How can you survive teaching in December with your sanity intact?
I have five FREE resources, tips, and strategies to share with you that will help you get organized and keep things running smoothly during the month of December.

We’ve talked about how students can only become stronger readers by reading. And we’ve talked about how providing students with choice builds enthusiasm for reading as well as reading stamina. And of course, we’ve talked about how traditional reading logs do little to support goals for student reading. See previous blog posts here, here, and here.

If you’ve read the blog posts linked above, you know why I developed a new kind of reading log. And you know what a difference it made with my students. My year-long editable reading logs are available in my TPT store. I have them available for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

I wanted to walk you through how to use these reading logs. Click below to watch the video. I’ll also take you through the steps below.

Students don’t like traditional reading logs. Neither do parents. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, teachers don’t like them either. Learn what to use instead and how it revolutionized my classroom.

Have you ever told a student he couldn’t choose a particular book to read because it wasn’t the right level for him and seen the light go out of his eyes? I have. Learn what classroom practices kill students’ love of reading and what to do instead.

Teachers need a way to hold students accountable for getting their reading practice in. The result? Reading logs. For reading logs to be successful in your classroom, you need your students to get on board. Here’s how to accomplish that while also getting parents on board.

You can’t turn your current space into an organized classroom with systems that work without first going through all you have and purging what you don’t need. A classroom purge that puts you on the road to an organized classroom has three main steps.

There is a better way to lesson planning. A way that streamlines the process, saves you time, while also boosting rigor. I’m talking about planning backward. This idea might be new to you. If it is, I ask you to keep an open mind, continue reading, and trust me.

The best approach to behavior management is to be positive and proactive. Build a positive classroom environment in which students feel safe and know they can trust you. Starting a lunch bunch is just one way to make that happen. Let me show you how to get started.

Connecting with difficult students, those who challenge us in many ways, isn’t easy. But it is essential. When you succeed in building connections with your difficult students, the reward is huge. Today, I’m sharing seven simple but effective things I’ve done to build connections with those students who challenged me the most.

How do you take beginning of the year writers who ask endless questions because they are afraid of being wrong and turn them into independent writers who produce quality work? Today I’m going to talk to you about some tools that can accompany any writing program. Your students can use these tools to gain independence in writing and spelling.

Watch students take a big step toward spelling independence.

Teachers answer questions - all day, every day. It’s what we do. And it’s what we should do. After all, we teach because we want to inspire and encourage students, sharing knowledge and helping them learn important concepts and skills. Questions are a natural and vital part of learning.

However…

There’s one question that every teacher answers at least 20 times a day every day.

No, I don’t mean, “Is it almost time for lunch?” or “Can we have extra recess?”

The question I’m talking about is, “How do you spell…?”

Students who are not confident, independent spellers often turn to the most convenient of dictionaries - you. If you’re ready to retire from your role as a human dictionary (or at least greatly reduce your hours), keep reading. I want to share some resources with you that will help your students take an active role in their own spelling.

Learn how to use Spelling Fluency, a trusted Orton Gillingham practice, in your classroom to help students improve spelling accuracy.

Learn about the Spelling Fluency method and why it’s the best way to help your students gain automaticity in spelling high frequency words.

Start with these three priorities to get - and stay - organized this school year. Learn ways to organize your “stuff” and your “systems.”

Taking time to rest and recharge is so important. I hope you’ve taken that time for yourself during these summer months. Giving yourself time and space to process and reflect on this past school year - as well as time to think about anything but teaching - is essential to your well-being as a teacher. But… there is another gift you need to give yourself during this time away from the classroom - the gift of a smooth start.

Every teacher wants to start the school year feeling prepared, organized, and in control. And that means setting up systems at the beginning of the year so the rest of the year runs smoothly. Today, we’re talking about three systems to put in place now to help start your school year off on the path to success.