Jessica shares her passion for teaching and education on What I Have Learned. Jessica has 16 years of elementary teaching experience and currently homeschools her two middle school boys. She enjoys scaffolding learning for students, focusing on helping our most challenging learners achieve success in all academic areas.
Whole group instruction strategies can make the difference between a lesson that flows and one that falls apart. When you are leading direct instruction with 20 or more students, you…
Teachers use numerous teaching strategies and pedagogical approaches throughout the school day. One of the most utilized is direct instruction. But what exactly does it entail? How does it shape…
Tape diagrams are visual tools that help students solve math word problems. They offer a simple way to understand complex mathematical concepts. In this post, I will discuss tape diagrams…
Are you looking for ways to help your students deepen their understanding of different texts? Many teachers use fill-in-the-blank worksheets, cloze reading strategies, and sentence frames as classroom activities. These…
Have you ever watched a child’s face light up when he finally grasps a concept? That “Aha!” moment is what we live for as educators! Some students need hands-on, tactile…
Traditional printed books can be expensive, so alternatives are great. Whether you’re a teacher trying to prepare for reading online or a parent looking for ways to keep kids engaged…
Solar system projects work best when students get choice, structure, and clear expectations. Projects that tap into how students learn, whether through art, building, research, or writing, tend to produce…
If you’ve ever watched students jostling for first place in line or sprawling across the hallway on the way to lunch, you know how quickly a transition can unravel. Setting…
The CUBES math strategy is a word problem acronym that breaks problem-solving into five steps: Circle the numbers, Underline the question, Box the keywords, Evaluate what steps to take, and…
As an upper-grade teacher, I often lamented all of the fun thematic activities in the early elementary grades. Students got to learn about Fall, apples, and pumpkins while diving deep…
Teaching students to research online takes more than handing them a device and a search engine. These nine websites have been used in elementary classrooms for exactly the situations where…
If you’re looking for fall classroom activities to build community and momentum in the first weeks of school, this post has you covered. Below you’ll find crafts, ice-breakers, thematic teaching…