The first day of school is always an exciting time (and sometimes scary time ;) ). My first principal would always say that we couldn't leave the day before the first day until we had that first day of school activity ready and waiting on the desks for the students. I still remember and follow this advice after ten years of teaching. Having a task for students to do right … [Read more...] about First Day of School Activities for Morning Work (Free Printables)
First 20 Days of Reading Workshop in 5th Grade
The first 20 days of reading instruction is such a valuable time. This is your chance to teach expectations and procedures and get your students engaged and excited about reading. This post will share a look into my first 20 days of reading workshop, including a free PDF version with my notes. Purpose of the First 20 Days of Reading Instruction The first 20 days are … [Read more...] about First 20 Days of Reading Workshop in 5th Grade
Free Math I Can Statements for 4th Grade
Having ready-made I Can Statements can help speed up your lesson planning and prep-time. Grab FREE 4th Grade Math I Can Statements (based on the common core standards) to help enhance your math instruction and save you time. Need 4th Grade Literacy I Can Statements? Click here! About the Math I Can Statements The Math I Can Statements are aligned to the 4th grade … [Read more...] about Free Math I Can Statements for 4th Grade
Free Math I Can Statements for 5th Grade
Posting I Can Statements on a regular basis can really help keep your students informed about what they are learning each week. This post will share FREE 5th Grade Math I Can Statements (based on the common core standards). Need 5th Grade Literacy I Can Statements? Click here! About the Math I Can Statements These I Can Statements are based on the common core … [Read more...] about Free Math I Can Statements for 5th Grade
Free Error Analysis Math Printables for Multi-Step Word Problems
One of my (and my students') favorite math centers and activities is definitely the Find the Error math activity that requires the students to analyze example work to find and explain the error made by the "student". On this post, I will share how you can get multi-step error analysis math tasks for free! Why Use Error Analysis in Math? Error analysis is when … [Read more...] about Free Error Analysis Math Printables for Multi-Step Word Problems
Free Paired Passages Graphic Organizers
Paired passages are possibly one of the trickiest reading skills for students (second only to text dependent essays). And for good reason. Some students struggle with reading and analyzing one grade-level passage and throwing in two doesn't make it any easier. From my experience, the best way to help students is to provide regular paired passage practice. Along with that … [Read more...] about Free Paired Passages Graphic Organizers
Free I Can Statements – 4th Grade Literacy ELA
Having I Can Statements prepped and ready-to-go can help make your lesson planning a little easier. This post shares ready-to-print 4th Grade Literacy I Can Statements using the common core standards, including a link to an editable version. Want 5th Grade Literacy I Can Statements? Click here! About the 4th Grade Literacy I Can Statements There is one page for … [Read more...] about Free I Can Statements – 4th Grade Literacy ELA
Free I Can Statements – 5th Grade Literacy ELA
Breaking down complex or tricky standards into digestible "I Can" statements can be very helpful for students and teachers. This post will share free 5th grade I Can Statements for literacy, including ideas on how to use them in your classroom. Need 4th Grade Literacy I Can Statements? Click here! About the Literacy I Can Statements This free set of I Can … [Read more...] about Free I Can Statements – 5th Grade Literacy ELA
Close Reading Strategies – Overcoming Common Challenges
Close reading became the new buzz word in education with the coming of the common core standards and new rigorous high-stakes testing. It is an extremely effective strategy at helping students reach higher levels of text analysis, however it can also be challenging to implement (as with any strategy that promotes struggle and critical analysis). On this post, we will … [Read more...] about Close Reading Strategies – Overcoming Common Challenges
Annotating Tips for Close Reading
Have you seen that popular meme where the student highlights two entire pages of a text? It cracks me up every time I see it. One reason that meme resonates with teachers is because it is a very real struggle. Each year, it seems I have some students who annotate like crazy. Or the opposite and the students don't pick up a pencil or annotating tool the entire time they … [Read more...] about Annotating Tips for Close Reading
Close Reading Tips and Strategies for Upper Elementary
Close reading is a great way to get students to dig in and analyze a text. Close reading, when done right, allows for rich discussion and reflection while growing your students as critical, analytical readers. In this post, I will share close reading tips and strategies to help you implement this reading strategy into your instruction. Close Reading Tips and … [Read more...] about Close Reading Tips and Strategies for Upper Elementary
Free 4th and 5th Grade Reading Sorts
Using sorts as part of instruction or practice is one of my (and my students') favorite reading activities. I feel like you can never have enough hands-on activities and they are honestly few and far between when it comes to upper elementary reading. This post will share some FREE reading sorts for 4th and 5th grade with ideas for implementing them in your classroom, … [Read more...] about Free 4th and 5th Grade Reading Sorts