If you’re anything like most teachers, then you are in constant catch-up mode. A teacher’s work is never done – there is always more to do. And never enough time to do it all. That’s why taking the time to ask yourself revealing teacher reflection questions is often overlooked. But putting aside a little time to reflect on past school …
When looking for good back to school books to read aloud to your upper elementary students, you will likely come across many suggestions that just aren’t that appropriate for a 4th or 5th grader. Many back to school books focus on emotions that are more geared towards younger students. Older students just aren’t as concerned about leaving their parents or …
If you are anything like I was, then you can never have enough resources to help your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students practice word problems – and especially two step and multi step word problems. No matter how much practice my 3rd grade students got, they still needed more!No Prep Free Math Resource for 3rd, 4th, and 5th GradeThis …
There are some teaching principles that are universal and won’t change even as you are changing schools as a teacher. Practice procedures over and over. Differentiate. Build relationships with students and parents. Have clear expectations. Provide timely feedback. Et cetera. However, each school has a different culture, a different way of doing things, and different personalities in charge. Each school …
Teaching theme is hard. Finding theme games and centers that actually help struggling students practice how to determine the theme of a story is even harder. Most theme practice involves simply reading a passage and answering a multiple choice question about what the theme is. Not only can this be boring and monotonous for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students, …
You’ve seen the memes. “There’s no tired like end of year teacher tired!” The end of the school year is exhausting. Part of the exhaustion comes from trying to come up with party ideas and planning an end of year party. Check out the mostly low prep ideas below to help you plan a fun end of year party for …
I love Pinterest, but sometimes it can get overwhelming searching for ideas that actually pertain to you. Below, I’ve collected some of my favorite ideas for celebrating the end of the year with 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade students. Hopefully some of them will help you out!”Places We Can Read This Summer” Anchor ChartWhat a great way to …
Sometimes whole class reading of a text together is necessary, but as teachers we worry that it might not be the best use of our limited time. It is easy for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade students’ minds to wander, and it hard to hold them accountable for following along in a way that doesn’t shame students. In …
When teaching theme, we tend to focus on questions that center around how to find the theme of a story – questions like, “What is the theme?” But your upper elementary students will understand theme better and more comprehensively when you use a variety of questions for teaching theme. Use the 36 questions below to help you as you teach …
Identifying the Theme of a Story Slideshow from kbaker4 How to Use This Free Theme SlideshowThe free slideshow above can help you teach your 3rd grade, 4th grade, or 5th grade students how to determine the theme of a story. It includes short reading passages where students have to identify the best theme, activities to help students practice distinguishing between …