If you are anything like me you have way too much time on your hands, you have no problem teaching everything you are asked to teach and you just wish you would be given a few more things to fill up your lesson plan.  Okay, now that I am done laughing hysterically I will try to be serious.  If you ... read more

  This year I have been working on incorporating new ways to engage my students during our literacy block.  If your classroom is anything like mine, you have some students who are chomping at the bit to dive into a book or compose their next piece of writing.  You probably also have others ... read more

Your Kids Will Beg to Write This Fall During the crazy fall months, I look for any way to keep my student's minds engaged.  One of the ways I do this is through Wacky Writing!  I want my kids to love writing and to look forward to opportunities to write! I have found that my students beg, time and ... read more

Are Word Search Puzzles a Waste of Time? With the important and increased focus in the last decade on increasing rigor in the classroom, many teachers and administrators have argued that word search puzzles have no educational value. They often claim that they do not promote the higher order ... read more

It's that time of year again!  Halloween is almost here. Kids everywhere are picking out their costumes and gearing up for the fun-filled day!  During October, as Halloween approaches, kids and adults alike with be thinking about ghouls, witches, black cats, and of course bats! Because of this, I ... read more

In today's classroom, where everything seems to be driven by standards and test scores, I sometimes find it hard to find the time to spend with my students learning about different character qualities and life lessons that, arguably, are more important lessons to learn than some of the ones we are ... read more