Social Emotional Learning, or SEL, has been around for a while, but it has become even more apparent that we need it in the months following the pandemic. But, too often SEL becomes just something “trendy” to talk about or slap on our school blueprints. It’s time to make it more than just a educational buzzword.

Does your head begin to spin when you think about starting readers and writers workshop in your classroom? With all the moving parts, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to planning and prepare for reading and writing in the classroom. Listen in as we cover all the essential questions you need to ask yourself BEFORE starting the workshop model in your classroom!

No one likes to be caught off guard and left scrambling. Set yourself up for success in your classroom now by prepping some simple activities and classroom systems that will save you TONS of time (and sanity!) later!

Many teacher find teaching theme challenging with elementary students. But— it’s likely because we aren’t giving our students a simple formula that they can repeat over and over to help them successfully identify theme. I’ll show you exactly what that formula is in this episode of The Classroom Commute!

Preparing your classroom for summer vacation likely means a lot of organizing, purging, tearing down, and cleaning. Don’t do it all yourself! Enlist the help of your students (its not as scary as it sound!) to help you tie up any loose ends in your classroom so that you can sail into summer faster!

Teaching elementary students to synthesize information they’re reading can often feel like an uphill battle! In this episode, you’ll learn how to take this complex reading comprehension strategy and break it down into simple steps that your students can master!

Most of what we read in our daily life is nonfiction - street signs, dinner recipes, news articles, etc. So -let’s teach our students these critical reading nonfiction reading skills that will help them in the classroom and beyond!

If you want students to engage more with each other about their reading, then considering adding literature circles (or book clubs as they are often called) into your instructional strategy. Literature circles are a powerful way to incorporate meaningful, student-led discussions, motivate struggling readers, and help your elementary students take more ownership of their learning.

Reading comprehension instruction doesn’t have to be complicated! When it comes to teaching reading strategies like making inferences, a simple, student-friendly approach is easier than you think. Get the step-by-step guidance to help your elementary students master inferring while they read.

Writing conferences no longer have to be a confusing, overwhelming process for elementary teachers. Take the simple goal-driven approach that gives your writing conferences the clear structure and purpose that actually improves your students’ writing.

How you end your lessons shouldn’t be an after thought, although for many elementary teachers — it often is (at least when we are not being observed!). When you’re spending so much time planning a lesson for your students, be sure to end it on a high note. In this podcast episode, I’ll show you 10 simple, yet engaging ways to end your next lesson.

Students can’t learn in crisis mode. The foundation for any learning is a students’ social emotional health. Help set the stage for learning by implementing simple calming strategies that will allow students to manage and regulate their own feelings so that they can be more successful in the classroom and beyond.

Want your elementary students to get the most out of what they read? Then, teach them critical reading comprehension strategies like determining importance — I’ll show you how in today’s episode!

Struggling to make readers and writers workshop work in your elementary classroom? The solutions might be simpler than you think! Check out these common workshop model mistakes, and learn how to fix them.

Are your students having the right kind of classroom conversations - the kind of talk that moves learning forward? If not - let’s fix that by teaching students the art of accountable talk, a framework for having intentional conversations in the classroom.

Learn how to help your students master the art of asking questions while reading to increase their reading comprehension. This is a must-listen episode for all upper elementary teachers looking for a simple approach to reading comprehension strategy instruction!