stations, whole group activities, or really anything! Activity 1-Rounding Riddles Students solve six rounding riddles that require critical thinking. In the first problem students write a n ..read more