Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
My students are pretty much obsessed with playing Jenga to review. I have been on a mission to create as many Jenga games as I can (see the full list at the bottom of this post), and my newest game is a 2-D shapes game that is perfect for 4th graders or review for 5th graders. Keep reading to learn more about this game and download the printables for free! Amazon … [Read more...] about 2-D Shapes Game with Jenga Blocks | Free Printables
Parts of speech seems to be one of those skills that teachers constantly have to review year after year. To keep it fun and engaging, I created a parts of speech review that works with colored Jenga blocks. Keep reading for all the details and get the review printables for free! Amazon affiliate links provided if you wish to purchase the Jenga blocks mentioned on … [Read more...] about Parts of Speech Review with Jenga | Free Printables
One of my goals as a teacher is to make fractions more engaging and relatable to my students. One of the easiest ways I have found to do this is through food. I am fortunate to have always worked in schools that allow food as part of lessons and my students love it. On this post, I will share a comparing fractions activity using brownies that is perfect for 4th grade … [Read more...] about Comparing Fractions Activity with Brownies
Beach balls are so much fun on the sand or in the pool and they can be just as much (well almost as much) fun in the classroom. This post will help you bring a little summer fun into your classroom with these five review games and activities that include beach balls. Beach Ball Review Activity 1 – Beach Ball Basketball Materials: 1 Beach ball 1 Large … [Read more...] about Review Games and Activities with Beach Balls
Fractions are by far one of the most difficult skills in 4th and 5th grade. There are so many fraction skills and my students easily get confused trying to remember all of them. One way I have found that helps is to consistently provide my students with engaging fraction review to help them review all of the fraction skills and keep them straight in their minds. On this … [Read more...] about Basketball Fraction Review for 4th and 5th Grade
Reviewing concepts and facts can get tedious in the classroom, but not when you take the activity outside for some fun, friendly competition and sunshine. This post has five fun and active games for outdoor review that get your class moving while reviewing the information they need to know. These activities can be used as competitions to gain points for a class reward, or … [Read more...] about Outdoor Review Activities and Games
It’s almost Mother’s Day, and if your students are anything like mine, they will definitely want to celebrate their moms or the mother figures in their lives. I also really love mixing writing and other ELA activities to help celebrate Mother’s Day in meaningful ways that also help support my students' learning. Here are my favorite activities that also make great … [Read more...] about Mother’s Day Gift Ideas and Activities for Upper Elementary
Division can be pretty exhausting for students AND teachers. This year, I wanted to mix things up and bring in some sweet treats for my students to motivate them to continue pushing hard through our division unit. So, I created some donut themed division practice, brought in some donuts, and this fun activity was born. My students and I had a lot of fun with this and I … [Read more...] about FREE Division Practice with Donuts Activities
Earth Day is one of my favorite days to celebrate in the classroom, and I wish I could spend a little time each week talking about how to take care of our planet. However, since time is limited and standards are plenty, I like to spend the day of Earth Day (or before, if it falls on a weekend) doing some engaging Earth Day activities to help my students reflect and learn … [Read more...] about Earth Day Activities for Upper Elementary
Geometry standards seem to be the last skills I teach before state testing. Because of this, I tend to be a bit rushed (to have time to review all the other math standards), and the students have major spring fever. This year, I mixed things up a bit and brought in some sweet treats to practice lines and angles in an engaging way that would help the skills stick with the … [Read more...] about Lines and Angles Activities with Twizzlers and Skittles
Testing season is upon us. This can honestly be one of the most stressful times in the classroom for both students and teachers for many reasons. Today, I have some motivational quotes for testing coloring pages to share with you. You can use these test prep coloring pages in a variety of ways (and we will touch on those ways in this post). Hopefully, you will be able to … [Read more...] about Test Prep Coloring Pages | Motivational Quotes for Testing
Tell your students you are going to study poetry, and you’ll have varied reactions. Some kids will remember the rhymes of their early childhood days with excitement. Others will groan at the thought of cheesy “love poems.” However, you can teach poetry in a way that even the most resistant student will find something to love about this genre. Here are some poetry … [Read more...] about Poetry Activities for Upper Elementary
