Today's quick win strategy is all about keeping our students moving forward, allowing them to deeply engage with complex upper elementary skills, by just giving them the key information.

Literally, just give them the key!

Fluently solving multiplication facts, figuring out how to spell a word, finding key details from a story...yes, there is a time and place for teaching our students these things. But when working on more complex aspects, don't stall student engagement by sidetracking the lesson. Or worse, don't hold students back from participation in a lesson just because they are stuck on a prerequisite skill.

You'll win with more engagement, more motivation to try the tougher concepts, and less time teaching things over and over for the "first time" as students are ready.

Cheers to 2023, and I hope this episode helps you and your students get past those post-winter-break brain farts!

To learn more about the "Stronger Spelling: Small steps for teachers of big kids" on-demand training launching this month, click here!