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Shades of Meaning & Strong Word Choice
Help early elementary students improve their writing by teaching word choices through integrating shades of meaning. These strategies will help your students grow as writers! Anyone else ever get totally sick of seeing your students use the most booooooring words ever in their writing?? The word choice is just downright

Assessment Ideas to Try in Your Classroom
As teacher we know we have to use assessments to drive instruction but sifting through data is time consuming and confusing. So I’m sharing 5 simple assessment ideas to try in your classroom to quickly understand your students’ needs! Do you have a love/hate relationship with assessment? I know I

Teacher Resumes: A Simple Guide
Tips to Make Your Teacher Resume Stand Out from the Stack Let’s be honest – Job hunting is stressful, and teacher resumes are, too! I don’t think many people would describe it as “fun” – that’s just not how it goes. But you know what I love? RESUMES. I know,

Math Mysteries for 1st & 2nd Grade
I want to start by sharing just a little backstory about where I came up with these math mysteries… Because 2020 was the year we stayed home so much, my husband and I started having more date nights at home. We had to get creative, and we discovered one of

My Favorite Strategy for 3-Digit Subtraction
Does anyone else despise teaching 2 and 3-digit subtraction? I totally LOVE addition, but subtraction… no thanks. It can be so difficult for our students! Now, while I still don’t love teaching it, I wanted to share with you my favorite simple strategy to use. It just might come in

Why I Stopped Teaching the Standard Algorithm
As a 2nd grade teacher, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had students come to me SO excited because they can do two-digit & three-digit addition (and subtraction). Almost every time they show me their impressive skills with the standard algorithm. YAY! As most teachers do when this

5 Keys to a Stress Free 100th Day of School
If you’re a primary teacher, part of our everyday routines is counting the days in school. And it will come as no surprise that the 100th day of school is pretty special! Not only is it quite the milestone, but you finally get to regroup all of tens for a

Digital Math Centers in First Grade & Second Grade
Many schools and classrooms are still switching between in-person learning and distance learning. It’s CRAZY hard. Keeping students engaged and on task is harder than ever! That’s why I designed these digital math centers and activities that students love! Plus, even if you’re not teaching remotely, these are fun digital

Google Keep for Teachers
As teachers, we LOVE office supplies. The number of sticky notes I have in my desk is astounding, but there’s just one problem. I start way too many lists on way too many different sticky notes. I can’t keep them all straight! Then, inevitably I lose one and that’s a

Free Apple Activities for K-2 Classrooms
September is right around the corner, and that means it’s time for all things APPLES! I absolutely LOVE using apples for teaching so many skills and standards. I’ve rounded up over ten free apple activities for kindergarten through 2nd grade! Free Apple Activities for Reading & Writing Apple Pie Play

Digital Phonics for First Grade & Second Grade
With our current pandemic, teaching remotely is becoming very common. Plus, we don’t know how long distance learning will last. So, I wanted to create an engaging way for first grade and second grade students to practice phonics skills. That’s why I’ve designed these digital phonics activities! Even if you’re

10 Books for Building Classroom Community
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE finding new picture books to read during the first few weeks of school! These picture books are all about building classroom community, which is what we spend a ton of time doing at the beginning of the year! I’ve rounded up TEN