Picture Books To Build Literacy in Young Readers
As teachers, we know that one of the most important things that we can do for our young children is to read to them each and every day. Bedtime is the most important time in our household. We plan on getting our toddler to bed 30 minutes early so we can read to them. Not only can reading help your kiddos learn sounds, words and language, it also helps to develop early literacy skills. Reading can also help children to learn the value of books and stories. We know that reading helps to spark our student’s imagination and stimulate curiosity- the same goes for even the youngest of our children. Not to brag, but our toddler has a killer vocabulary. Reading to our toddler helps to develop their brain, their social skills and helps to improve their communication skills.
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Speaking and Listening Ideas for the Classroom
One of the standards that we find that our students need the most growth is Speaking and Listening. Year after year, that strand is marked the lowest in our CAASPP scores. There are several things that we do to improve our students’ listening comprehension as well as speaking skills. Read on to learn more…
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Writing and Reading Strategies for Informational Text
To make your teaching life a little easier, we have created lessons that focus on directly teaching your students informational text reading strategies.
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The Difference Between a Good and a Great Teacher
What is the difference between a good teacher and a great teacher? Well, this question comes up during teacher interviews sometimes, and it is a tough question to answer just off the top of your head. I’ve been giving it some thought, and here is what I have come up with:
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Emotional Well-being in the Classroom
Schools can be an ideal place to support the social and emotional well being of students, and we can offer many opportunities to build resilience within our students. When students feel supported and understood, there are usually less discipline problems in classrooms, students can focus on their school work more readily, and students can begin to develop their communication skills.
Using many of the strategies created by Dr. Daniel Siegel, author of The Whole Brain Child, and Mindsight, as well as, The Yes Brain, and Dr. Joan Rosenberg, author of 90 Seconds to a Life You Love, we have compiled our tried and true strategies and resources when supporting our students’ emotional needs.
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Personal Memoir Unit
Writing a personal memoir is clearly the more challenging piece of writing, and one in which brings value and clarity to a person’s life. We have taken our memoir writing unit and created activities and a presentation. You can find it in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.
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Building Classroom Community Through the Use of Puzzles
Classroom communities are important. When students feel like they are part of a community, they are much more likely to become active participants in the learning environment. Whenever we think about being a part of a family or community, we think about holidays spent around a kitchen table working on puzzles. The feeling of accomplishing a 1000 piece puzzle over the course of a weekend or holiday break is rewarding and satisfying.
Read on to find out how we use jigsaw puzzles in our classrooms to build a class community.
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Practicing Mindfulness in the Classroom
There have been several studies that show how beneficial it can be to practice mindfulness daily. The American Physiological Association lists some benefits as reduced stress levels, improving working memory, improved focus, less emotional reactivity to situations, and more cognitive flexibility . HELLO? Isn’t that like everything we try to improve in a classroom?
When it comes to the Common Core Standards, one of the areas we find that the most growth is needed is in the speaking and listening strand. One strategy that we have introduced into our curriculum over the past few years to help build those skills is adding podcasts into our classroom instruction. There are many benefits to adding podcasts into your classroom instruction. If you’ve ever wondered about how podcasts could benefit your instruction, read on dear TTD followers, we have got some ideas for you!
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Is Master Class Worth It?
Have you checked out the website Master Class (https://www.masterclass.com)? If not, you should! For a $15 a month subscription, you can have access to online classes taught by top experts in the field. They are adding new classes all the time. As an added side bonus, they are also beautifully filmed and curated.
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Educational App Spotlight: Showbie
We have a website we absolutely need to share with you all. This is NOT an advertisement, just two boss teachers writing a blog post about one of the absolutely most important websites that you need in your life. Here at the TTD we strive to be almost completely paperless. Read on to learn more about our favorite App, Showbie.
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Reading Graffiti Walls
Do you have a space in your classroom for your students that is just for them? We like to give our students some agency over what is displayed. That is why we love a reading graffiti wall.
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Summer Reading: For Pleasure and for Practice
We are dedicated readers here at The Teaching Distillery. During summer vacation, we can take full advantage of reading to our hearts’ content. We are currently rocking right into our fourth week of teaching for the school year, and now that we are back into the swing of things it’s time to reflect on Katy’s summer reading.
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