51: Why Writing Prompts Should Not Be Your Writing Curriculum

It's no secret that upper elementary students are the focus of all the test prep because the stakes are higher for them.  But if we work on getting our younger students to have a strong foundation of test taking strategies, the struggle won't be so difficult for our upper elementary teaching friends.

Today we are discussing easy test taking strategies that are perfect for first, second, and third graders to learn. 

In today's episode we'll talk about:

• Prioritizing questions
• Skipping and returning
• Familiarizing with test formats
• Practice reading instructions
• Finding text evidence
• Process of elimination
• Checking answers
• Rest and relaxtion

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/test-taking-strategies-for-elementary-students/

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Teaching and Tapas Reading Passages from TpT

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Writing is embedded throughout our daily lives. Because of this, writing shouldn’t always be taught in isolation. It’s important to teach writing across content areas as well that reinforces the type of writing specific to that discipline.

In today's episode we cover:

• How to utilize content vocabulary in writing
• Examples of how to write like a historian
• Examples of how to write like a mathematician
• Examples of how to write like a scientist

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/writing-across-content-areas/

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If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

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I feel like building writing stamina is something that is not talked about often. Writing stamina is an important part of our students’ writing foundation that we need to build. Here are some effective strategies for nurturing writing stamina for our younger students.

In today's episode we'll discuss:

• Embracing the writing process
• Establishing a writing routine
• Setting realistic goals
• Providing writing choice
• Creating a comfortable writing environment
• Implementing peer collaboration
• Using technology

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK: https://sharedteaching.com/building-writing-stamina/

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If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

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When teaching sight words for second graders, there are some differences to notice. Sight words are important to teach but they are not just for memorization. Today we’ll cover some strategies to use instead.

In this episode we'll talk about:

• What are sight words
• How to introduce sight words
• Irregular spelled or heart words
• Play dough sight word mats
• Sight word letter boxes
• Sight word interactive notebooks
• Additional sight word activities

BLOG POST / SHOW NOTES LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/sight-words-for-second-graders/

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Episode 29:  How to Introduce Sight Words in 5 Powerful Ways
• Episode 80:  Science of Reading and Sight Words: Making Your Centers Work
• Sight Word Interactive Notebook
• Sight Words Ideas for Parents
• Sight Word Letter Boxes
• Sight Word Play Dough Mats for Older Students

Rate, Review, and Follow on Apple Podcasts

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.

If you're students are still struggling with putting words or sentences onto paper, this episode is for you!

Shared writing is the perfect tool in your writing toolkit to support your emergent writers. Get your students interacting and helping you write with shared writing. I'll walk you through how to get started - it's as easy as picking up your pen!

In this episode you'll learn:

• What shared writing is
• An example lesson 
• Why you should try shared writing
• How to pace and plan out your lessons

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/shared-writing/

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• FREE K-3 Writing Skills Progression Chart

Rate, Review, and Follow on Apple Podcasts

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.

Teaching shortages often mean missing out on your planning period. The rare times you do have a prep, it’s important to maximize your time. Today I’ll show you some time saving techniques to make the most of your time.

In today's episode we will tackle 3 ways to schedule out your prep period to be more efficient. We're also discussing ways to avoid distractions. 

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/planning-period/

Sign up for my FREE K-3 writing skills checklist by clicking here!

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If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.

Happy New Year!

In honor of the New Year I am counting down my 5 resolutions for teachers. I love the feeling of all the possibilities that can occur in a new year. The idea of fresh starts and big dreams fills me with excitement every January. Here are 5 New Year’s resolutions for teachers that will reinvigorate you as well!

BLOG POST / SHOW NOTES LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/new-years-resolutions-for-teachers/

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Episode 87, Classroom Organization Tips for Creating Systems
• Episode 74, Organizing Your Classroom: Creating Working Systems
• Episode 103, Setting Up Student Organization Systems
• Better Teacher Organization, free email mini-course

Rate, Review, and Follow on Apple Podcasts

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.

When you think of student centered instruction, you are thinking of the whole child. You are also thinking of how to encourage executive functioning and student agency within the classroom. How can you place ownership of the learning onto the kids?

In today's episode we cover:

• What student centered reading instruction is
• The teacher's role during student centered instruction
• How to shift the ownership to the students
• Setting and sticking with intentions (reading goals)
• Suggestions for fitting it into your reading block

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK: https://sharedteaching.com/student-centered/

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Get 75% off of Andrea's Mini Course -  Student-Centered Reading Reveal

Connect with Today's Guest,  Andrea Haas of Elm Tree Education Consulting

• Join Andrea’s Mailing List on Elm Tree Education
• Learn More in Andrea’s Mini-Course: Student-Centered Reading Reveal (75% off for Shared Teaching Listeners)
• Andrea’s Instagram - @ElmTreeEd

Rate, Review, and Follow on Apple Podcasts

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.

Looking for some advice for your first year as a teacher? In the third episode in this series, I’m sharing my best tips for what you should know for teaching during the winter time.

Check out these episodes for the rest of the New Teacher Advice Series:

• New Teacher Advice: Summer Edition, episode 77
• New Teacher Advice: Fall Edition, episode 95

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/first-year-teacher-advice/

Resources You May Enjoy:

• CLASSroom Management Adventure (a course on building a classroom management plan)
• Parent Guides for Kindergarten, First, Second, or Third Grade

Rate, Review, and Follow on Apple Podcasts

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.

Are you about to head into winter break but need a few more ideas to fill your time? These ideas are admin-approved (aligned to standards) and will have your students excited to work!

In today's episode I'll share ideas for:

• Help Wanted Ads
• Shared Writing
• Gingerbread Real Estate
• Author Studies

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/winter-break/

Resources Mentioned In Today's Episode:

• 2nd Grade Opinion Writing Unit

Rate, Review, and Follow on Apple Podcasts

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to help more people find this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing my show! Ratings allow me to help more primary teachers build literacy systems for writing and centers so they can leave school on time. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five starts, and select "Write a review." Don't forget to let me know your favorite part of the episode!

Not yet a follower of the podcast? If you are not a subscriber, you might miss out on future episodes. Follow here on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast player.