Shared Teaching Podcast

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

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.

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/

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.

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/

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 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!

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.

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.

Are your students struggling to write in complete sentences? Maybe you're seeing a lot of run-on sentences with no punctuation in sight. Maybe you are seeing fragments that make no sense. Where do you go from here?

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK: https://sharedteaching.com/how-to-teach-sentence-writing/

In today's episode I will show you what has worked well for me in my own first and second grade classrooms over the years.

• How to Count It Out
• Using Sentence Partners
• Color Coding Sentences
• Space Sticks
• Small Group Instruction
• Whole Group Grammar

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Writing Units

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.

We are heading into the end of the year which is a great time to evaluate and reset our classrooms. As a teacher, having clear systems for organization can save you lots of time in your day. I’m sharing a few of my favorite ideas for managing all the paper that comes our way.

In today's episode we're talking about:

• Figuring out our paper categories
• Create an organization flow for each category
• Decide on your organization style

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/teacher-organization/

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Crafty Teacher Lady's colored file system for paper grades

More episodes about organization:

• Episode 103: Setting Up Student Organization Systems
• Episode 87:  Classroom Organization Tips for Creating Working Systems
• Episode 74:  Organizing Your Classroom: Creating Working Systems
• Free Mini Email Course with videos - Better Teacher Organization

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 having trouble keeping up with your classroom jobs, this is the episode you won't want to miss.

In this episode we discuss:

• the purpose of a table captain
• using team jobs
• training students for their job crews
• rotating jobs
• assigning jobs
• teaching job expectations

BLOG POST / SHOW NOTES LINK: https://sharedteaching.com/jobs-for-students-in-the-classroom/

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Free organization challenge - click to sign up
• Editable Classroom Team Jobs - purchase in my TpT store
• Episode 26:  Organizing with Classroom Jobs

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.

Messy desks and lost papers? Get your students organized by putting a system in place to help stop these problems in their tracks.  It's never too late to start a new system.

In today's episode we're talking about:

• What is a student organization system
• Organizing student desks
• Organizing student materials
• Creating a student paper system

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

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• ADDitude's article: The Messy Student's Guide to Order
• Editable Student Notebook Tabs from my TpT store, Shared Teaching

More episodes about organization:

• Episode 87:  Classroom Organization Tips for Creating Working Systems
• Episode 74:  Organizing Your Classroom: Creating Working Systems

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.

With so many things we can teach in the genre of narrative writing where do we even begin?  In this episode I'm covering what I feel are the most important lessons. We'll talk about components of narrative writing, story plots, small moments, story illustrations, and question words.

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

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Episode 96:  My Favorite Narrative Writing Mentor Texts
• Follow my TpT store to be notified of new products
• Episode 52: 3 Steps to Planning Your Writing Mini Lessons
• Episode 40:  5 Writing Workshop Mini Lessons You Must Not Skip
• Get the Writing Skills Checklist by clicking here

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.

Today's special guest is Dr. Deonna Smith, author of Rooted In Joy: Creating a Classroom of Equity, Belonging and Care.  Join us in the conversation about bringing joy and inclusivity back into our classrooms in a sustainable way that won't have us overwhelmed.

In today's episode we talk about:

• Early steps towards a more joyful classroom
• 3 steps towards better inclusion
• Mindset
• Whack-a-Mole
• An administrator's viewpoint on behaviors

Connect with today's guest, Dr. Deonna Smith:

• Dr. Smith's instagram - @deonnasmith
• Dr. Smith's book, Rooted In Joy
• Dr. Smith's website - Deonna Smith Consulting
• Dr. Smith's YouTube - That's Just Good Teaching

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.

The Shared Teaching Podcast has reached a milestone of 100 episodes! For this episode I've asked my daughter to join us and interview me about my top lessons learned both in teaching and in podcasting.

Thank you to all my listeners over these 100 episodes!

SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/top-10-lessons-in-teaching/

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Episode 68: How to Love Teaching Again with Jamie Sears
• Sight Word Spelling Program (in my TpT store)
• Episode 99: Setting Up Successful Student Led Conferences

Dedicated to my mom, Diane.  We miss you beyond words.

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.

Ready to give student led conferences a try? By shifting the responsibility of explaining grades and progress to the learners, student led conferences can be more enjoyable than traditional conferences.

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

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Jane Fong - student centers for conferences
• Episode 35: Setting Student Learning Goals
• Shared Teaching Blog Post: Easy Parent-Teacher Conference Sign Ups

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.

Hosting Open House doesn't need to be stressful.  If you have a plan in place, and make it simple it can even be enjoyable. I always love the chance to meet the families and have students show off. 

Listen to today's episode to discover:

• Showcasing Student Learning
• Allowing Students to Lead
• Ideas for a Presentation
• Helpful Handouts and Forms

Resources Mentioned In Today's Episode:

• Love Languages for Kids Quiz
• My Creative Type Quiz by Adobe Create
• 16 Personalities Quiz (skip the entering email at the end)

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 writing can be complicated but I think the idea of student writing conferences is even more so. Guest Whitney from Learning with Crayons will show us just how we can take away the overwhelm and get started.

Whitney holds two master's degrees and has a lifelong love of learning. She is also currently still in the classroom starting her eleventh year of teaching and has a 1/2 combo class.

In today's episode we talk about:

• Whitney's writing system
• Why starting with reading rough drafts is important
• Are goals necessary in writing conferences
• Having writing partners
• Fitting in writing conferences
• Helping struggling writers who don't know what they wrote
• Should you keep a conference log

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

Connect with our guest Whitney Ramirez, Learning with Crayons:

• Whitney's instagram - @learningwithcrayons
• Whitney's blog -  Learning with Crayons

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.