Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
Graduation season is upon us and with it comes the quest for graduation song ideas. From the sentimental to the upbeat, graduation songs for kids can cement memories and remind students of how much they’ve accomplished. Here are 20 popular graduation songs for elementary school ceremonies! For more ideas for graduation ceremonies for 5th graders, click here to see our … [Read more...] about Graduation Song Ideas for Elementary
STEM challenges that involve few supplies and encourage lots of creativity are my favorite to incorporate into the classroom. This paper clip STEM challenge fits those characteristics perfectly! It also works well as an independent, partner, or team challenge. This post breaks down the steps for implementing this simple STEM activity into your classroom (with FREE … [Read more...] about Paper Clip STEM Challenge (Free Printables)
Even upper elementary students love read alouds, and especially at the end of the year. The end of the year is a great time to read short picture books as most of the time your novels or class read alouds have been wrapped up. This post will share three of my favorite end of the year read alouds for 3rd-5th graders (with free printable activities). Note: Depending on … [Read more...] about End of Year Read Alouds for 3rd-5th Grade
One of my favorite end of the year activities is definitely making ice cream in a bag. This student-approved end of year activity can also double as an end of the year celebration. And, use the FREE reading passage included in the download to integrate this into literacy, making this activity admin approved as well! Ice Cream in a Bag - Materials Needed Amount … [Read more...] about Making Ice Cream in a Bag (Free Printables)
STEM activities using pencils are easy to prep and implement for back to school and end of the year challenges. This post will share three of my favorite stem activities with pencils, including free printables to help you execute these activities in your classroom. Pencil Stem Challenges- Materials These are the materials needed for all of the STEM activities shared … [Read more...] about STEM Activities with Pencils
I always love having quick no-prep activities on hand during those final two weeks of school for those random minutes in between all.the.things going on. I've already shared my go-to end of year math activities and end of year literacy activities, but this post will also share some freebies that are not subject-specific (and one that is math, but is a new freebie). A … [Read more...] about FREE End of the Year Activities for 4th and 5th Grade
As the year winds down, I always love having my students reflect and share their thoughts about the year. In a similar way as my reading interest inventory questions, I take a slightly different approach to my students' end of year reflection. This post will share the reflection questions and some different ways to implement them in your classroom to help your students … [Read more...] about End of Year Reflection Activity (Free!)
By the time the end of the school year arrives, I am digging down deep in my bag of tricks and searching my resources for new ideas to engage my students. Often, we have used our best activities and resources well before the final month of school. This post will give you some fresh end of year writing prompts just for that final month of school (with ideas on how to make … [Read more...] about Free End of Year Writing Prompts
In a perfect world, all of the reading strategies and techniques we teach our students would easily transfer over to testing situations. However, that is not the case for a lot of our students. This post will share one of my go-to reading test prep strategies that helps keep students engaged while reading lengthy texts and supports their comprehension. This reading … [Read more...] about Reading Test Prep Strategy – Work the Text
Spring, oh glorious spring! It's filled with warmer weather, sunny days, and…the dreaded spring fever. Even if you have been teaching for a while, I bet you still get that sense of doom when the weather starts getting nicer, and classroom behavior takes a turn for the worse. Whether you’re experiencing your first spring fever or just looking for some new classroom … [Read more...] about Spring Fever Classroom Management Ideas
Purposeful test taking strategies can build confidence and help students show what they know on standardized tests. This post shares tips for teaching test taking strategies, the difference between test prep strategies and best practices, and free resources for the specific strategies I teach my students. Note: I did not create the catchy sayings for the strategies. I … [Read more...] about Test Taking Strategies (Free Resources!)
When April Fools' Day falls during a school week, it is the perfect time for teachers to pull a harmless April Fools' Day prank on their students. This post will share my favorite April Fools' Day jokes and pranks for teachers. And if you don't want to prank your students, I have TWO engaging educational activities that will allow you to still bring in some April Fools' … [Read more...] about April Fools’ Day Ideas for the Classroom
