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The Teacher Studio

Learning, thinking, creating

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Great books for back to school!

There are many reasons why we should read books to students in the first weeks of school. Here are a few of the most important reasons: It helps students adjust to the new school year. Reading aloud is a great way to help students relax and get into a story-time mindset. It can also help them to bond with their classmates and teacher. It exposes students to new vocabulary and ... Read the Post

Classroom Library Organization

Well, it's back to school time for me, and a big part of my classroom preparations involved "tidying up" my classroom library.  I always have lots of good questions about how I organize my somewhat ridiculous collection of books. I thought I'd share a little bit about how I get my library ready so that my students can really dig into their reading from that first week of school! Getting ... Read the Post

Student Self-Assessment Tips and Tricks

We know that "assessment" is a buzz word that we can't get away from...we talk about standardized testing.  About rubrics.  About standards-based assessment tasks.  About--YOU fill in the blank.  One of the often under-used assessment strategies is SELF-assessment. This can be something as simple as a "thumbs up" if a student understands but can be far more involved and useful.  Interested ... Read the Post

Creating a culture for successful independent reading

I highly doubt there are many teachers out there who debate the value of independent reading for elementary students.  The NCTE has created a statement on independent reading that states the following: Independent reading leads to an increased volume of reading. The more one reads, the better one reads. The more one reads, the more knowledge of words and language one acquires. (See where ... Read the Post

Growth Mindset Activities: Back to School and Beyond

Teaching Growth Mindset in the First Weeks of School The first weeks of school are a critical time for setting the tone for the rest of the year. This is the time when students are forming their impressions of their teachers, their classmates, and their school. It is also the time when they are starting to develop their mindsets about learning. Just to clarify, a growth mindset is the ... Read the Post

Daily Math Warm-Ups: A Powerful Way to Start Math Class

A well-designed instructional routine in math opens up math dialogue and deep thinking about mathematics that might not happen without these structures in place. (McCallum & Nowak, 2018). Daily math warm-ups are a great way to accomplish this! Routines are an essential part of effective mathematics classrooms because they give structure to time and interactions.  Students crave structure, ... Read the Post

Taking Reading Status with Independent Reading

Today I want to share with you a little something that I have done in different forms for YEARS.  Do you take "status of the class"?  It's so much more than tracking student reading.  Taking reading status is literally one of my favorite times of the day.  I call it... THE POWER OF CONNECTIONS! One of my favorite (and most valuable) times of my school day begins after lunch when my students ... Read the Post