3 Free Websites That Get Students Creating

3 Free Websites That Get Students Creating

Let’s face it, many students today wish they could spend every minute on the computer playing games. As educators, we can use their natural interest in the computer to create interest in doing other things. Beyond that, using techology is a critical skill all students need to know to be successful in our world today. The websites below are free…

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Simple and Fun Ideas To Teach Your Child Their Letters

Man and three kids on the floor practicing the alphabet

You may be a classroom teacher, homeschooling mom or a parent who wants to give your child some meaningful activities at home. Mastering the basics of creating letters and being able to recognize them is key for ensuring reading success letter on! These ideas are fun, low-prep and great practice to help your child learn their letters. 8 Active Ways…

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How to Stop Behavior Problems Before They Start

Illiminate 90% of Discipline Problems

90% of the behavior problems you have in your class can be eliminated by changing your routines and environment! 1.Establish clear expectations. Let’s use the example of getting in line. I want to take a minute to close your eyes and imagine how you would LIKE a classroom of students to get in line. Imagine the noise level, how quickly…

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Differentiation: How to Get Started

Differentiation can be done in three main ways: You can adjust content (what you are teaching the students) You can adjust the process (how you are teaching students) You can adjust the product (what the students do, turn in or create) How can you adjust the content? This might involve different groups of students working on different skills. For the…

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Evaluate What Students Know With Student Created Board Games

student created board games

Why Use Student Created Board Games? Student-made board games are a fun way to assess students’ learning for any subject. Students create the questions, the board game, its pieces, and written directions for how to play their game. These games can then be used by other students to review and play in centers. These games could also be used as…

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Ultimate Guide to Teaching Phonics

toddler reading a book

The word phonics can sometimes seem abstract or overwhelming. Parents and teachers alike often feel afraid they won’t teach reading in the “correct” order and then what they are doing won’t be effective. Here I will break down the basic steps to teach a child to read using phonics. When you teach phonics you are helping children understand the parts/sounds…

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Is This Discipline Or Just Punishment?

It’s impossible to be a teacher or administrator and not have to discipline students. What should discipline look like though? I taught for seven years in Africa. There, it’s still common practice to hit students with a stick when they are misbehaving. Is that discipline? How about having students kneel beside their desk or stand in the back of the…

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Bringing History to Life

student looking at a map

Some people think history is boring but I think it is actually one of the most flexible, engaging subjects to teach! There are soooo many cools things you can do to help bring history to life for kids. Here are a few ideas:    Mission US This website is by far the best “game-like” history website I’ve come across. It…

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Learn All About The Rainforest

toucan in the rainforest

The rainforest is a great thematic unit topic! You can even do it year after year and still not run out of things to learn about and do. Depending on your child’s age you can focus more on learning fun facts about animals in the rainforest or you can dive into biodiversity and conservation. Here are some ideas to get…

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8 Activities To Teach Kids Using Scrabble Tiles

1. Put Letters In Alphabetical Order. Dump out letters A-Z on the floor or a table and have your child line the letters up in the correct order. If they don’t know the whole alphabet yet they can practice with just the beginning half or the first few and add more letters later. 2. Match Uppercase and Lowercase Letters. Write…

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