Time for some real talk… Writing is always (I mean ALWAYS!) an area of “opportunity” for my fresh-faced second graders. I’ve decided that writing must be the “summer slip” for first graders. They are out of practice! But, what could I do as their teacher to help rebuild and expand on their writing? I found that my students have tremendous… Read More
Reviewing Procedures with Officer Buckle and Gloria
The first week back after Winter Break is always a hard one… the kids are not *quite* back in the routine of school, and let’s face it… neither is the teacher! That’s why it is so important to review your classroom procedures the first week back! One way I like to do this is with the book, “Officer Buckle and… Read More
Thanksgiving Writing: No Turkey for Thanksgiving Persuasive Writing Activity
Hey Guys! WOW! It’s been WAY TOO BUSY over here in Applicious Teacher land! I just wanted to pop in and share with you how our “No Turkey for Thanksgiving?!” writings turned out. Setting the Stage with a Book At the beginning of the week, we read one of my fave Thanksgiving books, “Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving”. (affiliate link) … Read More
The First Thanksgiving and Turkey Writing
Do you have the whole week of Thanksgiving off, or do you have to teach for a few days? I’ve got this week and one and a half days next week to get through before Thanksgiving break, so I’ve been jam packin’ my days with everything and ANYTHING Thanksgiving! Now, truth be told, Social Studies is like the red headed… Read More
Persuasive Writing: the Battle of the Pets
Let’s talk persuasive writing, shall we? To me, this is the hardest type of writing to teach. Why? Simply put… kids aren’t used to defending, convincing or using many of the verbs needed to successfully pen a truly argumentative essay. There just isn’t much real life basis for them. So, to help with this… I turned to using some high… Read More
Main Idea, Similes, and Bird Nests!
Can you believe it is almost the end of the year? Where has the time gone??? Well… things have def not slowed down for this Applicious Teacher! Here’s what we’ve been up to the for the past few weeks! First up… Similes! I’m a huge believer in inspiring students to write using authors’ samples. That’s why I LOVE this book… Read More