One Classroom Over™

When students walked into my classroom and found “science” listed on the daily schedule, their faces would light up and their energy levels went up a few levels. My students loved hands-on science activities and they begged for lessons that allowed them to learn in a kinesthetic way, making predictions and investigating.

The problem was, that with our lengthy math and reading blocks, science was one of those subjects that sometimes got pushed off, or its time allotted was cut way down. Because of this, I was always looking for opportunities to blend science into other subjects.

In today’s video, I am going to share with you some activities that you can do with your students to blend science into your math block.

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Social studies is often a “if we have time” subject in elementary school because it isn’t generally assessed on the state tests. However, the state tests do test informational text skills…and what better way to teach non-fiction reading strategies than through topics that are culturally relevant to the world our students live in?  Today, I am going to share with you some tips that will help you integrate social studies instruction into your reading block and everyday classroom routines.

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Breaks are great for getting much-needed rest and recharging your batteries! This is true whether you are on break for a holiday, because you needed to take a few days off for your mental health, or you are stuck at home due to an illness. However, getting back to “normal” in your classroom can be a challenge. How do we combat this without having to start back at square one? By taking the time to review classroom procedures after a break.

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While the word “games” has gotten a bad reputation, games can actually be incredibly engaging for students. Whether you are teaching math or phonics, you can use games in the classroom to enrich learning. Here are my three favorite phonics games for beginners. 

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Getting your students focused on learning can be difficult as we keep getting deeper into the year. Why? Well, we are getting deeper into content and we haven’t had a break for a while. Therefore,  it can become harder for students to keep up, especially in math class. Math is one of those classes that can be difficult to master and harder to make fun. However, this is where review and enrichment activities are important! I like to use easy elementary math games to keep math exciting when the focus is down.

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From story problems to textbooks, students are going to be reading in some capacity. How do we ensure our students are getting better at reading? Through small group instruction and guided reading! SHOW NOTES AND LINKS

It is inevitable that you will have unfinished student work in elementary classrooms. Teaching is no easy task. We are responsible for teaching life lessons, standards, and everyday skills. One of the biggest skills we teach our students is to be responsible for their work. Because of this, unfinished student work in elementary classrooms is one of the most important things we can tackle. How do you help unfinished student work get finished? These are five easy tips for dealing with unfinished student work.

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How many of you have wasted a whole day assessing students on reading or math so you know which group they belong in? I know that I have! Progress monitoring in elementary classrooms, assessing, and reassessing students can be time-consuming for any teacher unless that teacher is using ESGI assessments. ESGI is a guided instruction tool that help keep track of where your students are and where they are going. Need to know more about this amazing assessment tool? Keep on reading!

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It’s the end of the day. You’re packing up to head home. What do you have to reach for?  A stack of papers. As teachers, we always have papers to grade. Sometimes we have so many papers that we put them in “file 13.” However, grading doesn’t have to consume your life! I have 6 simple grading tips to thin your teacher bag out!

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Let’s face it, last school year was a dumpster fire, a train wreck, a hot mess! However, with every dumpster fire, there is a silver lining. There were so many tech tools for teachers to discover and created! We learned how to use technology and new technology was developed! I know this probably didn’t feel like a “gift” to all teachers last year, but now that we know how to use tech tools, we can use them to make our in-classroom experiences better and make our lives easier! Here are six simple tech tools for teachers that can make a world of difference!

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