Tips to help teachers feel more confident, build more independence and cultivate more engaged learners.
Join our community
When I was an elementary classroom teacher, it was common practice to do Mother’s and Father’s Day projects. I can’t say that I gave it a whole lot of thought. It was what my entire team did year after year, and we...
When I taught first and second grades, shared reading was a regular part of our day. Each day for about 10 to 15 minutes, I’d take out the big book or the chart of the poem we were reading that week and lead kids in a...
Aaah, April — a month when we see signs of spring renewal — spring break offers time for rest and relaxation — and then testing season begins. This year like everything else, state testing will be different. At the...
Self-care is more important now than ever before. How can we take care of others if we’re not taking care of ourselves? You know the saying, “Put your oxygen mask on first before you help someone else?” It’s true —...
Spring break is finally in sight! With winter break a distant memory and perhaps you’re dealing with the stress of moving back into the classroom, I’m sure it must be a huge relief to see a vacation on the horizon....
I’m a grammar nerd. I listen to the Grammar Girl podcast just for fun. I’m delighted by TED talks about grammar — keep reading for some of my favorites. I even use the words affect and effect properly most...
Whenever I visit New York City, I almost always look for rats scurrying about under and around the subway tracks. I blame Colleen Cruz for this. Nearly 15 years ago, I listened to Colleen talk about how she finds...
As your partner in literacy, we’re always looking for more ways to bring joy into the classroom and into Reading & Writing Workshop. Passion projects are a fantastic way to give young readers/writers more choices...
As educators, we want to do everything we can to open up more possibilities for young writers. Through our classroom experience and in work with educators, we’ve seen the evidence that independent writing projects...