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Let the Games Begin!
Oh. My. Goodness. We had a BLAST today, y’all! **PSA: We had a field trip yesterday, so we started our review today.** Excuse how dark this picture is…but we turned off the lights, played music, and...
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A Week of FUN Review!
Last week…as in the week BEFORE Spring Break…my class participated in Game Show Review. (I’ve created a second set of Game Show Review…you can scroll to the bottom for the link.) In my last post, you...
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Launching Writer’s Workshop
Well…hello, friends! Long time no see! I AM still alive…it’s just that life hit me and I haven’t had the energy to stop in and say hello. So…here goes! We just started our 4th week of school. We’ve...
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New Kids on the Block
I know. It’s been a long time since I’ve written. Y’all…I’m tired. It’s been one of those years. The dreaded ones. The ones where you feel like you’re running in quicksand. You’re making all the moves...
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Merging the Old with the New
Hey, y’all! Things are starting to settle down a bit, and I’m feeling more confident with my routines. It’s November. It’s totally time! Thanks for all the words of encouragement on my last post. It’s...
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A Fresh Start
Maybe it’s just me…but I’m a *little* glad to have 2017 behind me. Although not a bad year by any means, by the end, I was just ready for a new year. A fresh start. An empty slate. Isn’t that what New...
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Are You Being Helpful or Harmful?
It’s time for change once again. Yes…change. Again. Y’all…this year has just been a year of constant change. Change in the structure of our class time. Change in student grouping. Change in staff. Lots...
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High-Scoring 4th Grade STAAR Expository Essays
Howdy! How have you been? I feel like I’ve been going full force ever since we got back from the break. We’ve made lots of changes, and I’m seeing the payoff. That’s always good! Ha! Anyway, I...
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New Blog Series Coming Your Way!
Well…we are one year further into STAAR…another year of mistakes and difficulties from the testing company…but WE MADE IT! Y’all, I know that many of you are distraught over your kiddos’ scores. You...
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What Rules Your Classroom?
Howdy, y’all! Since there are many of you out there who are new and I haven’t introduced myself in awhile, I wanted to take just a bit to let you know a little about me. I’m Kayla Shook, and I was born...
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No More MAXI Lessons!
Well, hello again! Welcome back to PD in your PJs! (The BEST kind, right?!) Tonight I wanted to take a quick minute to talk a little about mini lessons. Not MAXI lessons…MINI lessons! Just then, some...
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Conferring with Writers: An Essential Part of Writing Instruction
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, How in the world am I supposed to conference with ALL my kids regularly? If not, you’re a ROCK STAR! And I certainly tip my hat to you. If you’re like me,...
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Exit Tickets
Everybody has heard of them. Exit tickets. You know…those slips of paper you give kids after the lesson is over to see if they “got it.” Or maybe you use them to start your lesson, to see what your...
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Measuring Up
Hey, y’all! I wanted to take a quick second to tell you about a resource I’ve been trying out. I recently received a copy of Mastery Education Measuring Up. I’ve enjoyed the rigor of the questioning,...
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BIG Changes Coming Soon!
Hey, y’all! How have you been? I hope this new year has been treating you well! I just wanted to drop a quick note to tell you that BIG changes are coming soon!! I know that many of you have reached...
View ArticleTeaching Kids Financial Literacy with the Money Confident Kids Program
Teaching Kids Financial Literacy with the Money Confident Kids Program By Kayla Shook, Texas Teaching Fanatic This post is sponsored by T. Rowe Price. All opinions are my own. Teaching kids about...
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Complete Sentences, Fragments, Runons, and Comma Splices
Well, hello there! I know. It’s been WAAAYYYYYY too long since I last blogged. But here I am. Anyway, I wanted to stop in really quickly this evening to talk about something that our kids have so much...
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K-2 Reading and Writing Integration Ideas
Last week, I hosted a training for teachers of lower grades (K-2) with a focus on reading and writing integration. While I can’t post the whole training here, I thought I’d talk quickly about a few...
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STAAR Writing is Weeks Away – What Do I Do?
Ah! The time crunch! There’s not enough time! There’s NEVER enough time! Sound familiar? Yep. We all do it when the weeks we have left begin to dwindle at an alarming rate. On one hand, the days are...
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