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.

Classroom Management

How to Organize Construction Paper in the Classroom

The fastest way to waste time during a lesson is searching through a jumbled stack of paper for the right color. Construction paper and colored copy paper are the most…

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Writing

Describing Actions in Writing: Verb Activity + Examples for 2nd Grade

Teaching students to describe actions in writing is one of the most practical writing skills you can build in second grade. It comes down to verbs. Not just any verb…

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Writing

Writing Offices for Elementary Students

Our district is {finally} adopting the Common Core next year, so I’ve spent a lot of time this year preparing for it! One thing that is changing are our writing…

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Math

Generalizations in Math: Examples and Teaching Strategies

When I taught third grade, we spent a lot of time noticing what was always true about numbers, not just what happened with one example, but the rule underneath the…

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Writing

Letters for Oklahoma

The tragedy in Oklahoma is a sad reminder of our fallen world and our lack of control over some things around us. It’s unreal how instantly our lives can change…

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Writing

Narrative Graphic Organizer Example for Small Moment Writing

A narrative graphic organizer gives students a place to plan their story before they start drafting. When students are asked to write a personal narrative, many try to write about…

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Writing

Small Moment Story Ideas for Personal Narrative Writing

Small moment story ideas help students turn broad personal narrative topics into focused stories they can actually write. Instead of writing about an entire vacation, birthday, or school day, students…

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Instructional Strategies | Math

Curriculum Mapping for Second Grade Math

How do you plan for a full year of teaching in your classroom? What curriculum do you choose? How do you choose what to teach during each month of the…

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Reading | Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension Posters – Strategies and Skills

Reading comprehension posters that focus on 24 reading skills and reading strategies that elementary students use when reading to learn. Some skills and strategies include: compare and contrast, identify main idea, make connections and more. The posters come in multiple formats and are great for helping students learn the language patterns of the comprehension skills. They come with prompts, responses, and graphic organizers.

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Math

Subtraction Go Fish: A Hands-On Way to Build Fact Fluency

Subtraction facts can be tricky for young learners. Some students rush, some count on their fingers, and some freeze the second the numbers go past 10. Sound familiar? Subtraction fact…

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Reading

Literacy Centers vs Daily 5: Which Works Best for Small Group Instruction?

If you’ve ever tried to run small groups while the rest of your class is supposed to be “working independently,” you already know the truth. It’s never as quiet or…

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Math

Things That Come in Groups: 100+ Examples from 2s to 12s

Things that come in groups is a great way to introduce multiplication to elementary students. Brainstorm objects that come in 2s, 3s, 4s, etc. Then show students how these groups relate to multiplication when there are multiple groups. #multiplication #thingsingroups #equalgroups

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