Kids are used to being told WHAT to think, but in this digital age, it is more important than ever for kids to learn to think for themselves! This book encourages students to think critically and exposes them to author bias, fact manipulation, and fact and opinion in a fun way. What Do You Think About Reptiles is not just …
Teaching Nouns – A Parts of Speech Freebie
Introducing the parts of speech to your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students soon? This printable noun worksheets freebie might help in your lesson planning!Get the Introducing Nouns WorksheetsDownload the free pdf resource below. It includes: a worksheet introducing students to nouns – with practice identifying nouns within sentences a noun cut and paste sort a fun noun maze activity …
Halloween Opinion Writing Prompt Ideas for October
Use the excitement of Halloween to engage your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students in opinion writing! Choose one or more of the Halloween-themed opinion writing prompts below to have your students celebrate Halloween in an educational way. There are prompt ideas that are specific to Halloween, as well as October-themed prompts for the schools or classrooms that do not …
Books and Mentor Texts to Help You Teach Fact and Opinion
Finding read-aloud books to help 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders learn to distinguish between fact and opinion can be challenging. Many nonfiction books do include both facts and opinions, but the opinions are often subtle, which can be confusing for upper elementary students. We also tend to choose books with opinions we want students to agree with—like those describing Martin …
Teaching Parts of Speech: 6 Activity Ideas
Teaching parts of speech soon? The ideas below will help you introduce, practice, and review nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.Activities to Help You Teach Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, and Adverbs1. Introduce Each Part of Speech Separately Teaching each part of speech in isolation will keep your upper elementary students from becoming overwhelmed. Make sure they …
Prefixes and Suffixes: Activity Ideas for Multisyllabic Word Decoding
When 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students become familiar with common prefixes and suffixes, it makes decoding multisyllabic words a lot easier for them. Use the 7 activity ideas below in your upper elementary classroom to help your students become more confident and capable decoders.1. Use a Prefix and Suffix Anchor Chart / Reference SheetPost a list of common prefixes …
Back to School Night / Open House Ideas
With all the other things on your plate, planning an engaging Open House / Back to School Night for the parents of your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students can feel like the straw that broke the camel’s back. Below, find some ideas and tips for making this task a little easier.1. Introduce Yourself and Your ExpectationsThis is always a …
Back to School Writing Ideas and Activities
Looking for some engaging upper elementary writing ideas for those first few days and weeks of school? These back to school writing activities and prompts are great for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.1. Back to School Opinion Writing PromptsYour upper elementary students will need plenty of practice with opinion writing this year, so why not start practicing the first …
Back to School Opinion Writing Prompts
Back to school season offers opportunities for some engaging opinion writing and is a great way to collect a writing sample from your new 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Use the back to school opinion writing prompts below as inspiration. If you find that your upper elementary students are lacking some opinion writing skills, these opinion writing tips and …
7 Get to Know You Ideas for Back to School
The get to know you activities below are great for that first week of school when you want to get to know your new 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students and you also want your students to get to know each other. Use one or more of these back to school ideas to help start the year off right in …