The Joy of Teaching – Page 40 of 46

February 11, 2015
by Evan-Moor
3 Comments

For the Love of Letters: Giving Kids Purposeful Writing Practice

Dear Homeschoolers,

Isn’t it fun to get a REAL letter in the mail? You know how you are sorting through the bills, the junk mail, and then…there it is: a REAL letter. It makes you smile, right? I would guess you open it first, too. I sure do.

We love getting letters, especially in a world of emails, texting, and FaceTime. There is something special about knowing that someone was thinking of you days before and took the time to write you a letter.

Teaching our children to write REAL letters is a priceless skill. If we can motivate our children with a purpose for writing, they will actually want to write those letters!

How do you motivate children to write a letter? Simply give them a purpose. Let them in on the secret of surprising someone. Have them imagine what the person will do when he or she receives the letter. It will motivate them! Sharing a story of a letter you remember receiving and why it was special to you can be a powerful motivator for your children.

Here are some fun reasons your child can write a letter:

Thank-you card
Birthday card
Invitation
Get-well card
Ask a question (for interviews or research)
Encouragement
Holidays
Just to make someone smile
Tell a story
Write an author or illustrator
Share something exciting that happened (a lost tooth, for example)

If you want to put a smile on a child’s face, send her a letter.

If you want to make someone feel special, send him a letter.

Teaching your child why and how to write a letter will create many happy moments for those who are special to you.

If you are looking for specific lessons on letter writing, TeacherFileBox.com has a great lesson to teach the format of writing a friendly letter in this file folder activity.

You can also sign up with TeacherFileBox.com to find other lesson plans on different types of letter writing.

What are some of your favorite reasons to write a letter? I would love to hear your ideas in the comment section below.

Until then, I will be writing a letter to you in the form of my next blog post,

Amy

Contributing Writer

Amy Michaels is a certified teacher with 11 years of elementary classroom experience who is actively homeschooling her own children. Her mission is share the best teaching methods and resources with all homeschoolers. Amy supports parents through her podcasts, webinars, and online training for homeschoolers on her website http://www.thrivehomeschooling.com.

February 3, 2015
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Practice Makes Perfect, or Does it? Top 5 Reasons Students Succeed with Frequent, Focused Practice

We have all heard the phrase “practice makes perfect,”
but for parents, teachers, and students with limited time
and a myriad of activities, is it still an important part of a
student’s day to plan for practice? Studies show that the
answer is a resounding “yes!”

At Evan-Moor, we want to make it easy for students to
get frequent, focused practice and here’s why:

The top 5 research-based reasons students succeed with frequent, focused practice:

Supplemental instruction utilizing consistent, frequent, teacher-guided, distributed (spaced) practice and review over days, weeks, and years is an effective way to improve learning and performance.
Practice is a powerful strategy for achieving proficiency and retention of skills and information for consistency and continuity in K–8th grades.
Frequent, focused practice leads to mastery and retention of the skills practiced. The skills taught daily are practiced to the point at which memory can quickly recognize and retrieve what has been previously learned and apply it in the current learning activity.
Succinct 10- to 15-minute daily lessons keep students’ attention.
Daily practice provides test prep throughout the school year; teachers say that daily practice helps students prepare for and raise their achievement on standardized tests.

Evan-Moor’s new daily practice courseware provides short daily lessons for the entire year and covers standards-aligned skills. Explore Evan-Moor’s daily practice courseware titles.

For more information on the research cited in this blog, download these free white papers: The Use of Practice as an Effective Teaching Strategy: Language Arts and The Use of Practice as an Effective Teaching Strategy: Math.

Contributing Writer

Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.

January 28, 2015
by Evan-Moor
3 Comments

Is it COOL to Homeschool?

Many parents are choosing homeschooling, and the number is growing. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, approximately 3% of school-aged children are homeschooled, which is over 1.5 million kids. According to A2Zhomeschooling.com, the growth rate from 2012 to 2013 averaged about 7.6%, while public school enrollment was nearly stable.

Why is the homeschool community growing?

Parents have reported that they are concerned about the current educational system, state testing, safety/security, and the special needs of their children.

However, my heart jumps for joy when I hear parents say they want to homeschool because they want to be INVOLVED in their child’s education.

We teachers know that INVOLVEMENT is key to any child’s education.

What are the benefits of homeschooling?

Homeschooling families benefit by:

Having a flexible schedule that meets their children’s needs
Customizing the curriculum to meet their children’s individual skill levels and educational needs
Involving their children in real-life application of skills
Allowing students to study topics of interest and high motivation (the BEST way for kids to learn, right?)
Providing deeply vested parental involvement

What are the benefits of homeschooling for the community?

Communities can see many benefits of having active homeschools because homeschoolers:

are visible in volunteer roles. Parents know that real-life experience is the best teacher, so homeschoolers look for volunteer opportunities for their children – even the very young.
seek out local businesses and nonprofits for field trips.
create special-interest groups (Hello, Lego clubs.)
support and use public libraries and museums often.
care about and care for local parks.
participate in many public events as a group, often entire families.

The homeschool community of over 1.5 million children is thriving and growing. If you know of a homeschooling family, encourage them to subscribe to Evan-Moor’s newsletters for free resources, and check out Evan-Moor’s wonderful teaching materials.

children dancing around a heart for valentine's day

January 22, 2015
by Evan-Moor
1 Comment

Valentine’s Day STEAM Activities for the Classroom

With so many ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your students, where do you begin?

Let us help with a collection of heart-inspired activities covering art, science, math, writing, and reading activities. Click the links below to get your free Valentine’s Day classroom activities.

Valentine’s Day activities from Evan-Moor resources:

Heart science activities
Grades 1–3: Includes information on the circulation system, directions for conducting experiments and activities, and a mini book.
(From Science Works for Kids: How Your Body Works)

Creative writing activities
Grades 2–6: Includes 25 quick write topics, sixteen story starters, and titles around
the themes of winter and Valentine’s Day.
(From Giant Write Every Day)

Valentine’s Day art projects
Grades 1–4: Includes a woven valentine card, a heart basket, a chain of hearts,
and a valentine bookmark. These make great valentines to share at home and school!
(From Art for All Seasons)

Valentine’s Day pocket book project
Grades 1–4: Includes a variety of activities involving writing, art, graphing, and
other curriculum-connected ideas.
(From Theme Pockets: February)
Build a Valentine Box
Grades 1–6: Collect used cereal or shoe boxes and have your students design an “in-box” for their valentine letters. Give specific measurements for “mail slots” and have students use rulers to measure. Provide students with white butcher or wrapping paper to decorate and design their boxes.

Bulletin Board template: “Put It in Your Pocket”

Valentine pockets and butterflies display student work on this bright red and pink bulletin board.

Books, activities, and other fun resources for Valentine’s Day:

Valentine’s Word Party Games
Perfect for room parents organizing a classroom party!
Valentine’s Heart Math from Blissfully Domestic

Valentine’s Day Math
Ideas for practicing math with conversation candy hearts
Valentine’s Day Card
Cute and simple finger paint valentine card from Enchanted Learning
Valentine’s Day Reading Recommendations
Book list for children from the Cincinnati library

Pinterest Board
“Valentine’s Day: Our Favorite Pins!”

Check out Evan-Moor’s Theme Pockets: Valentine’s Day e-book for more ideas!

Contributing Writer

January 16, 2015
by Evan-Moor
2 Comments

7 Tips for Reorganizing your Homeschool in the New Year

January is a great time to reflect, regroup, and reorganize your homeschool curriculum. Here are 7 tips to consider to get reorganized in ways that will benefit you all year long.

Reflect and set priorities – Take 5 minutes to think of your true priorities. If we align our time and energy with our true priorities, we set ourselves up for success. By focusing on what you HAVE to do first, your priorities are honored and progress is made. What a wonderful thing to role model for your kids!
Rework what isn’t working – When something isn’t working, you have 2 basic choices – forget it, or adapt it to make it work. It is really that simple. Choose, and make it happen.
Reducing clutter brings focus – It is important to reduce both our visual focus and our mental focus. Write down all of your ideas to reduce the mental clutter. This will allow to you focus on your most important tasks first. Start reducing your visual clutter to avoid distraction. You (and your kids) will be able to visually focus without distractions and get those tasks done!
BONUS – Get the kids involved and start improving their focus skills, as well. Be sure to start small – 3 minutes or so, and keep it fun!
Get the kids involved – Kids want to be valuable. Providing them with real work is a great way to get them interested and accountable. Allowing them to help with attainable tasks can build self-confidence, too.
Give a refresh to bring new interest – Do you ever get in a rut? At our home, when the enthusiasm runs low, we look for a way to refresh things. Maybe we need to move outside for our lesson that day. Ask the kids what they would be excited to change, and have THEM make the action plan.
Reveal new concepts with flair – When we reorganize, there is a bit of excitement. Now is a great time to build a little anticipation for your kids. Let them wonder what is coming. Be excited yourself. Keep them guessing. Give them clues. Have fun revealing what they will be learning next!
Preparing to bridge – We are always leading children to bridge to the next level of growth. For homeschoolers, it can be the next study unit, the next field trip, or even the next grade level. Tell your children what they will be able to do before that next level. Spend time planning how to lead them step-by-step to get there and feel great about the progress, not the perfection.

Which of these reorganization tips will you be using? Leave a comment below to share your favorite, or tell us one of your best organizational tips!

If you are looking for a homeschool curriculum read Homeschool Curriculum Resources and Guides.

January 13, 2015
by Evan-Moor
1 Comment

Celebrate Math and the 100th Day of School!

100 days math activity from Joyful Learning in KC blog

Celebrate the 100^th day of school with meaningful and fun math activities. These interactive math activities will get students out of their desks and build positive math experiences for every type of student.

I had the opportunity to attend the NCTM conference in Houston. It was inspiring to meet educators from all around the country. Despite the geographical, curricular, and state-adopted-standards differences, it was easy to see that a common goal for all educators is to make learning math more rigorous, more meaningful, and more fun.

As the 100^th Day of School approaches, it can remind us how powerful it is for students when we use a little creativity to integrate math activities into the curriculum and increase awareness of the many ways math is used in our everyday lives.

The following ideas can help you make the most of the 100^th Day of School as a math celebration.

Check out Pinterest for great ideas that can be adapted to your classroom needs. See the Evan-Moor Pinterest board: 100th Day Activities: Our Favorite Pins! and Math: Our Favorite Pins! A few Pinterest finds include:

List of 100^th Day thematic books
An art project
Group projects (Scroll down through the collection of math charts and projects to find the 100^th Day group project.)

Set up a menu of thematic centers or stations in a combination of real-world math and math integrated with language arts, art, science, and social studies, etc. One example:

A collection of class- and school-wide 100^th Day celebration ideas

From Kindergarten and Mooneyisms blog

Include math activities that get children out of their seats, such as giving small groups or buddies 100 plastic or paper cups to build a structure, or taking students outside to measure how far they can jump or how far they can fly a paper airplane, then compare to see how close they came to 100 inches or 100 feet.

See the Kindergarten and Mooneyisms blog for more ideas for young children, including using Popsicle sticks to create tally marks that add up to 100.

Place the projects, activity pages, record sheets, and photos in a portfolio so students can reflect upon their learning and share their work with their parents.

Additional resources for 100^th Day activities:

A Teacher’s Journal: 100 Activities for the 100^th Day
100^th Day of School Thematic Unit of Study—Activities for the Classroom
Enchanted Learning’s 100^th Day of School

Pinterest and other websites are great resources to share ideas with teachers from all over the world. What extraordinary ideas do you have to create a memorable 100^th Day celebration in your classroom or at your school site? Please share!

For more ideas on 100th day of school activities read Hundreds of Ways to Celebrate the 100 Days of School: Ideas for Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

Marti Beeck enjoyed volunteering in her three children’s classrooms so deeply, that she returned to school to earn her CLAD teaching credential. For the next thirteen years, she worked as a classroom teacher in grades 1-3. Her experience as a primary classroom teacher, as well as adult school and intervention for elementary and high school, was inspired by her background in psychology and interest in brain-based learning. Marti currently works in the field of educational publishing as an editor.

January 8, 2015
by Evan-Moor
1 Comment

Teaching Kids to Think with Evan-Moor

As a former teacher of gifted students, I believe each and every child has an area of giftedness. Don’t you find that to be true?

When I am searching for curriculum resources to use in homeschooling my own children, I keep the standard quite high. I seek resources that really teach kids how to think, solve meaningful problems, and communicate with others. This allows each child to showcase his or her area of giftedness.

What type of learning activities provide opportunities for kids to learn how to think and excel in their giftedness? Here is a list to keep in mind:

Activities need to be interesting to students.

The reason is simple: When kids are motivated, it is so much easier to keep them focused and learning. Additionally, when students are interested, they are much more likely to stretch their thinking and really challenge themselves. My favorite resource is Evan-Moor’s Daily Word Problems. My kids enjoy the facts about animals while being challenged to think in new ways to solve math problems.

Activities should provide opportunities to share and show students’ thinking.

We can only teach kids what they don’t know, right? However, we have to get inside our kids’ minds to know exactly what they are thinking! Evan-Moor’s activities always encourage students to show their thinking so that we teachers can better guide their learning. By offering activities that go beyond repetitive skill practice, students are excited to share their thinking and give priceless insight into their thinking processes.

Activities encourage students to pause and double-check their thinking.

It is so easy for students to go on “auto-pilot” and fail to really pay attention. (It is easy for adults, too!) One favorite Evan-Moor math question was “How many wings are there on a dog?” I overheard comments like, “Wait, what did that say?” and “Did I read that right?” and “Ummm, dogs don’t have wings, so why are they asking us that?” All of those great questions were music to my ears! My children were not on auto-pilot, but rather were actively engaged in their learning. Once they understood the answer was “zero,” there were lots of giggles and hopes for more silly questions in the future.

Evan-Moor publications keep my kids thinking and having fun practicing their skills. Do your kids have a favorite Evan-Moor resource? Please share any favorites in the comments section!

January 3, 2015
by Evan-Moor
1 Comment

Nine Tips for Teacher- and Student-Friendly Classroom Management

teacher in front of a classroom of young students One of the best “aha” moments for me as a new teacher was the day I realized that classroom management was not me keeping the busy children in my class under control. Instead, the secret was creating a system where children were motivated to manage themselves. Here are some tips for incorporating teacher- and student-friendly classroom management.

Help students begin their day well. Greet your students, make eye contact, and help each student feel welcome every day. Include a morning ritual, such as quiet music and a morning meeting.
Use your natural, calm speaking voice with inflection to maintain interest.
Speak only when students are quiet and ready. Teach students how to read your signals. For instance, when you are standing tall at the front of the room, looking at them, then they should be quiet and ready to listen. If students are engaged in activity, a gentle sound such as a tinkling bell or a clicker can help bring them back to attention. See this Scholastic blog for more ideas about attention signals.
Use hand signals and other non-verbal communication. Teach your students hand and facial signals. For example: eye contact, tapping nose, hand on heart, holding up fingers can communicate anything from, “I need to use the restroom!” to “I agree with Jeremy’s thinking.” Make sure to include a few signals that communicate feelings. This way, a student can alert you, so you have the opportunity to respond to a student before feelings grow into a bigger problem or a meltdown. Introduce signals one at a time and teach students the polite words for what the signal means. Wait for one signal to become fluent, and then introduce the next. Look for more ideas from Laura Candler’s strategies.
Build in plenty of opportunities for students to discuss learning and actively participate in lessons and classroom procedures.
Have regular classroom meetings. Let students have a proactive part in brainstorming classroom rules, procedures, learning, and solutions to problems.
Empower each student with a responsibility. Strategically match each student with a job that contributes to the well-being of the class or school and that utilizes that individual’s special interest or need.
Build in curiosity and anticipation. Give hints about what the class will do later in the day, or the next day. Say just enough so students will want to think about it between now and then.
End each school day with a connection ritual: this can be a special goodbye, a class song, a well-wishing signal, or words of appreciation for each other.

No doubt, unpredictable challenges will present themselves; however, the creation of a peaceful self-managing culture will benefit all students.

Other helpful links:

Edutopia: Teaching Your Students How to Have a Conversation, by Dr. Allen Mendler

An Ethical Island: 27 Ways to Greet Students (ideas for students of all ages) by Mia MacMeekin

December 9, 2014
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Looking Ahead to the New Year: Ideas for the First Week of the New Year

What teacher or student doesn’t have some anxiety and sadness when the wonderful December holiday vacation comes to a close and it is time to get back into the routine of school?

Be proactive and prepare for that first week NOW. Create an easier transition for you and your students with fun activities that will put a smile on everyone’s face! Although it is prudent to immediately re-establish classroom rules and academic routines, be sure to carve out some time for creativity and fun!

Here are some simple ideas to “lasso” all that fresh New Year’s energy into productive and fun learning activities.

Make a New Year’s Time Capsule

From Fabulous in Fifth blog

First, locate a large can, jar, bottle, etc.
Grades K–1: Have students trace their hands or feet and do a writing sample on the paper. On the last day of school, the students can see if they have grown and how much their writing skills have improved!
Grades 2–8: Have students write a New Year’s resolution or academic goal on a slip of paper. Brainstorm ideas on a chart that are specific and measurable. The students can then roll their resolutions/goals in a scroll and deposit them in the time capsule. The students could also write predictions about how much snow or rain their community will have until the last day of school, how many snow days they will have, how many books they will read, etc. They could also write an essay about what they hope to accomplish by the end of the year.
Last of all, have students place their work in the time capsule, dig a hole in the school garden, and bury it! Or, have your class see you lock it in a file cabinet, deliver it to the principal’s office for storage, wrap it with secure ribbon, etc.
Imagine the excitement when your students open the time capsule on the last day of school!

Make snowflakes, snowmen, and other winter art projects for the classroom

image of group of ice skaters craft project from Evan-Moor

From Evan-Moor’s Art for All Seasons

Here are some free resources:

Ideas and directions for making easy coffee filter snowflakes, paper plate penguins, and a variety of snowmen crafts
Winter art activities from Evan-Moor’s Art for All Seasons includes a chain of ice skaters, a hibernating bear, a snowman, penguin playground, and positive-negative trees

From National Wildlife Federation

Celebrate “Penguin Awareness Month”

This informational website on Penguin Awareness Day will help you get started.

Begin Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday

From Evan-Moor’s Seasonal Bulletin Boards

Create a classroom bulletin board honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. This free download from Evan-Moor includes suggestions for student writing projects to add to the board.
Here is a list of thirteen Civil Rights picture books for all ages.
From Teaching with Style blog

This blog, Teaching with Style, provides examples of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., art projects.
This Evan-Moor Pinterest board provides resources to help students learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Try this Martin Luther King, Jr., stamp activity from education.com.

Finally, here are some Evan-Moor book suggestions for January:

January Theme Pockets

Seasonal Activities

Have a healthy, happy new year!

Contributing Writer

Alice Evans is a forty-year veteran National Board Certified elementary classroom teacher and a published author. She recently retired from the San Diego Unified School District and has published a children’s chapter book entitled Torrey Pines Summer.

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December 2, 2014
by Evan-Moor
1 Comment

Like It or Not: How Two Teachers Have Eased into the Transition to Common Core

How are you progressing in implementing Common Core? In our classrooms, we had no choice but to begin implementation of the Common Core standards. As we were attempting to create resources to help our students meet these standards, we decided to share what we were developing with our colleagues in education—and do it for free. Our website, The Curriculum Corner, was born! The point of our website is to focus on helping teachers who are in the same predicament that we were in: we simply didn’t have a choice except to begin teaching the CCSS.

Tackling the Academic Language

As we began to create resources that we felt would be beneficial, we got “up close and personal” with the national standards. One thing that we felt was a hindrance from the very beginning was the academic language in which the standards were written. Not only did these standards take some deep thought and deciphering by teachers, but we felt that many of them would be very difficult for parents and students to understand. That led us to develop “I Can” statements for the CCSS.

What are “I Can” Statements?

They are essentially just statements that turn the language of the standards into more kid-friendly terms to aid in the understanding of the expectations. These statements all begin with the words “I can” in order to give students a sense of ownership and a “can do” attitude toward their learning.

For example, here is an Operations & Algebraic Thinking standard for third grade:

Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers.

The “I Can” statement we developed to go with it is this:

I can find the missing number in a multiplication or division equation.

And here is an example from third grade E/LA Reading: Foundational Skills:

Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

The coordinating “I Can” statement we wrote is:

I can use what I understand from my reading to help me figure out or correct words I am having trouble with.

The “I Can” statements aren’t perfect and they are most certainly our interpretation of the CCSS as we tried to dissect the true intent and meaning behind each standard. But we feel they are a solid start to helping all educators for whom teaching or not teaching Common Core is simply not a choice they can make.

The idea of a national set of standards can certainly be divisive, but our passion and hope has always been to unite and help our colleagues and friends in education.

There are times when those of us in the trenches just have to get down to the daily business of teaching, and what better way to do that than by working smarter, not harder, and by sharing our work freely? We hope that the development of our “I Can” statements is one way that we did exactly that.

You can access our “I Can” Resources here: Everything “I Can” for K – 6.

We appreciate feedback and constructive criticism on all resources we create, so let us know if you have something positive to share that will help us to make our resources better for everyone!

Contributing Writer

Jill McEldowney and Cathy Henry are neighbors and friends who both have significant experience teaching in the same large and diverse school district. Together, they developed and operate www.thecurriculumcorner.com, a site where busy teachers can find current, relevant, meaningful, and ready-to-go lessons, activities, and resources that fit their classroom structure and also meet national and state standards.