Hello!
My name is Steve Reifman, and I am a National Board Certified elementary school teacher, author, and speaker in Santa Monica, CA.
SteveReifman.com is a resource for elementary school teachers and parents. My mission is to teach the whole child—empowering students to succeed academically, build strong character, learn valuable work habits and social skills, and take charge of their health and wellness.
Blog
Discover over 100 posts filled with teaching tips, links to YouTube videos, and other useful ideas and strategies for teaching the whole child.
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Teaching Resources
Explore these print books, e-books, courses, and other resources that offer effective, proven ideas and strategies that improve student learning.
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Chase Manning Mystery Series
Each book in this award-winning mystery series for kids 8-12 features a single-day, real-time thriller that takes place on an elementary school campus.
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Workshops
Looking for a presenter for your next conference or workshop? Check out these engaging, innovative sessions that address a wide variety of topics.
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In this Teaching Tip I provide a link to a short YouTube video I created. In the video I present two simple strategies that you can use to help children speak in complete sentences. I learned many years ago that if parents and teachers want kids to write in complete sentences, we first need to teach them how to speak in complete sentences. The two strategies featured in the video do just that. Give this idea a try in class with your students or at home with your children.
In this Teaching Tip I provide a link to a short YouTube video I created. In the video I present an active learning strategy that I use in my classroom to help children correctly read aloud large numbers. Commonly, when reading aloud large numbers, kids will confuse the digit in the hundreds place with the digit in the thousands place or confuse the digit in the thousands place with the digit in the ten thousands place. The featured strategy incorporates clapping and snapping movements that help simplify the task of reading aloud large numbers into smaller, more manageable parts. Give this idea a try in class with your students or at home with your children.
In this Teaching Tip I provide a link to a short YouTube video I created. The video was inspired by a TED Talk given by Shawn Achor, CEO of Good Think Inc., entitled “The Happy Secret to Better Work.†Achor asserts in his talk that in our society people tend to believe that we should work hard in order to be happy, and he suggests that this way of thinking could be backwards. He argues that happiness makes us more productive, creative, and successful. In short, happiness should come first. At the end of his talk, Achor shares some ways that people can use to focus on the positive aspects of their lives and become happier. I tried one of these ways with my students, and it had a wonderful effect on the children and the classroom environment as a whole. Give this idea a try in class with your students or at home with your children.
In this Teaching Tip I provide a link to a short YouTube video. In the video I present a brief chant, along with a corresponding set of hand movements, to help children understand what it means to make an inference when they are reading. By repeating the chant and doing these movements for just a minute or two per day for a few days, kids will remember that when making an inference, they need to combine a piece of information from the text with their own knowledge. Give this idea a try in class with your students or at home with your children.
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