Back to school time is always overwhelming, but also fun. It’s a fresh start. A chance to put your new room together! A couple of years ago, I started putting up a 40 book challenge bulletin board. My goal is to have students read 40 books each year and this was a way to have it right there in front… Read More
Engage Your Readers with Book Raffles
Book raffles are an AMAZING way to engage the students in your class in the reading process, and it can be fairly easy, too! Here’s how you can get started in your class. For a few years, we have been doing book raffles in our classroom. This is the easiest thing you could ever imagine, and I promise you, the… Read More
Must Have March Picture Books
Picture books open the door for so many of my students. They inspire students, they start discussions, they teach, and they engage my kids. Of course, I’m preaching to the choir here, as we all know the importance a good book can have on our students. For the month of March, I thought I would compile a list of books… Read More
5 Picture Books to Teach Narrative Writing
Narrative writing is one of my favorite things to teach in third grade. I love the stories that I hear when we ask students to tell a life story, or to write about a memorable moment in their life, or to tell about a time that they learned a lesson. I learn so much from my students, who they are,… Read More
Read-Alouds for the First Day of School
Every year I struggle to find read-alouds for the first day of school. I’ve used bucket filling books, character ed books, along with books that explain to kiddos that it’s okay to make mistakes, and numerous other titles and themes. But, this year I wanted more than that. I wanted a few books I could read during the first week to… Read More