An end-of-the-year countdown can be an awesome way to wrap up your year with your students at the end of a school year, but you may be wondering how on earth to organize one. I've got some tips and considerations for how to organize a fun end-of-the-year ABC countdown! There are five main things I think you should consider when planning an end-of-year countdown: the format your countdown will take, the length of time you'd like it to last, what activities you'd like to include, and how you will manage it among all the other end-of-year tasks and responsibilities you'll also have on your pl ..read more

Guided math is an incredible structure that allows teachers to support the needs of ALL their students, but many shy away from using it. Most don't realize how easy it is to incorporate into their classrooms. Here are ten simple reasons why guided math is perfect for your classroom! Why Guided Math is Perfect for Your Classroom 1. Guided math means personalized instruction. When you teach with a guided math structure, you can better personalize your lessons. With a focus on small groups, you can tailor your lessons to meet the specific needs of each group of students in your care. 2. Guid ..read more

Engaging students in the classroom is harder than ever. I sometimes feel like I should have a degree in Drama to be effective in front of my class! With the advancement of technology, online math games have become a popular tool to engage our students and supplement traditional classroom learning.  As we get nearer to spring break, I'm exploring the benefits of using online math games to keep my students engaged and learning.  Here are some of the benefits of online math games that I'm finding:Engagement:  Online math games are designed to be interactive and engaging, making ..read more

A constructed response strategy like RACE or RACES is a great way to support your students when responding to reading. Since many state and provincial assessments expect these types of responses, it is essential that we explicitly teach students how to answer them! This post shares why I've chosen the RACES strategy and how to introduce and implement it in your classroom. What does RACES stand for? RACES is an acronym designed to help students remember the essential parts of reading response. Some classrooms don't include the S, but I think it is a necessary bridge to longer-form essay wri ..read more

Personal student dictionaries, or word books, are of great value in Grade 1-6 classrooms. When made a priority, these easy-to-use tools will help you grow your students' skills while you differentiate with ease. Read on for 4 reasons to use personal student dictionaries in your classroom. Student Dictionaries Encourage Independence One of the top reasons I love using personal student dictionaries in my classroom is to improve my students' independence. Before I added this tool, I spent a good deal of the writing block moving from desk to desk, helping students spell words they really shou ..read more

Rubrics are an essential part of the assessment and evaluation process. The achievement charts in the Ontario curriculum documents guide how all of our evaluations of student work should be compared. However, teacher-created rubrics are useful and valid. Here are my tips and suggestions for how to make a rubric for any subject. What is a rubric? A rubric is an assessment tool designed to objectively describe achievement across various levels. They are typically designed in a chart with the criteria in one column and varying degrees of competencies described in the subsequent columns, repre ..read more

A constructed response strategy like RACE or RACES is a great way to support your students when responding to reading. Since many state and provincial assessments expect these types of responses, it is essential that we explicitly teach students how to answer them! This post shares why I've chosen the RACES strategy and how to introduce and implement it in your classroom. What does RACES stand for? RACES is an acronym designed to help students remember the essential parts of reading response. Some classrooms don't include the S, but I think it is a necessary bridge to longer-form essay wri ..read more

Small-group instruction is a valuable teaching strategy, but the thought of getting started can be overwhelming. How exactly do you get small-group instruction organized? I've got the tips and tricks you need! Why small-group instruction? If you've spent any time in a classroom, you know that there is no one-size-fits-all lesson that meets the needs of every student. In my 24+ years of teaching, I've seen firsthand the benefits of teaching small-group lessons. A quick Google search asking what the research says about small-group instruction will give you plenty of scientific evidence to su ..read more

Is running a calendar time in your primary classroom a practice of the past? I don't think so. Having a calendar math program is a great way to introduce, consolidate, and perfect some critical math skills, setting your students up for future success. What is a calendar time routine? In my classroom, calendar math time served as a warm-up to our math block each day. It was an opportunity for my students to gather with me on the classroom carpet and talk about math. It was interactive and quick, leaving no time for students to get bored or distracted, and it helped my students thoroughly lea ..read more

Giving students a little boost in confidence at the beginning of a new school year is the perfect way to set the tone and make them feel welcome in a new classroom! When students feel happy, respected, and part of a community, I've found them more likely to take pride in the space and engage during lessons. In my classroom, I have three simple strategies I use to give students a boost in confidence and make them feel like welcome members of my classroom. Getting to know them Giving students a voice Including student perspectives Boosting Confidence by Getting to Know Students I never ..read more