Literacy

Professional Development

Integrating Science into Reading and Writing

Integrating science into reading and writing is a breeze once you see how this teacher does it! She provides a detailed look into how she squeezes it all in!

Science was, hands down, a favorite time in my class for all of my students year after year! We were not only able to explore fun topics, but we were able to get our hands dirty and carry the topic throughout the day as we learned reading and writing skills.  And let’s be honest–with everything […]

ABC End of Year Countdown FREEBIES

The end of the school year can be such a whirl! It always seems like from spring break on, I am running the 400m sprint and it’s definitely not a relay. Ha! One thing we loved to do was make the last 24-26 days fun and exciting! We created an ABC End of Year Countdown […]

Poetry Made Simple for Little Learners {& a FREEBIE}

Learn how to use poetry for kids to easily enhance learning by integrating subject areas. Roses are red, Violets are blue. I love integrating subjects through poetry, How about you? Okay maybe writing poetry isn’t my future career, but I love using poetry for kids in the classroom! Poetry is something that I expose my […]

9 Must Make Anchor Charts for Writing

These 9 anchor charts for writing make great graphic organizers for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Students will love implementing them in writers workshop! You can also get great mini-lessons out of them! #writersworkshop #kindergarten #firstgrade

My first few years of teaching I was “given” writing for my team planning assignment.  After digging my heels in with writing for a few years and in different grade levels, it ignited a love for teaching writing.  I wanted to share with you some of my favorite writing anchor charts that will be WONDERFUL […]

Interactive Writing in the Classroom

Interactive Writing, everything you need to know to get started!

Interactive writing is one of the many elements of a balanced literacy model.  There are SO many benefits to doing interactive writing with your kiddos! They learn alongside you! They feel proud of their work and feel like an author! They have confidence because they are successful with your scaffolding! Everyone observes the writing process! […]

Gingerbread Activities for the Classroom and a FREEBIE

‘Tis the season for some gingerbread activities! I know when December rolled around, I was always so excited because the students were eager to learn through some new engaging units–Gingerbread, Reindeer, and Christmas Around the World were some of our favorites! I always loved teaching thematically, but here’s the deal: I had to be able […]

Purposeful Crafts in the Classroom

Using Crafts as Purposeful Writing Assessments is a unique spin! I love how this teacher uses writing to integrate these crafts. Can't wait to try out September's craft! #firstgrade #kindergarten

Art in the classroom isn’t always a common practice. Sometimes you just flat out don’t have enough instructional time to squeeze in crafts or art.  Let me be real honest ,though–I love writing crafts in the classroom! Not only would kids get excited about them, but I would then have something to hang in the […]

Meaningful Morning Messages

3 tips for meaningful morning messages that are simple to implement! They involve interactive writing, math, sight word practice, and more fun activities! #firstgrade #kindergarten

Mornings can be hectic sometimes in the classroom.  Students arriving late, you are trying to gather homework, making sure everyone is okay and has what they need for the day, taking attendance, and sometimes even finding breakfast for a sweet little one.  Gosh, it can just be tough sometimes!  BUT, even with all of that, […]

Teaching Handwriting

5 Tips for Teaching Handwriting to little learners. These tips and activities are engaging, hands-on, and practical! #handwriting #handwritingideas

In today’s world of texting, emailing, FaceTiming, and emojis it seems as though teaching handwriting to our little ones is fading. On top of that, it’s just ONE more thing that we have to SQUEEZE into our day. But you guys, it’s so important. We teach proper handwriting early on so that later students are […]

Grammar Made Simple

Finding time for grammar lessons for little learners is tough! See how this teacher squeezes in grammar each morning with her students!

I don’t know about you, but there just never seems to be enough time in my teaching day! I always over plan and have more that I want to teach than time allows. Specifically, I’m thinking about my ELAR block of time. It seems that every day I need to fit in… –Phonics –Read Aloud –Shared Reading […]

April Fools’ Day Activities FREEBIE

Are you a prankster?  I am not.  I wish I were, but I am not good at lying, so I always ruin any prank I try to pull! I love to hear about pranks people pull, and my college days were filled with witnessing lots of silly pranks. They just bring joy (when they are […]

Free Spring Break Writing Activity for Kinder, First, and Second Grade

Oh, spring break- the time of the year that most teachers say, “Oh my gosh! Where has the year gone? We have so much to accomplish still!” I can totally relate. 100%. That is when I would start to freak out a little! But don’t fret, friend. I have just the thing to help your […]

Purposeful Assessments Made Fun!

Using Crafts as Purposeful Writing Assessments is a unique spin! I love how this teacher uses these crafts!

Assessing can be both difficult and exhausting for students and teachers.  Finding a way for purposeful assessments to be made fun and enjoyable for all is a win all around! Writing has always been a favorite time in my classroom.  There are years that I feel like I rock at teaching writing and years I […]

Using Go Noodle During Writer’s Workshop

My students LOVE GoNoodle! We love using it as a brain break in the classroom during writer's workshop! Check out how you can, too! #brainbreaks #WritersWorkshop

The Primary Powers bloggers have teamed up with the fabulous people from GoNoodle to share some great ideas for implementing GoNoodle in the classroom and some great prizes! Be sure to read to the end because you won’t want to miss this! I wanted to share with you how I have used GoNoodle during Writer’s […]

Talking, Drawing, Writing, Ch. 5- Making Words

Writing words can be a struggle for kindergarteners. Make it simple with these easy to follow steps!

I just finished up my 5th year of teaching.  It is hard to believe I have been teaching little munchkins for five years already! Four out of the five years, I have been the newbie on a team.  I always get stuck with planning writing because no one else wants to plan it.  (They have […]

Build-a-Turkey Writing Assessment

Use this engaging turkey writing prompt and as an assessment, too! Your first grade and kindergarten writers will be thrilled with this fall writing activity. As a teacher, you are able to both assess writing and reteach where needed! Check out the blog post for more details!

We finished up our Small Moment books and used our  Build-a-Turkey writing assessment to see how many feathers we earned! This time, we had been working on writing a beginning, middle, and end.  Ya’ll, this is tough! Several of mine have a story with a BME in their mind, but when they write it, they leave out […]

Free Writer’s Workshop Folders and Journals Covers

You all know how much I talk about writer’s workshop and how much growth I see in my students. One question I’m often asked is how to get started with writer’s workshop. I personally love to start with the setup so that my students are prepared for writing. When I was in the classroom, that […]

End of Year Writing Freebie

If you are looking for a wasy to easily assess writing conventions while also engaging students and creating excitement and fun, this is it! This end of year writing assessment is sure to hook your writers!

 As the end of the year nears and we finish our curriculum, it’s a great time to review all that has been learned, while still having engaging lessons. This is no different with end of year writing. We spent some time doing fun writing since finished our curriculum for writing and had a wonderful time! […]

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