October is such a fun time in the classroom. Today, I am going to share a round-up of all my favorite ideas for teaching in October.  = Bat Week One of my favorite weeks is BAT WEEK! The kids LOVE it so much and I can make it so rigorous for them. We do a bat cave challenge that is beyond rigorous and so engaging. We research, write, do stem, and so much more. Read all about Bat Week here!   Visualizing with I Need My Monster I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! It is so cute. ... Read More about Favorite October Activities for 3rd and 4th Graders

Are you assessing students each time you teach a new reading skill? This assessment in valuable in deciding what and how to teach your students. Each and every time I get done teaching a reading standard or skill I then give my students a QUICK summative assessment of the skill or standard. I am talking one page, two pages tops. Then, I use that assessment to guide my instruction going forward. What is a summative assessment? A summative assessment is an assessment that you are giving ... Read More about How to Use Summative Assessments to Guide Reading Instruction

I use Google Classroom every.single.day in my 3rd grade classroom. Today, I am going to share with you some of my favorite ways to use it and share a video that shows you how I organize it! Organization of Google Classroom For me, I do not use the "stream" very often. I am typically only using the "classwork" tab. At the beginning of the week I go in and schedule anything I might be using in the classwork tab, so I am ready to go. This is where I can see who turned what in, what I ... Read More about Using Google Classroom in Upper Elementary

In today's classroom, we have to keep track of A LOT of data. From intervention, to IEP data collection, typical grading, and more! Today I am going to share 5 tips to make data collection easy for you and not take up so much time! 5 Tips for SIMPLE Data Collection Student Information Binder If you don't have a student information binder you need one. I have a binder and have a section for each kid. All of their data, parent information, and more is stored here. This way when I go to a ... Read More about How to Make Data Collection SIMPLE in the Classroom

I get asked often how to run math centers in the third grade classroom. Today, I am going to share with you exactly how to run math centers in your classroom. Why math centers? Math centers allow students to stayed engaged the entire time, practice content in many modalities, and learn at their level. They are truly the only way I teach math. Framework Everyday I start math with a 5 minute mini lesson. Seriously, no longer than five minutes. It is a quick review because each of my groups ... Read More about How to Run 3rd Grade Math Centers Successfully