Shared Teaching Podcast

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 cla...

Before starting your narrative writing unit, listen to this episode first! Choosing a good mentor text will provide your students with a model piece of writing to emulate during the unit. SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/narrative-writing-mentor-texts/ Resources Mentioned In This Episode:   Episode 17:  Choosing a Mentor Text Episode 62:  My Favorite Opinion Writing Mentor...

If you are a new teacher looking for support this fall, you've come to the right episode. Today I'm sharing my advice for new teachers for the busy back to school season. We'll discuss: How to focus on building student relationships Creating family and staff relationships Learning who your students are academically Finding a school friend or mentor for support SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST...

One of the keys to a successful school year will rely on the families of your students. Having them become engaged and active with their students makes your job easier.  In today's episode you'll learn: The importance of a parent engagement goal Ways to ask parents for help Provide class specifics Provide parent resources To be culturally inclusive SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK: Resources...

Meet the teacher night can be very stressful when you don't know what to do and feel unprepared. This is your chance to make a great first impression which can make you feel even more stressed. In today's podcast episode you'll learn my 5 ideas of what to do for your own meet the teacher night. These five ideas are exactly what I've done in my own classroom so I know they work...

It's almost that time - end of the summer and the start of a new school year. I go back in 3 days so I guess it's time to start thinking about what I'm doing for the beginning of the year. In today's episode I'm sharing my must haves: Daily Schedule Cards  Classroom Management Plan Classroom Team Jobs Parent Communication Plan SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK: Resources Mention...

A writing pre-assessment is the most important first step in your writing plans. Just like other subjects, the writing pre-assessment will inform your direction for lessons. In today's episode we're talking about: Why you should use a pre-assessment for writing What to use as your pre-assessment Choosing a paper format  Grading the pre-assessment SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sha...

One of the best hacks to save time when writing lesson plans is to make it a system. Having a system in place makes writing your lessons go faster - saving your time and your sanity! In today's episode we'll discuss: The format of your lessons The content of your lessons The delivery of your lessons How students will put your lessons into practice SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sh...

Brittany Blackwell, M.Ed. is an award-winning special educator who is a teacher resilience and sustainability strategist for burnt out teachers.  As someone who has faced being burnt out in the teaching profession, Brittany is empowering others to not feel alone.  In today's episode we are talking about: Sustainability Systems Support Self-Care Summer Conference - starting July 21st-23rd Reso...

Just like most things in our classroom, we need a system to improve our email productivity. I spend way too much time in my email and that’s going to change with these tips. In this episode I'll share some email quick wins. The Pomodoro Technique for checking email Create email templates Create labels or folders Create an email signature Sort your email BLOG POST / SHOW NOTES LINK:   https://...

Every classroom should have a well-thought out system. Systems are the secret behind most classroom organization tips. Without thinking through your systems first, all the cute bins and rolling carts will not help tame all your clutter and chaos. Create the system and then buy the cute organization items to fit your new system and you'll be amazed at how much you get done within your work hou...

Before launching writer’s workshop, there are some beginning of the year writing lessons you’ll want to teach first.   In today's short episode I'm going over the lessons I would teach my own class in the first few weeks of school before I dive into my writer's workshop model. SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/beginning-of-the-year-writing-lessons/ Resources M...

Starting writer’s workshop is probably the most important set of lessons you’ll give during your writing time all school year.  Launching your workshop is more about procedures and expectations than actually writing. In this podcast episode I'll discuss how I start my writing workshop at the beginning of the school year. SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/launching-write...

If you missed this week's main Wednesday episode, I talked about 5 activities for your higher readers. One of those options was for student games. Today's bonus episode will be going deeper into how to incorporate student created games in your classroom. This short episode will go over options for student created games and teacher expectations. BLOG POST / SHOW NOTES LINK:  https://share...

On today's podcast episode I am discussing 5 activities that go beyond the traditional book club for your students. Leesuh, a regular listener, inspired this episode with her question of how to help her higher students when she is holding intervention or small groups with her struggling readers. We've all been there. Trying different activities that most other teachers have used (and see...

The last two years of teaching second grade has shown me there is a serious decline in students' spelling and phonics abilities. Adding in word study activities to my classroom is essential to help get students caught up to where they need to be. Today's Saturday Spotlight bonus episode is diving into my classroom word study routine. Specifically I'm discussing how I get started wit...

It’s been a few years since interactive notebooks exploded in the teaching world. They are amazing and fun but incredibly time consuming. Today I’m sharing how I made my sight word interactive notebook work in less time than traditional interactive notebooks. SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/sight-word-interactive-notebook/ Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sign up for m...

If you listened to my last episode, Why Sight Words Are Important, you are hopefully feeling better about continuing to incorporate sight words into your literacy block. Sight words are still important and needed for many students but your teaching of them may need to be tweaked a little. In this bonus Saturday Spotlight episode I'm talking about specific ways you can change your word work to...

Although the Science of Reading can be traced back as far as the 1800s it is recently gaining in popularity in current educational practices. It makes sense that we may wonder why sight words are important or if they conflict with these “new” practices. In today's episode I'm discussing why sight words are still important and can work with a solid Science of Reading approach to your read...

Using a behavior clip chart is an outdated method of managing your classroom behaviors. Today's episode will share why the clip chart should be replaced and provide my favorite 3 alternatives to clip charts. This is the first in my summer series: Saturday Snapshots where I provide more information on one of my points from the Wednesday podcast episode.   SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://...

Calling all brand new teachers!  This episode is my best advice for teachers on things to do for the summer before you begin your first teaching job.  I strongly suggest starting with getting to know your new curriculum and creating a solid classroom management plan before you tackle creating all the cute decor items. Learn why in today's episode. SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:   https://shared...

When I heard the news that my school district was taking away writing time next year with the expectation teachers would have to integrate writing in content areas, I was saddened. I’m sure this is not the first district or classroom that this has happened to even though primary students need direct writing instruction. How can you still integrate writing when you have no designated writing time? ...

Get 10 ideas for a quick and easy end of the year school celebration in today's episode. Glow parties, airplane races, and trivia games are just the start. Listen to find the perfect way to wrap up your school year. SHOW NOTES / BLOG POST LINK:  https://sharedteaching.com/end-of-the-year-celebration-ideas/ Resources Mentioned in this Episode: We Are Teachers Minute To Win It Ideas 3D Abstract...

Organizing your classroom can take some planning and time. Creating a working system is key to having an organized classroom year round.  The end of the school year is the perfect time to rethink current systems or create new ones so you are organized for back to school. As I pack up my classroom to move rooms, I am taking full advantage of decluttering and parting with items that have not served...

As elementary teachers, we all know that writing is an essential skill that our students need to master. However, teaching writing can be a challenging task, and we often find ourselves struggling to help our students develop their writing skills.  That's where the science of reading comes in. By using the science of reading during writer's workshop, we can help our students become bette...