How to Recharge Mathematical Thinking

…lack experience with different types of problems and the strategies for solving them, so they feel defeated and give up before they get started. What can we do to help

Teachers, Help MrOwl Help YOU!

…FAQ section to their Help menu, but they need help from teachers to make this happen. Here’s how you can help: Watch the replay of the Discover MrOwl webinar. Before…

4 Square Planning: The Key to Organized Writing

…of the 4-square planner is that it’s not mode-specific. We used this planner for opinion writing, narrative writing, and inform/explain writing. We could meet and teach all components of the…

6 Reasons to Teach Poetry in the Fall

…Teaching kids to write poetry engages them in authentic writing experiences and begins to build their confidence as writers. In order for kids to learn how to read and understand…

Teaching Kids How to Write Super Sentences

How do you encourage your students to write longer, more interesting sentences? You know what will happen if you simply ask them to write longer sentences… they’ll just add more…

Poetry: A Common Core Dilemma

…was nothing about appreciating poetry or making connections to one’s own life. The writing standards were even worse. Everything was either about narrative writing or expository writing, but there was…

How to Form Cooperative Learning Teams

…a team they could get help. I let them know that if they complete the assignment and come in the next day with a better attitude, they may rejoin their…

5 Ways to Help Students Become Word Collectors

…to keep content area vocabulary visible and useful to students. This anchor chart stays up throughout an entire unit on essay writing. Teachers and students can refer to it to…

Teaching Kids to Express Appreciation

…of appreciation on the cards. Let them know upfront that you expect everyone to write kind comments and that you will be reading what they write. While they are writing