MINDS IN BLOOM BLOG

ideas for using clothespins in the classroom

8 Tips for Using Clothespins in the Classroom

Today’s guest blogger is Lori from Teaching Tykes. She’s sharing her top eight tips for different ways to use clothespins in the classroom. I bet you’ll be surprised by some of her suggested uses! I love Clip Cards and clothespins! I have 280 clip card products in my TpT store! C’mon, who is not addicted to the way clothespins open and close? Clothespins are inexpensive and

Choosing the right Informational Texts for your students

Choosing Informational Classroom Text

We’re delighted to have Sharon from Classroom in the Middle guest blogging for us today. She’s written a great post about choosing informational classroom text, which we think you’ll find helpful and informative!   The good news about informational text is that there is LOTS to choose from. The problem is deciding which informational articles will work best with your class.   Catching the kids’

how to make vocabulary more fun for my students

5 Fun Word Games for Vocabulary Practice

Say hi to our wonderful guest blogger, Alicia Christian, aka The Elementary Professor!   Vocabulary practice is something teachers are always trying to increase.  Now, with more reading in the content areas, it has become critically important for students to have a well-developed vocabulary to both understand a subject and to increase fluency while reading about it.   But what can we do to give students repeated experiences with

This veteran teacher shares five tips for practicing inferencing in your Reading and Language Arts classroom. Help your students learn how to "read between the lines" and make inferences while they read!

5 Tips for Practicing Inferencing

Thank you to Claudio Enriquez from Two Boys and a Dad-Teacher for his guest post today!   When it comes to inferencing, many of our students fail or come up short with their answers. The Common Core Standards for both informational and literature standards are very clear as stated in Anchor Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite

Our guest blogger shares how he was able to connect with his student's family in order to help turn her from a non-reader into a reader. He shares what he tried first that didn't work and then his new approach that garnered strong teacher-family collaboration for the benefit of the child.

The Wonders and Urgency of Strong Teacher-Family Collaboration

Minds in Bloom is delighted to welcome Oscar Cielos Staton to the blog today. He’s sharing an inspiring and motivating story about the urgency of strong teacher-family collaboration. Do you ever stop and reflect, after a few years of teaching, what or who has influenced you the most? Has it been the hours of staff development behind you? Your mentors, your colleagues, or your cute students? Has

Our guest blogger shares useful tips on how to stretch out mentor texts to not only improve reading skills but to also be used in cross-disciplinary units. Mentor texts can be used for reading, writing, social studies, science, and even math!

Maximizing Time with Mentor Texts

Minds in Bloom is thrilled to welcome Jessica from Ideas by Jivey to the blog! Jessica is sharing some information about her favorite topic: mentor texts!   I love a good piece of literature, don’t you?? And I REALLY wish that I could just read all day long, but I can’t. There just isn’t enough time! (Can I get an AMEN?) So instead, I maximize my time

Tips for Organizing Classroom Centers

We’re so excited to have guest blogger Amy Mezni from Teaching Ideas 4U on the blog today! If you want to use centers in your classroom, then you’ll find her guest post on tips for organizing classroom centers very useful!   Are you new to using classroom centers? As an upper grade teacher, I know I was. I used to shudder at the mere thought

how does posture in the classroom affect students

Posture in the Classroom

Hi everyone! I’m Chanda, and I’m a physical therapist working in the school system. I’m really excited to share about posture in the classroom today. Posture isn’t just about reminding the kiddos to sit up straight, so I hope you find the information helpful!   Posture in the classroom promotes concentration and learning. Good posture allows the child to concentrate on the task at hand

New teacher tips? Sign me up! Whether you want to admit it or not, if you're a new teacher, then you can use the advice that these six tips provide. The tips are from someone who was still a fairly new teacher at the time of writing them, so we know you'll relate. Take it easy on yourself! The first year of teaching doesn't have to be so hard!

New Teacher Tips

Hi, everyone! Say hello to Elizabeth, the author of Common Core Galore and More. She is an elementary teacher, blogger, and writer, and she is here today to share with you all some new teacher tips to help you survive the rest of the year! 1. Keep Your Lesson Plans Simple The year is 2011. I am an overzealous first year teacher. My daily routine

math education

Confessions of a “Misunderstood Mathy”

Our guest blogger today is Robert, who is describing to us his confessions of a “misunderstood mathy” with a great sense of humor. Robert explores some really great thoughts about mathematics that are important for all teachers to keep in mind.   For years my internal editor has instructed me never to begin any piece of writing with the word “I,” as it makes one appear

tips for a successful field trip

Tips For Your ZOO Field Trip

You’ve color-coordinated your shirts, printed out name tags, and ordered 143 bagged lunches. You’ve counted dimes from numerous Ziploc bags and spent three hours on the phone with the local bus service. You’ve grouped kids, crossed kids out of groups, and added them back in. Now that you’ve confirmed your trip date… it’s time to go! The following are my “insider” tips for a memorable

how to get students to dig deeper and understand texts when reading literature

Close Reading for Literature (Fiction) plus a Freebie!

I have heard close reading called “abusing the text” and that it kills the joy of reading, which is probably true in many classrooms. Close reading is like salt. A little is a very good thing – a lot, not such a good idea. I think this is especially true with literature because most kids (and adults, too) gravitate toward fiction when reading for pleasure.

Get the support and encouragement you deserve! It's FREE, FUN, & FULL of surprises!
Join the Club!
close-image
Cookie Consent Banner by Real Cookie Banner