Let us help you teach like a ninja!
If you are an elementary generalist in Canada, chances are, you are teaching art. That can be challenging if you don’t consider yourself an artist. Here are some tried and true routines we’ve put in place with our classes over the years that have saved our sanity.
Maybe you’ll start enjoying teaching art again!
[Read more…] about Are You Avoiding Teaching Art? How to Fix That
You’ve been asked to do Guided Reading as part of your Language Arts program and you’re a little worried. It seems overwhelming.
We’ve been there. It feels like you have to learn so much on the spot and you’re concerned that you won’t do a good job. Here’s the truth. You’ll learn as you go and you will get better at it. Everyone has to start somewhere.
A big part of doing a good job maximizing your teaching time with students comes from being prepared and organized. So, let’s dig in and get you organized so you can do a great job of Guided Reading.
[Read more…] about How to Prepare For Your Guided Reading Groups
Writing emergency sub plans for a supply teacher is a big pain in the butt. Even more so, when some sort of family emergency comes up and you’re still legally responsible for two days of classes (or more depending on where you teach).
It;s strange that these certified teachers who come into our classroom don’t have to plan anything for two full days. At least, that is the rule in the province where we live. Teachers are responsible for leaving two full days of plans for their students regardless of the situation. This must be in the only job in the world where you do just as much work on the days you aren’t there as the days you are.
I once wrote sub plans on my phone from a hospital bed. True story. And as crazy as that was, I learned a valuable lesson from it.
Emergency Sub Plans!
[Read more…] about It’s Time to Get Your Emergency Sub Plans Ready
Do you want to try flexible seating in your classroom but you aren’t sure where to start? Maybe it’s not the right fit for your classroom management style. Let us walk you through how to start alternative seating options in your classroom so you can decide for yourself if it’s the right fit for you.
Hint hint! It’s not right for everyone.
Our goal is not to convince you to try flexible seating, but instead give you a realistic idea of how flexible seating can be a benefit to your students, problems you’ll encounter and what you should think about before you go buying yourself flexible seating furniture.
[Read more…] about Everything You Need to Know About Flexible Seating
When a colleague told us we should try interactive notebooks in math, we agreed and then went on our merry ways and did math the same old way for another year.
At the end of that school year, she approached us again and DEMANDED we buy an Interactive Math Journal lesson plan set. We took a look, bought it and then went on summer vacation never to think about math for a whole two months.
Near the end of the summer we opened it up and it CHANGED OUR WORLD. We will never teach math the same way again. That being said, there are a few things we learned about the process and we wanted to share these tips with you so you don’t have to spend so much time figuring things out yourself.
[Read more…] about How to Change Math With Interactive Notebooks
You are a great teacher, but don’t have a classroom library? Of course you want your students to have a great selection of books for reading throughout the year, but most schools do not pay for classroom libraries. How on Earth are new teachers (and even the more experienced ones) expected to have a quality selection of classroom library books?
[Read more…] about How to Stretch Your Classroom Library
