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 …
Cinderella Books from Around the World: 9 Multicultural Stories
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? …
How to Stock Your Classroom Library with Quality Literature – on a Teacher’s Salary
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 …
13 Books About U.S. Presidents for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Students
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 …
Best Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs for Upper Elementary
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students don’t often automatically grab biographies and autobiographies off the classroom library shelf. But the inspiring biographies below will have your upper elementary students begging for more! Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans In my classroom I’ve often found that biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs are a bit of a hard sell. Besides selecting only the …
3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Books About Overcoming Obstacles
Helping children learn to become more resilient and be able to overcoming any obstacles or challenges that might come their way is an important job for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers. The book list below will help you add multicultural, inspiring books to your classroom library and read alouds. Written by guest blogger Amanda Bletsh From a very early …
A POV Writing Unit With R. J. Palacio’s Book Wonder
Written by guest blogger Daniela Garay Are you looking for a fun and meaningful narrative writing unit for your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students? Here it is! Language arts teachers strive for a stronger cross-curricular relationship between reading and writing that interconnects both subjects more purposefully and meaningfully. This point of view writing unit does just that! It takes the …
Books Like Harry Potter for Upper Elementary Classroom Libraries
Do you have a 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th grade student that loved the Harry Potter series and is now wondering what to read next? The book list below is a great place to start. Written by guest blogger Cindy Koopmans It’s the perfect time to escape into the pages of a good book. Set down the remote, get off …
8 Upper Elementary Authors to Help You Build a Diverse Classroom Library
As teachers, you already know the value of making sure your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students are exposed to diverse, multicultural literature. Unfortunately, books are expensive. And when you are trying to stock your classroom library with books you find at garage sales and dollar sales, it can be hard to find quality, multicultural books. (Side note: These tips …
The Best Nonfiction Books for Students That Love Animals
If you have 3rd grade, 4th grade, or 5th grade students that don’t like to read (and what teacher doesn’t?), then finding engaging texts is a must. Books about animals are universally appealing – and very few students can resist a nonfiction animal book with unbelievable and incredible true stories. The books below tell true stories of animal friendships, loyalty, …