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Teaching with a Mountain View

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Teaching with a Mountain View

Meet Mary

Hey, I’m Mary!

I’m Mary, and I’m so glad you are here. I am a current teacher who is passionate about collaborating with educators around the globe, and Teaching with a Mountain View allows me to do just that! I love anchor charts, task cards, project-based learning, and I truly believe in the power of positivity. My goal through Teaching With a Mountain View is to share ideas that enrich your content, engage your learners, and inspire your teaching.

Education Background

I hold an English and Elementary Education degree and a graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an endorsement in Gifted and Talented Education. I’m currently finishing (one more class!) a second master’s degree in Social and Emotional Development of Children.

I am trained in and LOVE the Orton-Gillingham approach (including advanced comprehension and word study), Thinking Maps, and Responsive Classroom. I spent the first seven years of my career teaching in an International Baccalaureate School, and several years of that was in a Spanish Immersion classroom. My current school is implementing 7 Steps to a Language-Rich Classroom. You’ll see glimpses of all of these approaches throughout my blog!

I have been teaching since 2009. I’ve been a classroom teacher for 3-5th grade, an interventionist for K-5, and a Gifted and Talented teacher/coordinator for K-6. I took a break to homeschool my kids for two years — that was a new adventure! For the last five years (and currently), I have been a gifted facilitator for grades K-3. I LOVE my job, and I share a lot about our day-to-day lessons on Instagram Stories. Come say hi!

My Family

I live in the beautiful mountains of Colorado (my mountain view!) with my three darling girls, one very large bernedoodle who is fairly certain he’s human, and my ridiculously supportive husband. Family first. Always.

In our spare time, we love to explore the mountains. I’m a self-professed Peloton addict, and I balance out all the hard work on the bike with a ton of baking. A ton. Really, it’s a lot. Send me your favorite recipe, and I’ll probably bake it tonight because I can find a reason to #celebrateeverything.

TWAMV

I started Teaching With a Mountain View in 2011 while on bedrest awaiting the arrival of my twin girls. I suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands (don’t worry–that was temporary!), and I started sharing some of my classroom ideas on Teachers Pay Teachers. TWAMV has evolved over the years, and I’m so proud of how far we’ve come! I truly hope you leave here with a little inspiration and keep coming back for more.

I recently wrote my second children’s book about the Titanic. I have loved the Titanic ever since I was a little girl, so this is a dream come true! HERE is my first Titanic book, and HERE‘s my most recent.

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It may be spooky season in my classroom, but you k It may be spooky season in my classroom, but you know I’ll still be keeping things structured and academically focused! 👻 🎃 Comment below, and I’ll send you the links to all the fun in my plans this week! 

Over the years, I’ve amassed so many resources to incorporate seasonal fun while still hitting your standards, crucial reading skills, AND critical thinking. 🍂 ⬇️ 

💚 Halloween Reader’s Theatre was my most popular set for the last TWO years, and I know why! There are 8 plays, and they are SO fun and engaging AND students are held accountable with listener guides. 👻 I also created plays with a variety of kids in each play? so they range from partner plays to groups of six!

🧡 I can’t wait for my students to solve the Halloween inference mystery by exploring their case files to figure out who is wearing each costume! 

🖤… and of course, I can’t forget reading logic puzzles (which my students are OBSESSED with this year) and context clues creepy tasks! Your literacy plans are COVERED for this week! 👏
It’s TIME!!! 👻 🎃 I have to be super honest It’s TIME!!! 👻 🎃 I have to be super honest and admit that my plans for next week aren’t totally, actually IN my plan book yet, BUT, I know precisely what I’m doing and almost ALL of the resources I’ll be using are freeeeee!

Comment below, and I’ll send you a link to a big bundle of differentiated Halloween freebies! 🤩

#iteach #teach #teacher #mathteacher #classroom #homeschool #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #teachergram #classroom #classroomideas
Honestly obsessed with these cuties for the next t Honestly obsessed with these cuties for the next two weeks of success stickers and accomplishment animals! 👏 👻 Comment below, and I’ll send you links! 🧡💚
The BEST books about books, libraries, and a love The BEST books about books, libraries, and a love of reading! Each and every one of these books is a GEM and perfect for the classroom. 💎 ✨ 💫 Do you see any favorites, or would you add any to the list?

Comment below, and I’ll send you the list for some inspiration!
This was truly a standout activity last year! 👏 This was truly a standout activity last year! 👏  Comment below, and I’ll send you all the info for implementing this in your classroom! More details ⬇️ 

💚🧡 Last October, I read each of these books (on different days) during literacy, and we did a super quick comparison of the characters, problem/solution/plot, and theme of each book. 

🧡One week, we spent several days during morning meeting discussing The Little Ghost for an extended lesson on self-esteem.

🧡 Once we had read and discussed each book, students wrote a short creative essay answering the following:

👻 Imagine you are writing a new picture book to go on this display.

1️⃣ First, explain what specific theme your book would teach about standing out.

2️⃣ Describe your main character, the problem they would face, and the solution.

3️⃣ Finally, explain why your story would fit well with the three books we read.
FREEEEE and so much fun! Comment below, and I’ll FREEEEE and so much fun! Comment below, and I’ll send you this free assignment that’s perfect for enrichment, teaching alliteration or parts of speech, or early finishers! 💖 

🫶We read @oliverjeffers super fun book (it took us several days, reading a few letters each day), and then students created their own mini alliterative stories after some solid brainstorming sessions. 

It was a great lesson in parts of speech, story elements, sentence structure, AND alliteration. As a bonus, kids LOVED it and it made for such a fun classroom display!
Never not teaching word parts. 🩷💚 Comment be Never not teaching word parts. 🩷💚 Comment below, and I’ll send you ALL my resources, including an entire FREE starter kit for teaching your students the basics of prefixes and suffixes!
I’m SO excited to start this next week! These fo I’m SO excited to start this next week! These four books complement each other spectacularly well and are perfect for incorporating “spooky season” into your classroom without focusing on Halloween! 

👏 Comment below, and I’ll send you links to all the info you need! 

I love each and every one of these books, not only for the beautiful messages embedded throughout, but for their glorious art and thought provoking themes. This year, I plan to read one each week during morning meeting and complete the same four tasks each time, as shown on the anchor chart. ⬇️ 

🧡 Character Change throughout the books
🧡 Themes of each book and then an overarching theme of all four
🧡 Themes/Vocab/Imagery/Connotations associated with themes of light and dark (this is my favorite part)!
🧡 First impressions and what’s actually under the surface
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