Work/life balance has become a hot topic for every profession. It seems adults are losing their ability to leave work at the office and relax. The age of endless email, constant notifications, and being “wired in” is leaving the majority of employees feeling stressed and unable to strike a healthy work/life balance. With the increasing…

Are you looking for ways to ROCK your writing instruction? You’ve found the right person to help! Pam knows what she is talking about when it comes to the writing process. Writing is her jam! She figured out what truly helps educators and homeschool parents teach writing to even the most reluctant writers! She was…

Are you looking for great literature to introduce your upper elementary students to mysteries? I’ve used many of these books in my classes during our mystery genre study. Although I loved to read mysteries in October around Halloween, these mysteries can be read any time of the year! Check them out for a quick summary…

You decide to skip over writing instruction. You squeeze in some writing prompts or writing responses here and there and call it a day. So what happens when you don’t teach writing? I know first-hand what happens and it isn’t pretty. I worked with a group of high school students writing college entrance essays. Most…

An effective teacher is someone who makes a positive impact on his or her students. These students will carry the strategies they learned through the rest of their education and into their adult lives. It then becomes a part of their lifelong learning strategies. From elementary school to college professors, an effective educator will leave…

It is no secret that you (teachers) are in one of the most caring professions in the world. Each day, you try to educate, encourage, and care for dozens of children who you often come to love like your own. In speaking to a teacher friend with 29 years in the classroom, she told me…

Are you ready to rock your teaching? You are in the right place! I am going to share the 7 POWERFUL STEPS TO BE AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER! If you are familiar with Rockin Resources, you know that my key values are to MOTIVATE, EDUCATE, DIFFERENTIATE. I love to share ideas to help teachers and homeschool…

If you are looking for 5 ways to motivate your students in the classroom, you are in the right place! I’m going to share engaging ideas to help students comprehend tough concepts and skills. Whenever I would mix things up and use something outside of the box to help my students learn, they ALWAYS remembered…

UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA Myth- Letter reversals is the main sign of dyslexia. Truth- Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia can refer to an array of symptoms, which result in people of all ages having difficulties with specific reading, writing, and spelling skills (1). There are various misconceptions about the learning disability, which make it that…

If you are like me, I wanted to be a ROCKSTAR in my first years of teaching, but got immediately overwhelmed. I wish I knew half of the teaching tips, advice, and strategies that I do now. I fumbled A LOT, yet learned from every trial and error. Through my 26 years in the classroom,…

Checklists are used for many academic tasks, and writing is a common one. Are they really effective? Absolutely! This post will explore why checklists are used, research results, and how to use writing checklists to improve student writing in the classroom. Why Are Writing Checklists Used in the Classroom? When children have the opportunity to…

Do you need ideas for teaching colonization? Here you will find book suggestions, comprehension ideas, projects, crafts, activities, and more. These lessons are also included in one of my best-selling social studies units! Mentor Text When I am teaching a social studies unit, I love to recommend some great books for my students to read…

Are you looking for an effective way to conduct parent-teacher conferences? Why not have your students be in charge? Student-led conferences will not only strengthen an open communication between home and school, but the positive vibe will have everyone smiling. What will students gain from student-led conferences? Students will: gain ownership of their work. become…

Are you looking for ways to build character in the classroom? Bringing character education into your classroom will give children a sense of community and teach them core values. It will help children identify and demonstrate positive ways of handling themselves and treating others. When a whole school focuses on character education, it brings an…

Step-by-Step Reading is a series of effective reading units used in thousands of classrooms. It is full of engaging lessons and resources. A scaffolding approach helps students understand what they are reading. Research shows that building from a basic reading skill to a more complex one not only develops, but strengthens reading comprehension. Do your student(s) need…

This STEP-BY-STEP WRITING® IS A COMPLETE WRITER’S WORKSHOP PROGRAM with all the tools needed for the entire year. It is filled with engaging lessons (scripted), anchor charts, modeling, mentor text, interactive notebook pages, practice, and all the forms, graphic organizers, checklists, and rubrics necessary to teach and assess writing. It has been proven to be effective…

When setting up a classroom or homeschool writing center, there are five things that I found useful for writing success. These items provide your students with the necessary tools to get ready to write effectively throughout the year. Set it up once and start writing! 1.  Supplies Use a caddy to keep most of the…

Are your students having trouble identifying theme within a story? This step-by-step process scaffolds through several reading comprehension skills to help students get a thorough understanding of theme. Students will be able to determine the theme of a story, poem, or drama from details in the text by first learning basic knowledge of story elements,…

Are you looking for ways to help students analyze poetry effectively? This post will share step-by-step ideas to help your students with poetry analysis. When you are finished, they will be analyzing poetry like rock stars! 1. Choose a Poem Have students read and choose meaningful poetry.  Classic poets like Emily Dickenson and Robert Frost are…

Honesty is one of the most important character traits that children should learn and be able to grasp at an early age. Although any time is a good time to teach honesty, Presidents’ Day is a perfect opportunity since Abe Lincoln is best known for being an honest man. Abe lived his life by practicing…