Over the past ten years, our national education system has been dealing with a lot of adversity. From intense school assessments/gradings which are tied to funding, to the pandemic, the ongoing food insecurity of our student population, the legacy of underdeveloped social skills thanks to lockdowns, to now an array of student levels and a large number of newcomers of all ages that are yet to learn English.  Visual ESL Dictionary Preview Schools across the country are enrolling newcomer students at a very fast pace. Teachers are going through newcomer language assessment training and scho ..read more

Paris 2024 torch has been lit this morning in ancient Olympia. The first sign of the games has officially started. This year, the Olympic Games return to Paris, France. This is the city’s third time hosting the games. Even more interesting is the fact that it was, a Frenchman by the name of Baron de Coubertin who revived modern Olympics. He brought the Olympic Games to Paris in 1900 with the goal of uniting nations through the love of sports. So, here we are, looking forward to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games which will surely bring joy, hope, and fun. The Ancient Olympics were so important that ..read more

The state assessment season is upon us. April and May often feel like one long stretch of stress. From intense prep to weeks of actual assessments. Most schools make these weeks feel like they will never end… but thankfully, they will. The most important element of test prep is instilling confidence in students and calmly reviewing the concepts that they will be tested on. The state exam in reality is so much easier than the work that they have been mastering throughout the year. It should be a breeze. Yet, often we find that some of our brightest students don’t do so well on it because they ..read more

Earth Day 2024 is coming up and there are so many amazing stories and teaching resources to share with your students. Here is my shortlist of Earth Day picture books, vetted and loved by students.  The first place goes to The Giving Tree by Silverstein Lesson Plan. This story of giving, love, and care always rings true with students. Even though the boy keeps taking from the tree until there is nothing left, this story of unlimited wants is a perfect spot to teach about natural resources and the importance of conservation and sustainable consumption and use.  Why do we want to preser ..read more

The pandemic, school closures, online “learning”, economic crisis, and overall chaos have been extremely detrimental to our kids’ learning. And while I always believe that kids can do anything if provided with what they need, I recognize that kids weren’t given what they needed in the past four years. Most kids entering public schools are in a large class size, from kindergarten all the way through. In the name of cutting costs, schools in most states (except Florida) have abandoned the emphasis on class size, especially when it comes to primary years. Every 1st-grade classroom has four level ..read more

State Science Assessments might be in a few months but preparing for 5th grade state science assessment takes an enormous amount of preparation, since the majority of assessed standards span at least across three school years, from 3rd to 5th grade. So, if you are only teaching 5th grade standards and counting on your students remembering content taught in the previous two years (especially considering the past two years of chaos) you will be in for a big surprise when the results are in. 5th Grade Science MEGA Bundle is over 488 pages. It includes all necessary lessons and topics needed for ..read more

Learning to read and write takes a number of years and there is no curriculum that is going to work for every class and every student. We simply have too much diversity in our classrooms. We have students who didn’t attend kindergarten, since in most states, kindergarten is not mandatory. We have students who just arrived in the country and need English second language services as emerging bilinguals. We have students whose communication skills lag due to covid restrictions. Plus, even more importantly than all other factors, we have school standards that expect students to read in first grade ..read more

Reading Across America always includes Dr. Seuss books. One of the treasured reads is “Green Eggs and Ham” which teach kids about trying new things. I mean, who doesn’t want to try green eggs and ham? Even more than gaining a new perspective, students gain and practice their reading comprehension skills, rhyming, short answer response, sorting, patterns, cause and effect and MUCH MORE! This resource has been the BESTSELLER for years. A MUST HAVE. To PURCHASE click HERE ot go to: https://lenamed.gumroad.com/l/mkdou Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss Lesson Plan Critical thinking worksheets, colori ..read more

Learning standards have shifted in American public schools and the new first-grade expectations are old second-grade expectations. Students are expected to finish kindergarten knowing all their letters, sounds, and numbers up to 100 with a focus on 0-20.  Students are expected to be able to read short CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words and know sight words by heart. In first grade, students are expected to count to 100, by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s, starting at any number. First graders are expected to be able to add and subtract numbers 0-20 (this has always been an expectation in 2nd grad ..read more

And…. Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Alan Gratz American History WWII Novel Guide is finally out! This is the read your students will try to miss recess for. Told through action-filled, immersive chapters, a story of two friends, Frank and Stanley who not only survive the bombing but save many lives along and show personal and character growth. I loved that Frank is a super diver being from Florida, of course he is. Out-swimming everyone is our superpower :). Gratz depicts Hawaii, more specifically Honolulu, Oahu, as it truly is, multicultural, and through the stories of Stanley and Frank ..read more