Hello Reader,

I can't believe it, but I only have three more weeks of summer before it's back to school. Part of me is excited to get my classroom ready and meet my new 4th graders. The other part of me is wondering how summer disappeared so quickly!

As I've started thinking about the new school year, I've been trying to focus on the things that make the biggest difference without spending a dime. Here are two things I've done every year that always pay off.

✨ Tip #1: Pick one reading routine and commit to it.

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to establish a routine you'll use all year long. Whether it's a read-aloud, morning message, spiral math, or something else, don't try to launch everything at once. One strong routine that students know well is worth so much more than five routines that feel rushed. For me personally, this year I am going to be implementing a more focused morphology routine into my class. Combining good old-fashioned blending with more difficult multi-syllabic roots, prefixes, and suffixes, I am sure my students will benefit from it. I have the basics ready to go, but need to flesh out the rest as I teach my students. I am excited to get this routine in my class this year!

✨ Tip #2: Print all of your interactive notebook pieces before school starts.

This is one of those little jobs that saves me so much time once students arrive. Whenever I have a free hour, I print notebook flaps, vocabulary pieces, foldables, and any cut-and-paste activities I'll be using during the first few weeks. Then I can just grab what I need instead of standing at the copier before school. (If you've been following along on Instagram, you've probably seen me working through this project!) Here are the writing anchor charts and notebook dividers that I have already printed out. They are free on my blog so you can get yourself ready too!

All of this "getting ready for school" has me thinking about the routines I rely on most. And that's actually what inspired the two resources I finished this summer. Last year, I began to implement these two things in my classroom and found great success with both of them.

The first is a collection of new Nonfiction Quick Dips. If you've been around for a while, you know this is one of my favorite classroom routines. They're short, engaging 15 minute lessons built around narrative nonfiction picture books that help students build background knowledge while practicing important reading comprehension skills and nonfiction standards. They're easy to fit into even the busiest school day, and the conversations they spark are some of my favorites. My students' knowledge of nonfiction and how to dissect it grew by leaps and bounds and I am so excited that I have all of the discussion questions and charting ideas already planned out. This truly is a routine I can safely say made a huge impact in my classroom.

The second is my new Paragraph of the Week Extended Response resource. Those of you who have been here a while know that Paragraph of the Week is my go to when I need to quickly teach how to write a paragraph. It is my backbone. My fire starter. But one thing I've noticed over the years is that students need lots of low-pressure opportunities to explain their thinking with text evidence, not just when it's time to prepare for testing. So I started adding passages to the POTW and, man, did it change the paragraphs I was getting! Kids started using evidence in their text so much more easily than before. It becomes a natural way to integrate reading, writing, and test prep all year. This year, I plan to introduce these POTW Extended Response pages much earlier than I did last year. They really are SO helpful!

If either of those sounds like something your classroom could use this year, I'd love for you to take a look. And if not, I hope the two tips above help make your back-to-school season just a little easier.

I'd love to hear from you! What's one thing you always do before the first day that makes the rest of the year run more smoothly? Just hit reply. I read every email, and I always pick up great ideas from this community.

Happy planning,

Stephanie
​Teaching in Room 6​

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, Washington 98104-2246
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