Technology has undergone many changes throughout history, making it all the more useful for different sectors of society. This is especially the case in the educational sector, where pedagogical tools have made leaps and bounds to better serve the goals of education. According to The Boss Magazine, educational technology now makes learning more accessible, interactive, and adaptable. And because of …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans On last week’s exit ticket, I asked my students what they enjoy most in class. The majority of them said, “Reading my Choice book.” That makes this reading teacher want to jump for joy. Now in my twenty-fourth year of teaching, I’ve finally arrived at what I believe to be a winning formula for …
End of school year countdowns can be a fun way for both teachers and students to celebrate the school year. (Although, if you’re anything like me, you probably started counting down the days until summer as soon as Spring Break was over!) Some 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers want to go all out, while others have had such a …
Sometimes a visual (like a t-shirt) can really help a lesson stick with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. The teacher t-shirts below cover skills for teaching reading, grammar, math, and science if you want something to make your lesson really pop! Wear one on an evaluation day for bonus points (unless you have a principal that enforces a super …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans Hope. Right now, we need it more than ever. 2020 was hard. We are all, to some degree, the walking wounded here. We are all a bit weary of pep talks, we are all feeling the strain of social distancing and wearing these (insert expletive here) masks…ready to throw up our hands, crawl into …
I’m opening my mind to you, but I want you to know that this is a secret between the two of us and it goes no further. You and I both know there are loads of reluctant students that just want to get it done, turn it in, and move on. They are not interested in being the next J.K. …
One of the first steps to getting your reluctant readers excited about reading is getting to know what interests them as readers. A reading interest survey is a great way to do this. Written by guest blogger Cindy KoopmansReading Interest Surveys – Through Conversation, Paper, or DigitalYou can get to know what sorts of books interest your 3rd, 4th, and …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans Let’s start with something familiar: the story of Cinderella. Then let’s take a trip around the world and transport this classic tale to many different settings and cultures. Let’s use the story of Cinderella to teach point of view, theme, compare and contrast, and summarizing. Doesn’t this sound like a fun reading unit? …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans It can be a challenge to stock your classroom library with quality literature, especially if you are living on a teacher’s salary – with no additional side hustle or supportive spouse and no one is offering to give you money to buy books. I’ve been in your shoes and here is how you solve …
Looking for some free reading comprehension practice for your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students? Or are you wanting to introduce your students to Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Edison? Or perhaps you want some paired passages to help students analyze two similar texts. This free pdf can help with all of those things.Free Reading Passages for Two Famous InventorsThis free …