One of the best ways to help students become more fluent readers is to have them do repeated readings. This type of fluency activity can get old very quickly, especially to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Liven up your repeated readings using “silly voices” – a no prep activity that makes repeated readings more fun.A Fluency Idea for 3rd, …
Why Should I Use Partner Reading in My Upper Elementary Classroom?Partner reading (also known as paired reading) is a reading strategy where two students are paired together and read a given text aloud to each other. Often, students are paired strategically. For example, teachers could pair readers that are on the same level, or pair a more fluent reader with …
Entering your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom the day after having a substitute is always a nerve wracking experience. Chances are, you’ve had some of these questions run through your head before you open your classroom door. Did the sub leave a terrible note? Did the sub leave any note? How did my students behave? Will my classroom be …
Preparing your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students for state testing can sometimes feel boring, contrived, and frustrating. Teachers, however, are experts at turning boring things into engaging activities. Below are some of my favorite ideas from Pinterest to help you prepare and motivate your students for their state test. Or, check out these other activities and ideas to help …
When teaching upper elementary students about main idea, we often stick with the same questions over and over again. What is the main idea of the passage? What details from the passage support the main idea? While these are good questions that students need to know how to answer, there are many other aspects to main idea that students need …
Keeping students on task and engaged around Valentine’s Day is hard. The excitement – and the candy – that comes with this holiday can be a distraction for many 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students. Use this free Valentine’s Day fraction activity to help keep students engaged and learning while still celebrating Valentine’s Day.Free Fraction Valentine’s Day ActivityThis Valentine’s Day …
Black history – the influence of African Americans on culture and politics, the historical treatment of African Americans in America, and the impact different African Americans have made – is too complex and important to only teach in February or on MLK day. However, Black History Month is a great opportunity to spend some intentional time on that history. This …
Written by Guest Blogger Kerry Heino Starting your year off on the right note is always paramount to most teachers. We want students to get a feel for what the year will be like within those first few days. We want to make sure that our students understand what is expected of them, but we also want to instill a …
Written by Guest Blogger Jessica Thompson I remember telling my class we were going to annotate the text. Wait. We are going to anno-what? Very simply put, to annotate is to take notes or add comments. For students in third, fourth, and fifth grade, learning to annotate the text they are reading will be an imperative skill as they get …
Written by Guest Blogger Amy Clancy Formative assessment- getting to know each student by analyzing data that reveals student knowledge and performance. Engagement- Finding a way to engage students in your lesson- to participate in a thinking fashion- and better yet- A way to engage AND assess…. But how? Do you know how many students I have? How do I …