Busy Teacher's Cafe Resource

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com

Busy Teacher's Cafe offers many great tools so I don't have to create from scratch worksheets and graphic organizers.

On the website, I particularly liked the printables she had for Writing. There are some great graphic organizers, like Venn diagrams and how to create a story. Teaching students how to organize their thoughts for writing is a very important skill for them to acquire at an early age.

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/printables/writing.html

I also liked her ideas for themes in the classroom. Even though I do have to hit certain standards, there are creative ways to related the standards to themes, i.e. a pumpkin theme or winter theme. All of the curriculum can be related to these themes to make learning more fun and meaningful for students. She even has them divided by subjects on how you can important the theme to the various subjects. Using themes is a great idea, especially for the younger kids.

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/themes.html

The website also has strategies that can help with challenges the teacher may face. From helping someone learn to read to ideas on classroom management, it's a great support link for teachers to find encouragement and support. It's always nice for teachers to find people who can support you and what you're going through.

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/strategies.html