Spring (and its allergens) have officially hit Las Vegas.  It's pleasantly in the 80s and that magical time of year when I need neither ...

I just finished grading my students' writing proficiency exams. (Yes, teachers grade these.  No, we aren't paid to do so, it's j...

With our standardized testing right around the corner, we've been doing test prep.  Many of our students are struggling with the geometr...

During our intervention block we've been working on testing strategies with a practice standardized test. As a wrap up activity to a w...

We've been working on " stop and jot " where students "read with a pencil" to record their thoughts.  Perhaps I'...

My students are stressed about standardized testing. I don't blame them!  They know teachers are under a lot of pressure to show ac...

While preparing for my small reading groups, I began thinking about word work.  For my group of fifth graders, our phonics is more focused ...

I love literacy ideas that actually will be useful.  Sometimes I see beautifully decorated classrooms, but if the teacher is working way ha...

Testing....testing..... For many of my fifth graders, standardized testing means lots of anxiety.  To ease their fears, I created little i...