Author: Jessica Boschen

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.

Back-to-School

Back to School Tips for Teachers: How to Prepare Before the First Day

These back to school tips for teachers come from years of first days — the ones that felt seamless and the ones that didn’t. The difference almost always came down…

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Instructional Strategies

Cardboard Arcade Games: A Classroom Project Kids Love

When a boy named Caine spent his summer building a cardboard arcade in his dad’s auto parts shop, someone filmed a short documentary about it. If you haven’t seen it,…

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Back-to-School

Best School Supplies for Teachers: What I Use Every Day

Every year I add to my list of school supplies for teachers that I cannot imagine being without. Some of these I have used since my first year in the…

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Math

Mathematical Practice Discussion Cards Get Students Talking about Math

One of the most challenging things in my elementary classroom is to move students away from getting an answer in math to talking about and discussing strategies. When students learn…

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Math

Why “Keyword” Strategies for Word Problems Don’t Work

As an elementary school teacher, you know all too well the importance of helping your students develop their math skills. As a result, many of us have embraced the use…

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Math

How to Teach Word Problems: Strategies and Lesson Plans for Addition and Subtraction

A second grader reads, “Maya had 14 stickers. She gave 6 to her brother. How many does she have now?” Knowing how to teach word problems means knowing why this…

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Classroom Management

9 Ways to Teach Responsibility in the Elementary Classroom

Teaching responsibility in the elementary classroom works best when you weave it into daily routines rather than treating it as a one-time lesson. Responsibility is a trait students develop over…

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Math

Fraction Sentence Frames for Teaching Math Vocabulary

When students struggle to describe what they see in a fraction, the problem is often vocabulary, not understanding. Fraction sentence frames give students the exact language they need to explain…

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End-of-the-Year | Summer

End-of-the-Year Art Projects That Keep Students Busy

The last few weeks of school bring a very specific kind of energy. Students are restless, afternoons feel long, and focus drops fast. At the same time, the daily schedule…

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Classroom Management

Building Character in the Classroom: Activities and Strategies

Teaching character in the classroom means more than posting a quote on the wall. These are the strategies that have actually helped: behavior goals, a monthly character-trait focus, and literature…

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Math

13 Fun and Effective Ways to Teach Coin Counting in 2nd Grade

Do your students have difficulty counting money? Coin counting is an important part of solidifying early math skills, but it can be tricky for children to master. Teaching your second-grade…

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Writing

Teach How to State an Opinion to 2nd Grade Students

How do you teach opinion writing in your second-grade classroom? These writing strategies will help you teach students to use academic language when expressing their opinion and then turn that in excellently written paragraphs.

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