One of my professional goals for this school year was to make design thinking a more integral part of the curriculum, but not as a stand-alone activity, rather purposefully integrated. The whole "less is more concept," especially since there never... Continue Reading →
It all started by accident really. Just before recess. On Friday. Out of a need to recognize and give a voice to those students who were consistently acting as role models for the others in the class. I pulled the... Continue Reading →
The impetus behind this idea came from constantly reading over the Grade 2 Common Core standard CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.6 which basically states that students should, "with guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in... Continue Reading →
Eventually the time will come when we ask our students to self-reflect and/or assess their writing. Sometimes in the form of a rubric - sometimes in the form of a checklist - two stars and a wish, whatever you want... Continue Reading →
Born out of lack of success in having students independently use their class word wall, high frequency word lists, or personal spelling dictionaries to edit their writing my co-teacher @YYteach and I decided to give the Don't and Do spelling strategy... Continue Reading →
Every year the struggle is the same. Eager second grade writers pour their hearts out into their "small moment" personal narratives but without much to show for in terms of word choice or elaboration. In the spirit of sharing, one... Continue Reading →
I don't exactly remember how or when I learned to read, but I do remember what I loved to read ... National Geographic. Apparently I would sit in a way too big for me armchair next to my grandfather thumbing... Continue Reading →
This post is all based on awesome idea #99 by my fab co-teacher @YYteach. The problem we were facing was that we had great mini-lessons and charts, but the students struggled to apply the teaching points independently. With our personal... Continue Reading →
The catch phrase seems to be "coding is the new literacy" and while reading & writing will remain essential skills in the future now and always; these six apps are what I enjoy using in my coding ASA and classroom... Continue Reading →
