Free cut and paste resource for teaching theme in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

Free Printable for Identifying the Theme of a Story

Teaching theme to upper elementary students can be incredibly difficult because it is such an abstract idea.  3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade students need a lot of practice in order to truly understand it. This no prep freebie (a printable pdf) can help your students get the extra practice they need with finding the theme of a story.Get …

using venn diagrams in your compare and contrast lessons in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade - includes a free venn diagram freebie

A Better Way to Use Venn Diagrams When Comparing and Contrasting

Venn Diagrams are a tool commonly used in 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade classrooms to teach students how to compare and contrast.  And while Venn Diagrams worksheets can be useful, they can also be used in a way that promotes lower level thinking instead of higher level thinking. Usually, teachers give students a completely blank Venn Diagram template.  …

fun and free Valentine's Day Activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade (math, reading)

Free Valentine’s Day Activities

Check out these free Valentine’s Day activities – a fun way for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to celebrate the holidays while still learning! These free resources have been created by a variety of upper elementary teachers, not just Teaching Made Practical.  Find math activities, ELA activities, and some some just for fun Valentine’s Day Activities.Free Valentine’s Day Math …

free math and reading Christmas activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students

Free Christmas Activities for Math and Reading

Check out these free Christmas activities – a fun way for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to celebrate the holidays while still learning!  This list includes free activities to help students practice a variety of math and reading skills, as well as some other activities that are just for fun. While some of these freebies are from Teaching Made …

free reading and math Halloween activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students

Free Halloween Activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

What teacher doesn’t love the lack of self control we see every October around Halloween? Between the inevitable sugar high, the excitement of costumes and trick-or-treating, trying to teach upper elementary students around the end of October can seem like a hopeless cause. However, it is possible to take advantage of the excitement our students have towards Halloween. By planning …

no prep activity ideas for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade that are reusable

Reusable, No Prep Resources to Help Manage Your Workload

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers love creating engaging, hands on lessons.  But often those Instagram- worthy lessons require a lot of prep work, and sometimes they cost a lot of out of pocket money. The 8 reusable, no prep activities below are engaging for upper elementary students, but they are much more practical for daily use.  Use them to …

free point of view slide show for 3rd, 4th grade students to teacher author bias and perspective

Free Point of View Slideshow

Use this free point of view slideshow to help you teach point of view to your 3rd grade or 4th grade students. Begin by having students practice point of view within fiction text. Students read 3 different paragraphs telling the same story from different points of view. They have to determine who is telling each story. Next, have students think …

A free main idea slideshow to use with your 3rd and 4th grade students to help review main idea and details

Practice Main Idea With This Free Slideshow

Main idea slideshow from kbaker4 Using This Slideshow for Main Idea ReviewThe slideshow above is a great way to review different main idea and details skills with your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. You might like these tips and activities for teaching students how to find the main idea and details.  This slideshow covers main idea in a variety …

Help your upper elementary students (third, fourth, and fifth grade) better understand how to find the main idea of a passage

Teaching Main Idea / Central Idea – Activities to Build Understanding

Teaching main idea and supporting details / central idea to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students can be a very frustrating experience; it is such a difficult skill to understand.  Very few of my lessons seemed to have an effect on my 3rd grade students – either they understood how to find the main idea without my help, or they …

A Fun Way to Introduce Character Traits to Your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade class - with a fun character traits mobile freebie

Introducing Character Traits With a Fun Freebie

When introducing character traits, making it relevant to students is the best way to get them interested and engaged. Instead of introducing character traits with a lesson that has students read other texts and identify traits of different characters, have students think about their own character traits. There are several fun and easy ways to do this with your 2nd …