Literacy, a piece of education that shows up in all the subjects we teach. From English class to story problems in math literacy is literally everywhere in education. When students struggle to read, it can make several other tasks difficult to do as well. How do we build strong literacy skills in our students to help them embrace their learning instead of struggling with the words? Here are six easy literacy development strategies for teachers.

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Differentiation is a big word in the world of education. But what does this mean? In a nutshell, this “big word” means you are thinking of all of your students’ individual needs as well as the needs of the whole group. Differentiation is the process all teachers go through with all of their students but especially their special needs students. When you work with special needs students, you get to work with special needs education teachers. How can you do this without a hiccup? Follow the guide below for tips to seamlessly work with special education teachers.

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Classroom assistants are literal angels sent down from the superintendent or principal as a gift to you. Having an extra pair of eyes, ears, and hands in the classroom can be a Godsend! If you’ve never had a classroom assistant before or tend to be a bit of a control freak, you might not know what to do with your classroom assistant. Check out seven things you can have your classroom assistant do to help you keep your best friend busy.

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When a kindergartener walks into the classroom, what kind of reading skills do expect them to have? From the time they were born all the way through preschool, students have been developing literacy skills. While they may not be able to read and write per se, they do have some level of emergent literacy skill developed before you even show them that first sight word.

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When we are in our classroom, it’s “us against the world.” There are times in the classroom when we have too many questions to answer, but if we have a good teaching aid to reference, the number of students who need help might go down. Teaching aids are great to have around the room, in special binders, in centers, and on the walls.  In addition to the students needing help, the teacher might need a little help behind the scenes as well. What do you do when there’s so much to be answered and done and there’s not enough time to do it all? Find teaching aids to help you and your students. Here are five teaching aids worth having in your classroom.

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The ever amazing word wall … the place where sight words hang and sometimes never get used. Word walls are amazing tools to have in your classroom, but are you working your it to its full potential? If not, check out these fun ways to make your display work for you!

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In our society, teachers are often held to a higher standard. While this is flattering, we are all bound to falter here and there. Whether that’s forgetting about having a morning duty or saying something at the wrong time to the wrong student, we are all going to make mistakes in the classroom. The most important part of making mistakes is learning from them. Here are the top five classroom mistakes all teachers make and how to fix them.

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Have you ever gotten really sick or had one of your own kiddos get really sick last minute? Has there been a family emergency you had to attend to? Have you ever had a day where you are barely hanging on and it’s only 8:15 AM? If the answer to either of these questions is “Yes,” then keep reading! If the answer to either of these questions is, “No,” either you are a superhero or you need to think back a little further! We all have days where things just don’t go as planned. When we have these days, a classroom binder can be your best friend.

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When a storm hits and your field trip gets postponed hours, maybe minutes before take-off who are you going to call? Your room a parent! This classroom asset is a great resource to help you bridge the communication gap between everyone in your educational life.

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What do you think of when you hear the word trauma? For many of us, we may think of death at a young age, abuse, or bad accidents that result in a life-changing event. When you talk about trauma-informed teaching, we aren’t talking about the one-time traumas that we all encounter in life. Trauma-informed teaching is being aware of the “trauma” students are facing every day that are out of the teacher’s control.

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