Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
Fall is one of my favorite times of the year! I love bringing fall into the classroom with fall-themed activities. I wanted to share with you my favorite fall activities for upper elementary students. Fall Math Activities I always love incorporating seasonal math activities into my guided math classroom. You can read more about my guided math centers by clicking … [Read more...] about Fall Activities for Upper Elementary Classrooms
One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching reading can be holding students accountable for their reading. Some times, the stars align and you get a class of readers with only a few reluctant ones. However, what do you do if you have a whole class or majority of reluctant readers? You have to hold them accountable for their reading to get them to become skilled … [Read more...] about 5 Ways to Hold Students Accountable in Reading
One of my favorite parts of Reading Workshop is doing independent reading conferences. I am an avid reader, so I love getting the chance to talk with students about what they are reading. However, I do remember struggling with when and how to go about doing independent reading conferences in the busy day. I wanted to share some ideas with you about how to get started with … [Read more...] about Independent Reading Conferences {A Guide to Getting Started}
Most students love reading super scary stories during October, and I must admit that I have given in and read some "school-approved" scary stories. However, I recently found this really great book, The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg. This book fits right into the Halloween season but also has some powerful lessons to teach the students about bullying and acceptance. … [Read more...] about The Widow’s Broom: A Halloween Read Aloud for Upper Grades
I am going to be perfectly honest with you and say that sending classroom newsletters has never been a strength of mine. This is mainly because I have always taught at schools were the majority of the parents speak Spanish. So that means each note I send home has to be translated to Spanish. I could never seem to get my act together to get the classroom newsletter ready … [Read more...] about Student Created Newsletters (FREE Classroom Newsletter Templates)
Columbus Day can be extremely controversial. Most of the time, students are taught that Christopher Columbus is a hero. However, in 5th grade, I like to present differing perspectives and let my students make their own opinion based on the information. One way that I do that is through this Columbus Day Activity for Upper Grades using the book Encounter by Jane … [Read more...] about Columbus Day Activity for Upper Grades
When I first started teaching fifth grade, I was seriously bummed about the lack of seasonal activities and centers for upper elementary. It was pretty much limited to writing prompts and crossword puzzles/word searches. Upper elementary students can definitely have just as much (if not more!) Halloween fun as the younger students. Here are some of my favorite Halloween … [Read more...] about Halloween Activities and Ideas for Upper Elementary
I love all things candy corn, so of course I love incorporating candy corn activities into my classroom during the fall and around Halloween time. It is a perfect way to channel the students' excitement about the holiday into something academically based. I wanted to share some of my favorite FREE candy corn activities with you today! Candy Corn Math Activities FREE … [Read more...] about Candy Corn Activities
I don't know if this makes me crazy or not but I really love teaching decimals. Whole numbers in 5th grade are so large and that intimidates the students. Fractions are yucko for obvious reasons. And then there are decimals. They are fun to shade in and count the tenths and hundredths in models. They are easier to relate to because of money. Kids love money, so when you … [Read more...] about Teaching Decimals
Fall is my favorite season! I love the cooler weather, the changing leaves, and even football season, well maybe just all the snacks. I really love incorporating fall activities into the classroom and especially fall science experiments. This post shares a quick fall science experiment that is perfect for exploring and reviewing the scientific method. Dissolving … [Read more...] about Fall Science Experiment: Dissolving Pumpkins
One of the most harried times during the school days can definitely be dismissal. To me, it is very important to have an effective dismissal routine so the students leave on a good note, and so I don't end the school day stressed and overwhelmed. In this post, I will break down how I conduct dismissal in a way that is calm, organized, and very efficient. My dismissal … [Read more...] about How to Have an Effective Dismissal
This post contains an Amazon affiliate link if you decide you want to purchase the book mentioned in this post. One of my favorite parts of being a teacher is reading books aloud to my students. Even though I teach fifth grade, my students still love to be read to. I even bring them to the carpet and we read and discuss the book just like a book club. It is definitely … [Read more...] about My Favorite Read Aloud: The Sweetest Fig {Lots of Freebies}
