Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
Spring is in the air! Spring is such a fun time in the classroom, but it can also be a not-so-fun time. The kids (and teachers) get spring fever and are ready for Spring Break. And most state tasting falls around this time, so that makes it really difficult for teachers. I decided a long time ago to embrace the spring fever and use it to my advantage. How do I do that? … [Read more...] about Spring Activities for Upper Elementary
Online testing can be super frustrating for teachers and students. I can remember the first year we found out we were taking our state assessment online. We literally found out in January of that school year. Needless to say, I was more than a bit panicked! I had spent all year teaching my students to authentically close read a text and annotate all over the text. … [Read more...] about Online Testing Strategies: Prepare Your Students To Take Online Assessments
Paired texts and paired passages can be really tricky for students, especially those who are not fluent readers. I have found the best way to help my students master paired passages is through repeated practice and exposure (and as authentic as possible - especially in the beginning). In my opinion, it is really important that your students see paired readings and … [Read more...] about Introducing Paired Texts and Paired Passages
Let's be real for a moment. During my first year teaching I did a terrible, horrible, rotten job at teaching writing. My students (3rd graders at the time) were not assessed on writing, and I really didn't know how to teach writing at that point in my career (especially since my students seriously struggled with all things literacy when they came to me). I remember … [Read more...] about How to Teach Writing in 5th Grade
Nothing makes a teacher feel like a failure more than having students who can't read and not knowing how to best help them. Especially when you are an upper elementary teacher. In my first few years of teaching, helping struggling readers in 5th grade felt like an uphill battle. I was constantly fighting huge gaps in knowledge, disinterest, time, and increasing … [Read more...] about Helping Struggling Readers in Upper Elementary
I recently spoke with a teacher who asked me what writing program I use to teach writing. When I told her I didn't use a program, she was a little shocked and wanted to know how I knew what to teach. As I explained to her how I generate my lesson topics, I realized this might be something useful to share on my blog. Keep reading for three types of writing lessons, how I … [Read more...] about Types of Writing Lessons (Writing Workshop Ideas)
A few years ago, I was introduced to a highly motivating, fast-paced academic version of the games Spoons. After playing a few rounds and having a lot of fun, I knew this was something I wanted to incorporate as much as possible into my classroom. The academic version of Spoons is a great way to motivate your students to review almost any concept! (If you are not … [Read more...] about Playing Spoons in the Classroom {Highly Engaging Review Game}
I don't know about you, but I love anchor charts. They are a regular part of my daily instruction in all subjects. Some (okay, most) are not Pinterest worthy, but they are a great anchor for what we are learning and a valuable reference for the students. However, with anchor charts comes the issue of displaying and storing them. Which ones do you hang? Which ones … [Read more...] about Organizing Anchor Charts
My first year teaching third grade, I had a student in my class who had very strong feelings toward writing. He hated it with a passion and wasn't afraid to let others know about how he felt. I am not sure that first year that I made that much of an impact one way or another on his feelings toward writing. To be honest, my first year teaching was kind of a big blur. I … [Read more...] about How to Get Students Excited About Writing
Over the summer, I made math toolkits with tons of math charts and resources to help my students during math centers. I knew I wanted something similar for writing and I finally have it ready to share with you. These writing toolkits are full of FREE writing resources and charts that will help your students become independent and confident writers. This post includes … [Read more...] about Writing Toolkits (Free Writing Resources for Upper Elementary)
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays by far! You can find several Thanksgiving activities for math and literacy (including free writing prompts) HERE in a previous post I wrote. In this post, I will share two of my favorite Thanksgiving read alouds and the activities I use with them. These read aloud and the accompanying activities are perfect for literacy … [Read more...] about Thanksgiving Read Alouds for Upper Elementary {Free Printables}
One of the biggest questions I had to tackle as a new teacher was "My students failed this test. What am I going to do about it?" Instead of binging on junk food (or in addition to), I learned to look at it reflectively and use these situations to grow myself as a teacher and to grow my students as learners and test-takers. Read on to learn some constructive next steps … [Read more...] about What To Do When Your Students Fail a Test
