By Rachel Lynette
Let us begin by introducing ourselves…Shari Bithell (Go Beyond) and Krystie Bithell (AdaptEd 4 Special Ed). Though we are separated by some 450 miles, our hearts and teaching approaches remain close! Shari teaches 6th grade in Southern California, with students ranging from SDC, RSP, RTI, and GATE, while Krystie is in Northern California, teaching moderate to severe SDC (generally working at 1st-2nd grade level) in
Minds in Bloom is pleased to welcome Libby from Curious Fox to the blog today! Libby is sharing the lessons she’s had to learn reminding her how important it is to always use the WALT approach when teaching. WALT (We Are Learning to), “learning intentions,” “learning objectives,” or whatever you like to call them have been around for a long time. They consistently appear detailed
Minds in Bloom is thrilled to welcome Brigid from Math Giraffe to the blog today! Brigid is sharing her insight on an up-and-coming trend in education: doodle notes! Do you have students who doodle in class? Have you ever assumed that they are not paying attention? You may be surprised to find out that the opposite might be true. As far as learning goes, these
After sixteen years teaching high school English, I left the classroom to follow a dream and move with my family to a rural ecovillage. Since last February I have become an entrepreneur, I have been homeschooling my own kids, and I have also started teaching a homeschool co-op class with three other students. Having left behind everything that I knew, I am learning new skills
We’re welcome Nicole from Teacher of 20 back to Minds in Bloom today! She’s sharing three simple ways to maximize instructional time. We know you’ll find this information super helpful! In my time in the classroom, I’ve seen teachers often spend so much time teaching routines and structures that they end up neglecting the content. In this blog entry, I’ll talk about how to
Today’s guest blogger is Michelle from What’s Cooking with Kids. She’s prepared an excellent post that details the many ways you can incorporate cooking to your teaching toolkit and how you can make it interdisciplinary! As a teacher, you are busy. Swamped, in fact. You might even be so overwhelmed with content standards, district mandates, and department politics that you are reluctant to try a
Today, Marine from Tales from a Very Busy Teacher is our guest blogger. She’s sharing how she has successfully implemented strategies for teaching academic language in her classroom. Academic language is (and has been) making a big impact in elementary school classrooms. Academic language gives students the skills to communicate, engage, and participate more effectively in content areas across the curriculum. After learning about academic language through
We’re welcoming Kim from Activity Tailor to Minds in Bloom today! Kim is sharing her insight on helping students with SSD challenges to be more successful in the classroom and reconsidering making students spell what they can’t say. When I’m writing a note and don’t have the luxury of spell-check to step in and fix my “typos,” and I have a less familiar word I
We’re welcoming back Sharon, from Classroom in the Middle, to Minds in Bloom today. Sharon’s sharing her insight on how to make teaching literary terms effective and engaging. Does just the idea of teaching literary terms to another group of middle grade kids make you want to forget about lesson planning and curl up in front of a good movie instead? Teaching (or learning) any
Welcome Friends! Today’s guest post was contributed by Shametria Routt Banks, The Routty Math Teacher, and is about implementing number talks in the classroom. This post includes an overview of how and why number talks work, tips and strategies to get you started, as well as a variety of resources to use on your journey. Happy reading! NOTE: As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying
Minds in Bloom welcomes Jen and Wendy of Informed Literacy to the blog today! They’re sharing what I think will be a really helpful post that delves into foundational reading skills. Enjoy! As we embark upon a new school year, we invite you to think about the diverse reading profiles of your students. You will inevitably notice distinct types of readers as outlined below. Voracious
We’re excited to welcome Mercedes from Surfing to Success to the blog today! Please read her post about six tools you can use for digital intervention in your classroom. Enjoy! Digital learning tools can make targeted instruction quick and easy. The challenge is to wade through all the options out there and focus on the tools that are right for your needs. Let’s look at
Today, our guest blogger is Walton Burns from English Advantage. He’s sharing four activities that you can use to help learn your students’ expectations for your class. What a great twist to improve community in your classroom! On the first day of school, teachers around the world to do an icebreaker and learn their students’ favorite color or where they went on summer vacation. That’s
We’re welcoming Melissa from The Paisley Owl to Minds in Bloom today. She’s got some excellent tips for those of you who teach upper elementary but still want to implement the Daily 5™ in your classroom. How can I put students at the center of their own learning? How can I hold students accountable during language arts centers? How can I differentiate to meet
Today’s guest blogger here on Minds in Bloom is Gretchen Bridgers from Always a Lesson. She’s sharing her insight–gained from experience–on the top five ways to drive authentic engagement. It is no secret that when students are actively involved in their learning, not only does their motivation to succeed increase but also their level of content mastery increases. When I first started teaching, I thought engagement
Please welcome Kristal to Minds in Bloom today. She’s sharing a fun guest post with us about how we can connect cooking to literacy. The next time you’re reading a book that talks about food, see whether you can incorporate cooking! Eating food can create experiences for us beyond nourishing our bodies. Oftentimes, we remember foods that were a comfort to our souls, that made
