Questions and activity ideas for teaching the read aloud Last Day Blues to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students at the end of the year

Last Day Blues – Questions and Activity Ideas for an End of Year Read Aloud

If you start the school year off with the read-aloud First Day Jitters, then you need to end the year with Julie Danneberg’s Last Day Blues! At the beginning of the year, Mrs. Hartwell was nervous about teaching her class – but by the end of the year, she is sad to see her students go. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th …

9 St. Patrick's Day writing ideas and activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms

9 St. Patrick’s Day Writing Ideas & Activities

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students while sneaking in some fun writing practice with one of the 9 ideas below. It’s a win-win for students and teachers!1. Write a LimerickSt. Patrick’s Day is an ideal time to teach your upper elementary students about limericks. This fun poem is believed to be named after Limerick, …

9 Activities for Teaching Decoding Multisyllabic Words

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students often have difficulty decoding multisyllabic words and will benefit from a variety of opportunities to practice. The 9 activity ideas below will help make teaching decoding multisyllabic words a little easier.Activities to Practice Reading Multisyllabic Words1. Model Decoding Multisyllabic Words and PhrasesThis one is obvious, but so important that it’s worth mentioning. Students need …

Questions and Activities for teaching the read aloud Those Shoes

Questions and Activity Ideas for Teaching the Read Aloud Those Shoes

Those Shoes is a compelling read aloud about a young boy who cannot afford the pair of shoes that he really wants. The themes of generosity and friendship make it a great picture book to help you set a positive classroom culture in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom. Below, find questions and activity ideas to use in your …

8 Black History Month Activity Ideas for Upper Elementary - includes no prep worksheets, research project tips, read aloud biographies, free resources, and more

8 Black History Month Activity Ideas for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

The 8 ideas below will help make creating lesson plans to celebrate Black History Month in your 3rd, 4th, of 5th grade classroom easier. There are writing activities, read aloud suggestions, social studies activities, art and music activities, and no prep activity suggestions, project ideas, free resources, and more.1. Complete a Black History Month Research ProjectGive your students the opportunity …

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts, Ideas, and Activities for 3rd, 4th, adn 5th grade students

11 Valentine’s Day Writing Ideas and Activities

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students while sneaking in some fun writing practice with one of the 11 ideas below. It’s a win-win for students and teachers!1. Write ComplimentsWhat better way to encourage kindness around Valentine’s Day than by having students write kind words and compliments to each other? And as an added bonus, this …

Questions and Activity Ideas for Teaching Jacqueline Woodson's Each Kindness in 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

Questions and Activity Ideas for Teaching the Read Aloud Each Kindness

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson is a thoughtful story about excluding others and missed opportunities for kindness. The theme of kindness and acceptance makes it a great book to read for back to school, Valentine’s Day, World Kindness Day, or any time during the year that you want to encourage kindness to your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students. The …

Tips to make preparing for a sub easier in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms

Tips and Tricks To Make Preparing for a Sub Easy

You wake up sick, and your first thought is, “Ugh. Now I have to make sub plans.” And your second thought is, “My kids aren’t going to behave. The sub is going to leave me a terrible note.” Preparing for a substitute can be a laborious task – use the tips below to help you plan ahead so that emergency …

Math Maze Freebie – Fun Review for Upper Elementary

You can never have too many no prep resources for extra math practice – especially free resources that 3rd and 4th students think are fun!  These engaging math mazes make a great review – whether you want students to practice addition, comparing numbers, multiples, or their mental math.  Help your upper elementary students get the extra math practice and review …

Constructed Response: Free Reading Passage & Sentence Starters

Teaching writing is hard – add in a reading passage and a critical thinking question for constructed response, it becomes even harder.  Use this free short constructed response resource to introduce or practice this difficult skill with your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students.Get the Short Constructed Response FreebieDownload the free pdf resource below.  It includes: a 1 page student …