I've written all about how I love research at the early elementary level. My first graders loved researching and writing as a class, in partners, and even on their own as part of a research writing center. The farm is always a fun kindergarten and first grade unit, and it even makes a great field [...]

After I had decided to have a routine of problem solving using word problems with my class, I knew I needed a routine, and one that would require the students to do some thinking and definitely a little productive struggle. Part of that productive struggle involved using spiraled practice. This means that we would work [...]

From the time I began working in schools (before I even had a full time classroom teacher position) I always heard two big gripes about math. Students don't retain concepts- A month after finishing a unit, all the strategies and fluency your students have developed have flown out the window. Word Problems are SO HARD [...]

October is one of my favorite times of year- First because of all things pumpkin spice, second because there are so many fun things to do with students during this month! From Columbus Day, to fire safety, to nocturnal animals and of course Halloween- There are so many fun units and topics to explore! Here [...]

As I prepared for my maternity leave, I realized that I didn't know exactly what I was supposed to do to get ready. It was overwhelming at a time when I had so much on my plate already. Here are a few things I learned along the way that really helped make the transition as [...]

When you're working with early elementary students in kindergarten, first, and second grade, the task of asking them to write informational text is new to so many schools and teachers with the introduction of the common core. My first year as a classroom teacher I taught third grade and researching and writing about topics in [...]

This post is going to be a short and sweet one! I'll share my working definition of a research companion and a brief explanation of how I use them in my classroom: A Research companion is a set of materials that supports students as they read and learn about a certain topic. For me, it [...]

Planning for a maternity leave, a medical leave of absence or any sort of long term leave of absence as a teacher can be stressful and overwhelming for the teacher and the substitute. I found it was much easier to break down the process of preparing one step at a time. First I took a [...]

I've written before about a bunch of the reasons I love teaching with thematic units. When I pick units, plan,and teach, there are a few Dos and Don'ts I personally follow. Some of them I think are inspired from the criticism I've heard of other teachers who were sick and tired of being bound to [...]