Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
When learning new math skills and concepts, it is important for students to develop a strong understanding of the math vocabulary. This blog post will share free 4th grade math vocabulary posters to help your math instruction include the necessary academic vocabulary. These math posters will help your students learn and remember key terms related to fourth grade math … [Read more...] about Free 4th Grade Math Vocabulary Posters
Are you searching for an interactive and purposeful way to review or introduce a variety of suffixes to your 4th and 5th-grade students? This post shares a free suffix reading passage with teaching posters, after-reading word work activities, and more. Incorporating this free resource into your instruction will help your students authentically explore and understand … [Read more...] about Free Suffix Reading Passage for 4th and 5th Grade
Story elements are taught beginning as early as kindergarten, but it always seems like I need to spend a little time reviewing them with my 4th and 5th graders each year. If you find yourself in the same situation and want a rigorous, engaging, and grade-level way to review basic story elements, I have a free resource to share with you that is perfect for the first weeks … [Read more...] about Free Resource to Review Story Elements: Passages, Task Cards, and More!
From prefixes and suffixes to roots, teaching morphology is a great way to expand students' vocabulary and decoding skills. While there is not a universally recommended or approved scope and sequence for teaching morphology, there are some general guidelines that teachers can use to guide their instruction. This blog post will share a leveled morphology scope and sequence … [Read more...] about Morphology Scope and Sequence
Pinpointing the reasons behind a struggling reader at the upper elementary level can be challenging. Maybe you have had a student who can decode multisyllabic words flawlessly, pause when they see punctuation, and even read dialogue with expression. Yet they get to the end of a page and cannot answer questions such as “How did the character feel about what happened to … [Read more...] about Reading Comprehension Strategy – Sentence Comprehension with 4th-5th Graders
Working with new words in a variety of ways helps build vocabulary knowledge. One strategy for working with words is to use vocabulary graphic organizers. Vocabulary graphic organizers are visual tools that help students organize and explore the relationships between words, their meanings, related concepts, and much more. These organizers provide a structured framework … [Read more...] about Free Vocabulary Graphic Organizers
Are you looking for an engaging and meaningful way to review prefixes with your students? This post shares a high-interest free prefix reading passage (with extension activities) designed specifically to authentically review a variety of prefixes with your 4th and 5th graders in the context of reading. About the Prefix Reading Passage Practice This prefix practice … [Read more...] about Free Prefix Reading Passage for 4th and 5th Grade
Children and adults both love "Minute to Win It" games and challenges, and they are perfect to incorporate into the classroom for instant excitement and engagement. This post shares the three ways to use "Minute to Win it" games in the classroom and a free PDF with directions for 25 games to use in your classroom. What are "Minute to Win It" Games? "Minute … [Read more...] about Minute to Win It Games in the Classroom
Do you want to engage your students AND improve their vocabulary and morphological skills with one activity? This post shares details about creating and implementing a word chain activity using morphology with your 4th and 5th graders (including freebies to help you get started!). This morphology activity is not only engaging, but also a great way to develop a deeper … [Read more...] about Morphology Activity – Word Chains with Free Resources
Morphology instruction can greatly improve students' vocabulary and comprehension skills. This post shares several engaging and effective morphology activities that teachers can use to help students understand and use morphemes (prefixes, suffixes, bases, and roots). These activities include lots of free activities (including a huge email exclusive freebie!) and also … [Read more...] about Morphology Activities for Grades 4-5 (Including Free Activities)
When testing is over and summer break is on the horizon, it can be a challenge to keep students engaged and learning. One way to use this time is to review literacy skills that always seem to need a review AND are engaging for students. Idioms (and other figurative language) are always a great skill to incorporate into end of year activities. This post will share a free … [Read more...] about Free End of Year Literacy Activity – Idioms Sort
As a teacher, you know how important it is for your students to have a strong grasp of math vocabulary. Without a solid understanding of the language and terms used in math, students can struggle with problem-solving, understanding instructions, and communicating and explaining their math ideas and answers. To help you (and your students), this post will share free math … [Read more...] about Free Math Test Prep Task Cards for Vocabulary – Grades 4-5
