It’s no surprise that I get a lot of questions about the 6+1 traits of writing. I do, after all, bang on about them ALL. THE. TIME. Why? Because even …
Read more3 Common Misconceptions About The 6+1 Traits of writing
I get asked this question quite a lot. And it excites me. Why? Because it’s generally asked after a teacher has had their eyes opened to the 6+1 traits of …
I have a confession to make. When I first started teaching, I was a guided reading fraud. I had NO IDEA what I was doing. Being shown the location of …
Imagine there was a hospital that only trained its surgeons to put plaster casts on its patients. They’d heard about the benefits of plaster casts and how great they were …
Read moreWhy Guided Reading shouldn’t be mandated in schools
Notebook writing is the perfect start-of-year activity for your literacy classroom- it builds community and teaches students timely strategies for generating ideas for writing. Now that’s a win-win right there. …
I love a good inspirational quote. My childhood gymnastics coach, Mr Palmer, introduced them to me. You couldn’t even go to the bathroom in his gym without facing uplifting words …
Read moreA crucial first step in improving writing instruction
Last week I was fortunate enough to listen to mindset coach Kylie Broadfoot (from KMB Coaching) speak on a very relevant topic for this time of year: self-care. At first …
Read more1 Thing All Teachers (and Leaders) MUST Do This Week
My husband and I have always loved the outdoors. The bush is our defibrillator; it recharges us and brings us back into our natural rhythm. It clears the mind and …
When my year 3 teacher, Mrs Margaret Browne, told us she had to pull on a pair of gloves before she could start reading our new class novel, I don’t …
Read more6 reasons every teacher should read aloud every day
Does this sound like you?: “We’ve had so many social issues this week- Our students have forgotten how to get along with each other!” While everyone was worried about the …
Read more10 books to teach friendship, kindness and Gratitude