In this post: Have you found yourself getting frustrated trying to print PDF classroom resources? These pdf printing tips and tricks for teachers might help!
Did you know that my job in college was to help troubleshoot the giant printers and copiers in the school library? I knew almost nothing about computers (I answered unplug it to every question in my interview), but for some reason they still hired me!
Thankfully, i'm a little more tech savvy now and I've learned some helpful pdf ...
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How to Teach Teen Numbers and Make Them Stick
In this Blog Post: Wondering how to teach teen numbers in kindergarten? Learn the easiest trick for teaching teen numbers and making them stick!
If you teach kindergarten, you know that teen numbers can be tricky! I’m not sure why, but those tricky teens are one of the hardest math concepts for my kindergarten students to grasp.
A few years ago, I started brainstorming how to teach teen numbers in a way that would make them stick.
I found an easy trick for teaching teen numbers that ...
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21 Reading Fluency Activities Your Students Will LOVE!
In this blog post: Are you looking to improve your students’ reading fluency? These 21 fun, hands on reading fluency activities make it easy!
Do you have students who can decode with the best of them, but when they read they. sound. like. this?
They can read and probably even understand the text, but it is slooooow and painful to listen to.
The missing piece of their puzzle is reading fluency.
Reading fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression.
Fluent ...
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How To Choose the Best Decodable Readers for Your Class
In This Blog Post: Struggling with how to choose the best decodable readers and books for your class? Here are some tips.
If you’ve been learning about the science of reading, you’ve probably heard that you should be using decodable readers in your small reading groups.
Swapping out leveled texts for decodable books can have a HUGE impact on students’ reading success!
But how do you choose the best decodable readers for your class?
It can be super confusing! Especially when you start ...
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What Is the Science of Reading?
In This Blog Post: Wondering what is the science of reading? Find out what it is, what structured literacy looks like in a classroom, and easy ideas you can implement today.
There has been a lot of buzz around the science of reading lately.
To many teachers, this is something they’ve never heard of before (I was one of them)! Some have only heard the buzz and they’re still wondering, what exactly is the science of reading?
But here’s the thing; once we start looking into it, we realize ...
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Popping Sounds Phonemic Awareness Activity for Manipulating Sounds
In This Post: Read about a hands on way to teach manipulating and changing sounds in words. Then grab a free phonemic awareness activity for manipulating sounds.
We know that daily phonemic awareness practice is a structured literacy must have, but there are some skills that are just plain difficult to teach!
In my opinion, manipulating and changing sounds in words is the most difficult of difficult phonemic awareness skills.
Not only do students have to segment and hold sounds for one ...
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Teachers’ Favorite Picture Books for February
In this blog post: Planning your February read alouds? Find the best picture books for February recommended by teachers!
Read alouds in the classroom are an amazing way to build comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. Whether you’re using them for an interactive read aloud or just for fun, daily read alouds should absolutely be a part of any elementary classroom.
I am always looking for new February picture books to add to my collection. You can never have enough books, right?
That’s ...
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SCIENCE OF READING What Does a Pre-Readers Lesson Plan Look Like?
More and more teachers are switching their small group reading instruction to align with the science of reading and that is an amazing thing!
But with this switch comes the need to change how we plan small group lesson plans.
I recently asked teachers what questions they had about using a science of reading approach in guided reading, and one question that came up repeatedly was, “What should a small group lesson plan look like? What do I need to include in my lessons?”
This is such a ...
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6 Fun and Free No Prep Alphabet Centers
If you teach preschool, Pre-k, or kindergarten then you know that the alphabet is kind of a big deal. We spend weeks teaching letters and letter sounds, singing alphabet songs, making alphabet crafts… basically living a real life version of chicka chicka boom boom.
When you’re spending that much time teaching and learning the alphabet, you want to make sure that you have enough practice activities to keep things from getting, well, stale.
These FREE alphabet centers are not only hands on ...
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6 Tips For Teaching CVC Words in Kindergarten
Teaching CVC words in Kindergarten is a HUGE part of our year! As a kindergarten teacher, you know that it’s an exciting time, too.
Everything we poured into learning letters and sounds and building a strong phonemic awareness foundation is starting to come together.
Our students are ready to read!
However, once you get to this point, it can be difficult to know exactly where to begin. How do we best teach CVC words in Kindergarten and make them stick?
This blog post will give you 6 ...
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