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 …
What 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students couldn’t use extra main idea and details practice? Use these free pdf printable to review this difficult skill with minimal prep on your part!Download These Free Main Idea Practice WorksheetsThis freebie includes 3 activities that you can use to practice main idea and supporting details: A grouping words activity to help students practice …
Google “cause and effect lessons” and you’ll find some predictable ideas: Read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day Create an anchor chart with signal words Cause and effect matching game Use photos to show cause and effect examples Provide memorable examples, like popping a balloon And while all …
No matter how often you teach comparing and contrasting to your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students, they can always benefit from more practice. And a freebie to help you do this never hurts. And a freebie that lets your upper elementary students practice comparing two texts on the same topic is even better! Identifying similarities and differences is one …
Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans Reluctant readers don’t have to stay reluctant. They just need the right book to motivate and engage them. Choosing the “right for me” book is a critical piece of crafting a competent student reader. Honestly, so often as students they don’t even know what they don’t know! And who will explain all that to …
Whether you are looking for a way to celebrate President’s Day, wanting to make history more engaging for your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students, or looking for a nonfiction read aloud about one of our past U.S. Presidents, then the book list below is for you.The Best Books for President’s Day or Engaging Students in U.S. History Written by …
Written by guest blogger Jessica Thompson I always thought I did a good job of facilitating classroom discussions. I would ask questions that required critical thinking, a student would answer, we would discuss, and I would ask another question for another student to answer. I would be so proud of their responses and the learning that was occurring. Then I …
Written by guest blogger Meghan Taylor I totally get it, squeezing in those fun Christmas activities into the upper elementary grades is hard. In fact there’s a running joke between our 4th grade team and the 1st grade team on our campus that pretty much sums up our teaching lives. It goes a little something like this: First grade teacher …