The Challenge of it All – Do I Have Time? Creating and then maintaining a classroom website can seem like a daunting task. Let’s be honest about this. Businesses actually hire website developers to create and up-date websites for their businesses. How in the world can a teacher be expected to do all the assessments, [...]

Math problem solvers can be intimidating for kids, but they don’t have to be. I’ve included ways to get your kids started having fun with problem solvers, as well as a variety of problems from first to sixth grades!

What will you do with your students after the trick-or-treating is all done? Here’s a math lesson that uses their Halloween candy stash to practice graphing.

Writing Skills Writing is an important skill students must learn in order to achieve academic and career goals. Primary grade teachers develop the foundation of knowledge students need to become successful writers. A child’s ability to read and write is strongly influenced by literacy instruction at school (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Students demonstrate the necessary [...]

Have you ever taken a few moments to reflect on the educational insights and activities provided by Snoopy and The Peanuts gang? I’ve included the first set to use with The Great Pumpkin, a must for your classroom for this time of year!

The Challenges of Technology in the Classroom In 2000, teachers were surveyed across the nation about using technology as a means to teach language arts. At the time, many teachers did not believe that it was worth the trouble because of crashing computers, lack of lab time, and server problems among many other obstacles (Lee, [...]

The rich history of Halloween lends itself to interesting discussions, questions and explorations. Included is a brief history to get your kids started, along with some tips and suggestions to help them process and expand on this high-interest subject matter.

Carving pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns is a fun Halloween tradition, but how did this practice get started? Explore the origins of the jack-o-lantern with your students using age-appropriate lessons, then help them create their own reasons for carving pumpkins!

Here’s a reference list for quick and easy lesson plan ideas this week! Take a peak under each heading for free lesson plans and printable templates. Language Arts &  Writers’ Workshop: Student Books – Free printable template with free overhead transparencies for a Writers’ Workshop lesson. Ad-libs, similes and metaphors – Scroll down to the links for [...]

Here’s a free template to use for student created books. Instructions: Print out the free book template. If you would like to have lines on both sides, copy on both sides. If you would like to have one page for illustrations, only copy the lined pages on one side. Fold the pages in half inside [...]