Blog » Madly Learning

Building a Community of Learners in you Classroom

• Building a community of learners that trust one another If your students don't trust one another then they won't talk and they won't share with one another. Building a safe place for students to share ideas requires two things. One they need to know you have their back and will protect them ... READ the POST

Teaching Math to Grade 4 and 5

I take teaching math very seriously. I think that this is next in importance to reading. Basic computational skills in number sense and numeration is important. I always tell my students the difference between myself and my husband and our ability to do math. I up until a few years ago needed to ... READ the POST

4 Back to School How To’s: Do It Now & Save Time Later

So many teachers take time out of their summer to get things ready to go back to school. I am no exception. There are plenty of things that you can do now that will help make the transition from soaking in the sun poolside to teaching up a storm all year long. Getting back to ... READ the POST

So You Got a Split Grade Next Year? …. What To Do Now!

STOP FREAKING OUT! It's not that bad!!! You can do this.... Here is what you do when you find out you are teaching a split combined grade classroom Drink some Wine Grab Your Curriculum Look at Exemplars Make your schedule Write Out Your Long Range ... READ the POST

Science Resources: Conservation of Energy

Online Resources Hydro Science Kids National Geographic Kids and Energy Energy Kids PDF Wind Allient Energy Kids How does a Turbine Work (1) How does a Turbine Work (2) Energy Kids US GOV ARC Online PDF Energy Kids PDF Solar Energy Kids US GOV Science Kids Energy ... READ the POST

How I Teach Writing

I used to teach writing like everyone else. I would pick a writing form break it down into steps focus on the process of how to write within a form repeat this for a few weeks have students write within that form evaluate their work to see if they could write in the ... READ the POST

Be More Efficient In The Classroom: 6 Simple Hacks You Can Try Today

One of the things that drives me crazy is when things run inefficiently. So I always try to find more ways to be more efficient in my classroom. As a busy mom of three, a teacher and business owner time saving efficient hacks are my most needed thing these days. So there are things that I do ... READ the POST

Background Knowledge: Getting Ready for Student Inquiry

Sometimes as teachers we are presented with topics that are unfamiliar to our students. Trying to do an inquiry based learning assignment when there is a lack of student background knowledge is a problem. There are a few things that you can do to build this background knowledge first before ... READ the POST

Work Life Balance…the busy teacher edition

Let me start this blog post with some real truth... You can't do all the things I don't do all the things! There is not enough hours in the day or coffee in the world that will allow you to do all the things. Yet over and over I am told and asked "I don't know how you do it...where do you ... READ the POST

Making Writing Assessment Work to Help Students Bump It Up!

How do we make assessment meaningful in a way that helps students to see what the criteria is they are being evaluated on How do we involve them in this process to decide on the evaluation of what makes a piece of writing good? One way that I have used over the years is a Bump It Up ... READ the POST

Would we be teacher BFFs? Who is Madly Learning?

Do you have a teacher BFF? I know you have heard about them. These are the people that just get you. They share a similar philosophy in Education they teach with you, plan with you, have your back. But would I be your teacher BFF? The teacher community on social media is huge. Many times we ... READ the POST

Why Feedback Is Important

Feedback on an important part in the cycle of assessment. It is probably one of the things that teachers can do to push the needle forward for student achievement. So what is feedback? For me feedback is two things. It is information that tells students where they are and how they ... READ the POST