Science instruction, along with social studies, is being pushed to the back burner of educational priorities thanks to the Common Core State Standards and standardized tests. While teachers know that students love experimenting, hands-on learning, and discovering the science in the world around them, test makers have focused so much on math and reading that
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Guest article by Debbie Clement A MONTH of poetry!!! A full month to celebrate the play of words, the lilt of language and consider my roots as a song writer — all at the same time! What is the distance between song writing and poetry? Songs are poems set to a melody!! As a singer-songwriter
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by Steve Reifman, Monthly Columnist My classroom’s daily Reading Workshop period consists of several components: mini-lessons that aim to build students’ comprehension skills, independent reading time, partner reading time, and word work that addresses spelling, grammar, and other language conventions and standards. This article focuses on how I structure the work my students do during
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  The Problem:  Mastering sight words is a critical skill that students must learn.  These foundational words are what will help them become better readers, better writers, and better students overall.  You have tried to post sight words around the room, even those below grade level, to help your students learn and remember them.  Flash
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by Elizabeth Supan, Monthly Columnist Everything old is new again.  It seems like with the passing of time, trends in education tend to come around full circle.  I’ve been teaching for almost twenty years and when I first started, I taught primarily with thematic units.  As the years passed, the use of thematic units seemed
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    The Problem:  Your students are struggling with understanding addition, subtraction, and number building in relation to 10.  No matter what you try, it just does not seem to give them the that “ah-ha” moment they need.  You have tried using printouts and plain paper, but your students get bored with worksheets and need
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  Fractions and word problems and time, oh my! Those scary math lessons are no match for the wonderful teachers at #TeachChat. Check out the great ideas and fun lesson suggestions from the #TeachChat on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013. Remember, scroll down and read UP! Then join us on Wednesday, March 20th for the next
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Making friends can be challenging for your students.  Knowing what a friend is and how a friend acts are important lessons that occur during the elementary years.  Help your students figure out the ins and outs of being a good friend by talking about it in class while creating a Friendship Book.  Shape books are
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Idea by Katy, Kdg. Teacher, Broken Arrow, OK To help my kindergarteners grasp the idea that addition is a process by which we combine two sets to make one larger set. I use disposable, divided plates fitted with two small and one large compartment.

Idea by Sylvia, 1st Grade Teacher, Northridge, CA I recycle empty paper towel rolls into little “wrist watches.”