Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
Teaching 4th grade fractions is one of my favorite math skills to teach, but it can get tricky. In my opinion, the 4th grade fraction skills are pivotal for students' success in later grades with more advanced fraction skills. Unfortunately, many 4th grade fraction skills can be taught with tricks that don't build necessarily conceptual understanding, which can really … [Read more...] about Free 4th Grade Fractions Pre-Assessment and Checklist
Word problems used to be the bane of my existence as a new teacher. Thankfully, I learned new strategies and resources to help me implement and teach word problem strategies all year. To be honest, teaching word problems all year was the ONE thing that I did that had the greatest impact (if you are interested in more information about word problems and how I teach them, … [Read more...] about Word Problem Strategies : Analyzing Word Problems with Free Organizers/Mats
Teaching students to add and subtract fractions can get very tiresome quickly. All of the little opportunities for errors with making equivalent fractions, adding/subtracting, and just when they think they are done...boom...they may have to convert or simplify the answer. It can definitely get tedious quickly. One area that I have almost perfected (because nothing is … [Read more...] about 4 Ways to Teach Students to Make Common Denominators
Teaching figurative language is one of my favorite literacy skills to teach and my students always love learning about the different types. On this post, I will share my favorite read alouds for teaching the types of figurative language (similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification) and then my favorite read alouds that use figurative language naturally and … [Read more...] about Read Alouds for Teaching Figurative Language | Mentor Texts for Reading
Persuasive writing is one of my favorite writing genres to teach. The students get so excited about the different topics and love debating and supporting their arguments and claims. On this post, I will share some of my students' favorite persuasive writing prompts with a free download of a printable list and task card version of the writing prompts. Student-Approved … [Read more...] about Engaging Persuasive Writing Prompts (Free Download)
One of my favorite parts of being a reader is sharing books that I love with others and reading book recommendations and book reviews online. And I love bringing this type of activity into the classroom with my own students. On this post, I will share some of my new favorite book recommendation templates that get students excited to recommend books and read … [Read more...] about Free Book Recommendation Templates
Since I prefer to teach using a reader's workshop model (read more about how I teach reading in 5th grade here), I do a lot of assessing my students on their reading strategies and behaviors authentically. However, assessing them on specific reading skills and standards I have taught has proved tricky in the past. That was before I started using reading exit slips. … [Read more...] about Free Reading Exit Slips for 4th and 5th Grade
Fractions are one of those math topics that my students consistently need practice in. I try to mix up the fraction activities and printables my students complete to keep them engaged and working hard. This post will share some free fraction math printables that are perfect for extra practice and math centers. (Click here to read more about how I teach math here and how I … [Read more...] about Free Fraction Activities
Geometry, specifically 2-D shapes, is one of those skills that my students need to practice a lot to remember the definitions and characteristics of the different shapes. To mix up my practice, I like to use these free geometry activities that are super low-prep but still engaging for the students. Materials Needed: Printable Cube ---> Download at the end of … [Read more...] about Free Geometry Activities
It is no secret that I love math centers and small group math (read more here!). And I also love having a variety of math activities to meet the needs of my students and to engage them. This post shares some low-prep (and FREE!) decimal activities that are perfect for decimal review or decimal math centers. Materials Needed: Printable Cube ---> Download at … [Read more...] about Free Decimal Activities
Figurative language is always one of my favorite ELA skills to teach. It lends itself to fun, engaging lessons. This post will share videos for reviewing or teaching figurative language. (As with any videos that I share, I recommend that you watch the videos before showing them to your students.) Figurative Language Explained Running Time: 1:58 [youtube … [Read more...] about Videos for Teaching and Reviewing Figurative Language
Using videos to explain science concepts and topics is a great way to reinforce what you are teaching and mix up your instruction. This post will share a collection of videos for teaching plant and animal cells. As with all videos, I recommend you preview them before showing them to your students. :) 1. Bill Nye the Science Guy - Cells Running Time: … [Read more...] about Videos for Teaching Plant and Animal Cells
