The holidays are the perfect time to engage your students with activities that you don't get to do during the regular school year. This Christmas STEM activity is a student favorite and perfect for engaging your students in engineering and math skills while also sneaking in some holiday fun. STEM Focus: The focus for this Christmas STEM activity is engineering and … [Read more...] about Christmas STEM Activity: Gumdrop Christmas Tree
Division Strategies for 5th Grade
Do you dread teaching division each year? I used to be in that camp. My students struggled big time with division because they lacked number sense and conceptual understanding. However, and thankfully, I learned that it doesn't have to be like that. I can use division strategies that are not only developmentally appropriate but that also make sense for my students. In … [Read more...] about Division Strategies for 5th Grade
Christmas Craft for Upper Elementary | Christmas Inventions Activity
With the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas surrounding us for almost a quarter of a year, have you ever stopped to consider how all the Christmas objects and decorations actually came to be? Who invented it and when? This whole class or individual student Christmas craft (or simply a Christmas reading activity) is a great way to bring in some holiday cheer into your … [Read more...] about Christmas Craft for Upper Elementary | Christmas Inventions Activity
FREE Thanksgiving Puzzles | Math Logic Puzzles
Have you seen those puzzles floating around social media where you have to determine the value of different images and then solve a final equation? Those are super addictive and I always stop my scroll and solve them. Most of the time, the fifth grade teacher in me gets them correct. However, I have been tricked a time or two. ;) After solving my fifteenth one this past … [Read more...] about FREE Thanksgiving Puzzles | Math Logic Puzzles
Thanksgiving Science Activity | Bending Bones
Holidays are the perfect time to engage your students in experiments and activities that are a nice break from the normal curriculum, but still valuable learning opportunities. On this post, I will share a Thanksgiving science activity involving bending turkey bones! This is more of a demonstration than an activity and will take a few days (2-3) so make sure you … [Read more...] about Thanksgiving Science Activity | Bending Bones
Thanksgiving Writing Activities | Pie Tasting
If you are familiar with my blog or my resources, then you know I love seasonal and holiday resources and activities. I love taking the students' excitement and channeling it into productive, engaging work. My favorite activities to do each year are Thanksgiving writing activities involving pie tasting. Materials Needed At least two different types of pies - I … [Read more...] about Thanksgiving Writing Activities | Pie Tasting
Apple Oxidation Science Experiment with FREE Science Reading Activity
Science experiments are such an important part of students’ learning. However, sometimes I felt that my science standards didn’t lend themselves to the kind of experiments that my students really needed. Implementing seasonal themed science experiments was a great way to incorporate engaging science experiments that I felt really benefited my students. This post shares … [Read more...] about Apple Oxidation Science Experiment with FREE Science Reading Activity
Fall Engineering Activities and Challenges for Upper Elementary
Engineering activities are the perfect supplement to any curriculum. They build creative thinking, allow students to explore in safe spaces, teach teamwork, and so much more! However, I know that finding the time to fit STEM or engineering activities into your already packed schedule can be difficult. For this reason, I like to use holidays and seasonal times of the … [Read more...] about Fall Engineering Activities and Challenges for Upper Elementary
How I Teach Math in 5th Grade
One of the most frequently asked questions I get for math instruction is: I have read your blog posts. But, how does it all fit together? On this post, I will break down how I teach math in 5th grade (easily applicable to 4th grade) and what math instruction looks like on a weekly and daily basis. Before diving in to what the days look like, I want to make it clear … [Read more...] about How I Teach Math in 5th Grade
Whole Group Instruction and Activities for Math
Over my near decade of teaching fifth grade, I have found that whole group instruction is still very much needed. The skills and meaty concepts that the fifth graders have to master makes it virtually impossible to cover in a mini-lesson or even in small group math. My students (and me and my pacing guide) still really need that whole group instruction time. With that … [Read more...] about Whole Group Instruction and Activities for Math
Halloween Activity | Halloween Party Idea for the Classroom
Ever since I became a teacher, I wanted to do the Halloween Mystery Box idea where the students feel the "yucky" things that are supposed to be scary/creepy things. Last year, when I wanted an engaging Halloween activity that doubled as a writing activity, I knew I had to finally give this a try. I put my own spin on it and did it as "easy and low prep" as possible. Keep … [Read more...] about Halloween Activity | Halloween Party Idea for the Classroom
FREE Math Partner Games for Multiplication and Division Facts
Partner games are definitely one of my favorite ways to have my students practice math skills. This post will share all the details about my favorite math partner games, a link to get 30+ free partner games, and how to get even more if you love them as much as me. Using Math Partner Games Partner games are perfect for practicing math skills. Because there are only … [Read more...] about FREE Math Partner Games for Multiplication and Division Facts