Use Models to Teach Writing
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...
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Jeanne Sovet
Jan 31 min read
Ted Lasso for Teachers
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...
Jeanne Sovet
Dec 14, 20232 min read
The Most Important Thing About Teaching
In the 1970s and 80s, two women, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, wrote books and began giving lectures about how to speak to children....
Jeanne Sovet
Oct 13, 20231 min read
A Beginning and an End
As we all know, good nonfiction writing is well-organized. It should have an introduction and a conclusion. This is what we teach. Of...
Jeanne Sovet
Sep 28, 20232 min read
Better Readers' Workshop
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...
Jeanne Sovet
Sep 10, 20231 min read
Create a Travel Brochure
Perhaps some of your students are fortunate enough to have traveled this past summer. On the other hand, if they haven't, you could...
Jeanne Sovet
Aug 29, 20231 min read
Beginning Year Poem Template
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...
Jeanne Sovet
Aug 24, 20232 min read
An Important and Fun First Activity to Start the School Year
An important and fun first activity is to decorate the room with the students. Forget about the themed decor sold in teacher catalogs....
Jeanne Sovet
Aug 22, 20232 min read
The First Days of School
Your students are walking into your newly decorated classroom. They are nervous, and aren't sure what to do. You probably don't know...
Jeanne Sovet
Jan 1, 20223 min read
5 Reading Activities That Promote Growth and Understanding
During reading class, students need to spend time reading with understanding each and every day. Does self-selected independent reading...
Jeanne Sovet
Aug 20, 20212 min read
Begin the School Year With Names
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"...
Jeanne Sovet
Jun 28, 20214 min read
Is "Writing Workshop" Effective Instruction?
When I first started teaching elementary school 20 years ago, I was terrible at writing instruction. Two facts dawned on me: my teacher...
Jeanne Sovet
Apr 29, 20213 min read
Reciprocal Teaching for Reading Comprehension in the Upper Elementary Grades
What is Reciprocal Teaching? The activity called "reciprocal teaching" is a learning strategy during which students, in small groups of...
Jeanne Sovet
Mar 26, 20215 min read
Strategies to Engage Students in the Classroom
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...
Jeanne Sovet
Feb 26, 20214 min read
How and Why to Teach Vocabulary to All Students
Teaching vocabulary is more important than ever because English Language Learners are arriving in classrooms everywhere. The...
Jeanne Sovet
Jan 30, 20212 min read
How to Teach Writing to Elementary Students
In my nineteen years in the elementary classroom, I've found that writing has been one of the most complex and difficult subjects to...
Jeanne Sovet
Jan 3, 20212 min read
How I Help Kids Write an Opinion
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...
Jeanne Sovet
Nov 29, 20202 min read
Scaffolding Writing for Struggling Students
Help struggling writers get started with a strategy called "Think-Say-Write-Read."
Jeanne Sovet
Nov 23, 20203 min read
5 Reasons to Use Quality Writing Rubrics
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...
Jeanne Sovet
Nov 18, 20202 min read
Reading Comprehension Strategies in the Elementary Classroom
How well did your university teacher program prepare you for teaching reading comprehension? Do you know exactly what to do? How about...
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