Seasonal themes make it easier to keep students engaged throughout the year while still teaching the skills you need to teach. From back-to-school routines to end-of-year reflection, seasonal activities can support classroom community, academic practice, and a little extra fun when everyone needs it most.
This elementary Thanksgiving unit helps students understand the events leading up to the first Thanksgiving and gives them tools to make connections between those events. By the end of the…
We started our measurement unit this Fall by measuring the attributes of pumpkins. Students had fun working with their team to explore their pumpkins AND this pumpkin activity made a great introduction to measurement. Get a FREE copy of the student sheets for this pumpkin exploration!
October is the perfect time to study and write about creatures that come out at night. Bats, spiders, owls . . . this month is filled with creepy creatures that…
Our favorite October picture books for the primary classroom that are engaging, have good pictures and are well received by my students. These are our classroom favorites that I go back to each and every year during the fall season.
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…
Do you have difficulty writing letters home to parents? What do you say? What kind news from the classroom do they want to hear? How do you not make it…
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…
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…
How do you teach students about life cycles? Below are some ideas and resources on how we build background knowledge and work with information about life cycles and animals that…
Sponge activities are short learning activities designed to fill those 5 to 10 extra minutes in the school day, such as the wait before lunch, the last few minutes after…
We’re almost into the final stretch of the school year! March, April, May and part of June! It seems so close and yet so far away at the same time!…
Setting up your classroom daily schedule at the start of the year is one of those tasks that sounds manageable until you’re actually doing it. You have reading, math, writing,…
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