After reading a nonfiction book, use one of the reading response activity ideas below to help 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students respond meaningfully to the text. For a no prep version of all of the reading response activities listed below, check out this Nonfiction Reading Response Resource. Nonfiction Reading Response Activity Ideas for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade1. 3 Things …
Interview a Friend / Classmate Activity and Questions
Whether you are looking for a fun back to school activity, a team building activity, a speaking and listening activity, or a way for your students to get to know each other better, interviewing a classmate / friend is a great option! 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will love it.Why Interviewing a Friend Makes a Great Activity for 3rd, 4th, …
Activities and Ideas for Creating a Culture of Kindness in the Classroom
Looking to create a culture of kindness in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom? The kindness ideas and activities below will help you come up with a plan that works for you and your students. Whether you are heading back to school and want to start the year off with a culture of kindness, or you are just looking …
Picture Books to Help Teach Kindness and Empathy in Upper Elementary
There are so many good books that teach kindness and empathy to read aloud to your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Sometimes it can be hard to choose. But kindness and empathy are themes that upper elementary students need to be reminded of all year long. You don’t have to choose just one book! Below, find some kindness and …
Thank You, Mr. Falker Questions and Activity Ideas
Thank You Mr. Falker is a heartwarming story that contains themes of overcoming obstacles, persevering, and how kindness can make a huge difference. Patricia Polacco, the author and illustrator, wrote this to tell about the real teacher in her life that encouraged and helped her, and it will encourage your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Below, find comprehension questions …
8 Ideas For Celebrating and Rewarding Kindness in the Upper Elementary Classroom
Drawing attention to and celebrating your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students for being kind is one of the best ways to encourage more kindness! There are so many different and fun ways to do this in your upper elementary classroom. Kindness breeds more kindness, so coming up with a plan to celebrate and reward kindness will only help you …
Introducing Text Structures – Sentence Examples for Your Lesson Planning
One of the best ways to introduce 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to nonfiction text structures is by providing them with plenty of examples. Instead of starting with paragraph length or longer examples, consider starting with sentence examples. If students are not able to distinguish between the different text structures when they are in sentence form, then practicing with …
Questions and Activity Ideas for Teaching Enemy Pie
Enemy Pie is a sweet story of friendship where a boy finds out that his enemy is not really an enemy after all, but a friend. This theme of friendship makes it a great book to read aloud at the beginning of the school year to help you set a positive classroom culture in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade …
8 Reading Comprehension Activities You Can Use with Any Book
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers read a LOT of books and texts together, and assessing student comprehension is an important part of that. But completing the same comprehension activities can be boring, predictable, and un-rigorous. Below, find 8 reading comprehension activities that can be used with any book, fiction or nonfiction. And most of them are no prep …
Problem and Solution Text Structure Practice: Free Printable
You can never have too many nonfiction text structure resources! This skill is incredibly difficult for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to understand because there are so many different things they have to understand in order to be successful with it. Students need all the practice they can get. 🙂 This no prep freebie (a printable pdf) can help …