The holidays are here and so ushers in the season of cooking! Use simple "cooking" methods to have students practice using mathematical and precise vocabulary for developing academic language.

Working with students in an after school program? Teaching during off-track or summer school sessions? Sometimes it can be a bit challenging working with students in an after school or off-track program – especially when there are large amounts of students and a limited quantity of teachers or program personnel. Using rotational groups helps meet students’ needs as well as provide a structured opportunity to be creative.

With falling leaves shimmering in the air and Thanksgiving around the corner, keep your students engaged with rigorous and entertaining Thanksgiving literature that helps build knowledge about the Colonist survival, Native American kindness and giving thanks.

With the onset of the holidays, use this time to have minilessons about recycling and conservation. It's important to teach students about the concepts of conserving and reusing items on an ongoing basis, not just on Earth Day – although you'll find me spearheading an energy conservation night on April 22nd!

Hello again! I wanted to pass along a GREAT idea I have found very useful in my classroom. A colleague and second grade teacher at Two Bunch Palms Elementary School, Jacinto Noriega, gave me the idea of using digital frames for incidental learning.

With Halloween coming around the corner, now is the time to use simple creative ideas to motivate students and keep them focused on their learning. Keep it simple, keep it academic and keep their attention!

I have found over the past few years that process writing for some of my students has been a somewhat painful process. However, with some practice and consistent modeling, it doesn't have to be! 

Hi all!

Just a quick note to let you know that October 8, 2009 is Read for the Record day. The book that's been chosen is Eric Carle's A Very Hungry Caterpillar. So if you can, grab it and read it! I think kids will be inspired to read and become involved if they see that more than 1,000,000 people are involved!

I also found this GREAT idea to use with the story. It's a simple quick activity to make any student become excited about reading! Take a look here. Thanks for reading!

Eric

Here's an idea!  It may seem simple and a bit corny, but I like to inspire my students with powerful words using thought or speech bubbles on pictures of presidents or celebrities. I found this excellent photo of President Barack Obama from Whitehouse.gov and had it printed as an 8x10. Then I found Post-It speech and bubble shaped notes. I take quotes from the president's speech and change it every so often to help motivate my students.