Jessica shares her passion for teaching and education on What I Have Learned. Jessica has 16 years of elementary teaching experience and currently homeschools her two middle school boys. She enjoys scaffolding learning for students, focusing on helping our most challenging learners achieve success in all academic areas.
Preparing for a substitute teacher is one of those things that can feel surprisingly stressful, especially when you’re dealing with it the night before or the morning of an unexpected…
First year teacher tips are everywhere, and most of them tell you to “be flexible,” “build relationships,” and “enjoy every moment.” That advice isn’t wrong, exactly, but it doesn’t help…
For years, my classroom library was a mess. I had picture books and chapter books mixed together, guided reading books on a separate shelf, and a system that kept falling…
Knowing how to prepare for back to school as a teacher is one of those things nobody tells you clearly enough before your first year. You know school starts in…
Setting up a classroom for the first time is one of those tasks that feels both exciting and completely overwhelming. You walk in, see four walls and a pile of…
The first day of school tips for teachers that actually stick are the ones you learn the hard way — from the years where something didn’t go the way you…
If you’ve ever read a student’s writing and thought, “I can tell what they’re trying to say, but it just doesn’t sound right,” you’re noticing a sentence fluency problem. Sentence…
Most elementary teachers have seen it: a student who sailed through multiplication stares at a division problem and goes completely blank. Learning how to teach division well starts with understanding…
When students encounter glaciers in a science unit on Earth’s surface changes, the concept can feel abstract with ancient ice, distant mountains, and slow processes measured in centuries. This glacier…
Science review games give elementary students a reason to actually think through what they’ve learned, and they work far better than another round of worksheets. Whether you’re wrapping up a…
Choosing the right opinion essay topics makes a bigger difference than most teachers expect. Opinion writing rarely falls apart because students lack opinions. Most upper elementary students have plenty to…
When students learn about Earth’s spheres, they’re learning to see the planet as a system rather than a collection of separate facts. The atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere are constantly…
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