Today, I’m excited to share my new favorite Thanksgiving read-aloud, Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, along with some ELA activities you can incorporate into your kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classrooms. (PS. I definitely think you could use them with your third graders, too!) I’ve talked a lot recently about the library of read-aloud activity sets that […]

Today, I’m sharing TWENTY of my favorite Thanksgiving books and activities that will fit right into your curriculum whether you teach kindergarten, first grade, or second grade. Each book shown below matches with a set of paired activities, so that your lesson plans are ready to roll and you can simply teach!  They’re Common Core […]

February is a fun month in the classroom! There are plenty of thematic activities for February to incorporate into your curriculum, including Black History to recognize and celebrate, Ground Hog Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Dental Health and the Winter Olympics this year! And, you’re supposed to cover it all in the shortest month of […]

As a first grade teacher, assembling literacy centers wasn’t always the highlight of my weekly preparations. In fact, it seemed downright cumbersome at times to find or create something that would hold the attention of my kiddos for ten to fifteen minutes and was engaging and could be completed independently so that I could work with guided reading […]

If you’re anything like me, you LOVE some good literacy center activities. You love seeing your kiddos engaged, exploring new skills, and excited about their learning. You’re also probably like me in that you’re a big fan of centers that are easy to introduce, skill-oriented yet basic enough for kindergarten and first grade students to […]

I have always loved words and am a self-proclaimed word nerd. I actually read the book Word Nerds, met the authors at a conference a few years ago, and got to lead a PLC in my school all about it! Research shows that a child’s vocabulary is a key component to their success in school, on standardized tests, and […]

Check out this great list of activities for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade! Read all about this fun Meet the Teacher activity, along with several back to school anchor charts and class posters that are perfect for the start of the new school year Learn More About This Resource | Shop this Resource I LOVE […]

I’ve just released my latest teacher tool that is ideal for accompanying your kindergarten or first grade ELA curriculum. It’s basic in principle, simple to prep, and will help support the ELA activities you’re doing in your classroom. Each resource will contain 50 sets of flashcards that you can use to for a variety of purposes […]

Are you looking for a great alternative to writing lengthy book reviews that is engaging, fun, and perfect for kiddos in first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade? Check out these Emoji Bookmarks — a condensed book review idea where students can not only provide a quick review, but it includes EMOJIS! #everythingisbetterwithhearteyes #amiright GIANT-SIZED […]

Teaching adjectives and verbs was SO fun with this activity! To prepare for them for this SUPER fun and ENGAGING activity, I explained that they would be using their five sense to experience popcorn – from the popping, to the smelling, to the tasting – I really wanted them to pay attention to details of […]