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The Teacher Studio

Learning, thinking, creating

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Refine Your Math Instruction in 7 Steps! A Summer Challenge…

Anyone else looking to improve their math instruction next year? Most summers I do some sort of a book study on the blog, but this summer I decided to try something new!  I know a lot of people have big dreams of making sweeping changes in their classrooms or their instruction and hope that summer will provide them the time to do that. I have a little "challenge" for those of you who are ... Read the Post

More Than a Math Center: Help to Unpack and Teach Algebraic Thinking and Operations

So often teachers are asked to teach math standards—whether they be from the Common Core or other rigorous standards—and aren’t given enough help or the resources to do it well. Algebraic thinking?  For real?  I've talked to teachers who roll their eyes and tell me that they don't really even GET what that means. Help for teachers If you sometimes struggle to know exactly what the standards ... Read the Post

Improving and Combining Sentences: A Gradual Release of Responsibility Writing Lesson

I wanted to share today about a twenty-minute lesson I did that was super effective--and reviewed two key writing skills we worked on earlier this year related to combining sentences. These are: 1.  I can combine two sentences into one improved sentence. 2.  I can add details to simple sentences to make them more interesting and descriptive. Improving and Combining Sentences to Improve Our ... Read the Post

Meaningful Activities for the End of the School Year

As we move toward the end of the school year, sometimes it's hard to keep focused on the important work we do!  I know lots of teachers do end-of-year countdowns and so on...but to be honest, I am a pretty big fan of teaching to the end--but I'm not a fool!  Instead, I like to incorporate engaging end-of-year activities where students might not even realize they are working hard and applying ... Read the Post

Using Math Sorts to Improve Instruction

I've been getting so many questions about how I use my math concept sorts in my class, so I thought I'd make it easy by sharing some of my thoughts with you here. "How do you work these sorts into your planning and curriculum?" That's easy...I use them in a few main ways. 1.  As a full class warm-up BEFORE teaching a skill.  This helps me see what they know and what they do not know. 2.  ... Read the Post

Responding to Reading Character Prompts: Gradual Release Model

I often hear teachers stressing out about how they can get everything they need ready for all their book groups, standards-based grading, and so on.  Sometimes I think we work WAY too hard--and I always work to try to do best quality instruction without driving myself into the ground.  We focus on characters throughout the school year. The easiest way I do this is that I have a bank of resources ... Read the Post

Spring Bulletin Board Project: Writing, Culture Building, Creativity

Every year I try to break us out of our long Wisconsin winters by taking an hour or so of class time to create a spring bulletin board that brightens our spirits!  Today I thought I'd share a little bit about what we do--and why we do it!  I so often hear people say, "We don't have time for cute projects anymore."  I certainly agree that I do LESS than I used to--but I definitely believe that ... Read the Post