Years ago, if I had been asked the question “Are you teaching or just telling?”, I would have been insulted. Of course I was teaching! Or was I? I have done a lot of self-reflection on my own instruction, and one thing I have worked really hard at is making my teaching as.explicit.as.possible. It has …
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General
How to Make the Best Use of Time in Your Literacy Classroom
We Never Have Enough Time When you are an educator, time is a precious resource. I have had a lot of conversations with teachers over the years about TIME. There just isn’t enough of it… EVER. As a classroom teacher, I felt it, too. Lately these conversations with teachers seem to be the only conversations I’m having. …
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Book Recommendation: Change Sings! Happy Autumn Equinox!
I finally received my copy of the much-anticipated book Change Sings! How many of you pre-ordered this book like I did after hearing Amanda Gorman recite her goosebump-inducing poem The Hill We Climb on Inauguration Day? Even though I’ve been waiting 8 long months for the arrival of this book, it seems it couldn’t have arrived on …
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Who is Willard?!
If you have read any of our recent posts, you may have noticed some advice boxes labeled Willard’s Words of Wisdom. You may even have noticed that Willard has his own “About” page. So who is this mysterious character? Today we unveil Willard. He is a snake plant or Sansevieria, pronounced (san-se-vi-ee’-ri-ah) and is a …
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Growing Readers Out of a Pizza Box? Yup!
Today I want to share a tip for K-2 teachers or teachers who might have young readers at home. .Young readers need a place to keep the books they are reading for the week. When my daughter was learning from home this school year, one of my challenges was making sure she had a supply of …
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Simple Ways to Connect with Students in Virtual and Face-to-Face Classrooms
As we turn our attention to the upcoming school year, we do so with many questions and much uncertainty. Will we start the school year face-to-face or remotely? If we are face-to-face, how will social distancing guidelines change the way we teach? The list of questions is endless. And unsolvable. And possibly paralyzing. How do …
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Explicit Teaching From a Distance
As we embark on distance learning in our digital/virtual classrooms, it is now more important than ever to be sure our teaching is clear and concise. Distance learning needs to be more than a place where we post assignments, activities, and questions to respond to. We have the responsibility to teach while we are socially …
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Teacher Tribute: Patricia Kucharski
Is this virtual teaching thing making you exhausted? Need a good laugh? Stick with me for this tribute… Today we celebrate first-grade teacher, Patricia Kucharski. I adore so much about this teacher, but the thing I love the most about her is her willingness to put herself out there. I recently brought a group of …
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