When I first started teaching, Speaking and Listening meant student speeches and presentations. Unfortunately, assigning students to give presentations took a great deal of class time, and I often only assigned presentations once per quarter. Even then, I still found them extremely difficult to fit in, with all the other subjects that needed to be covered. I wanted a way to assess students' abilities to meet speaking and listening standards more than once a quarter. In recent years, I started using Conversation Cards to engage students in conversations and the practice of speaking and listening to their peers. They really helped me to address some of the Common Core standards for Speaking and Listening. According to the standards, students should engage in collaborative discussions with their peers, based on grade-level topics and texts.  One of the best ways to do this is to provide students with opportunities to discuss the texts they are already reading in class. Why not ......

I'm always looking for ways to build a community within my classroom.  A couple of years ago, I began using memory makers.  My students love it! It's very simple to create and keep going.  So, what is it?  Students write down events that have occurred in the classroom.  These events can be funny, sad, exciting, you name it.  For example, if a student masters being able to skip count by 3s, that can be very exciting for them and a memory worth keeping.  The student writes the memory down on a memory slip, and places it in the memory maker box.  Maybe YOU did something that the students thought was funny, that could be a memory to write down too!  Memories are endless! What makes this really fun and the most exciting for the students is when you go back and read the memories.  They love to reminisce!  I typically share the memory slips about once a quarter.  We spend a bit of time reading the memory slips and do a l......

     Have you been thinking about adding morning meetings to your classroom?  I love doing morning meetings and have seen how effective they can be over the years in my 2nd - 5th grade classrooms. When other teachers sometimes ask me how I fit it all in, I try to explain that doing morning meetings has so many benefits that I feel like I gain time with better classroom behavior and community.  So, what are the benefits of morning meetings? Creates classroom community Fosters individual feelings of significance and belonging Sets the tone for a respectful class culture Supports social and emotional learning Increases academic achievement The morning meeting began as part of the Responsive Classroom Movement, years ago. While I love their work, as with everything in the classroom, you kind of have to tweak things and make them your own.  My version is NOT a Responsive Classroom traditional model but it works for me. I'll share wha......