Step 1: Show and Read a Model Many students may need to learn what a finished piece looks like before they can write one. For example, if...

If you've watched this unique Apple TV series, you've undoubtedly noticed that Ted Lasso is an outstanding human being. He's in a...

In the 1970s and 80s, two women, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, wrote books and began giving lectures about how to speak to children....

As we all know, good nonfiction writing is well-organized. It should have an introduction and a conclusion. This is what we teach. Of...

How do you feel your Readers' Workshop is going? When I employed this pedagogical approach in my classroom, I thought it was the cat's...

Perhaps some of your students are fortunate enough to have traveled this past summer. On the other hand, if they haven't, you could...

At the beginning of the school year, before you get into the routine of the curriculum, it's welcoming and enjoyable to do easy classroom...

An important and fun first activity is to decorate the room with the students. Forget about the themed decor sold in teacher catalogs....

Your students are walking into your newly decorated classroom. They are nervous, and aren't sure what to do. You probably don't know...

During reading class, students need to spend time reading with understanding each and every day. Does self-selected independent reading...

It's exciting to start a new school year! We are full of enthusiasm and thrilled to meet our new students. We feel that "we've got this"...

When I first started teaching elementary school 20 years ago, I was terrible at writing instruction. Two facts dawned on me: my teacher...

What is Reciprocal Teaching? The activity called "reciprocal teaching" is a learning strategy during which students, in small groups of...

How much is lost to kids who are not actively engaged in learning? If you're communicating, but some receivers are off, those kids may...

Teaching vocabulary is more important than ever because English Language Learners are arriving in classrooms everywhere. The...

In my nineteen years in the elementary classroom, I've found that writing has been one of the most complex and difficult subjects to...

Opinions need reasons, so I ask the kids, "If you have a stool with one leg, will it stand by itself?" They say it won't. "If you have a...

Help struggling writers get started with a strategy called "Think-Say-Write-Read."

As elementary school teachers, we've all used rubrics to score our students' writing pieces. How has that been going for you? Do you like...

How well did your university teacher program prepare you for teaching reading comprehension? Do you know exactly what to do? How about...