The Colorful Apple

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Teacher Appreciation Week

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week!  At our school, we get all the students involved to show the staff how much we really care about them.   It's a really simple, easy project that has a big impact. Each student receives a blank template to complete.  Classroom teachers can decide to do this in … [Read more...] about Teacher Appreciation Week

Poetry Notebooks

Poetry is a wonderful way for students to build fluency and accuracy while reading.  I was a little upset when they pulled it out of our second grade curriculum.  I knew I wanted to incorporate it into our classroom, even if I wasn't explicitly teaching it to my students. I decided to have my … [Read more...] about Poetry Notebooks

The Westing Game

Many of my fondest memories of elementary school occurred in my fifth grade classroom.  Not only did my teacher constantly expect our best effort, but she made learning fun.  When I was moved to fifth grade a few years ago, my goal was to emulate her teaching strategies.  Not a day goes by where I … [Read more...] about The Westing Game

Animal Research Projects

I'm throwing it back to my second-grade days today!  One of my favorite field trips was our visit to the local zoo.  In preparation for this trip, my students would research an animal and become an "expert" on that animal.  They would then write a non-fiction book to add to our classroom … [Read more...] about Animal Research Projects