One of the biggest organizational challenges for me has always been organizing all the incoming student papers. It seemed like no matter what I did or what system I tried, I always had endless stacks of papers. That all changed when I read a post by 2nd Grade Stuff last summer about how she handles the stacks of papers. I always knew I needed to get a handle on my … [Read more...] about Organizing Papers in an Upper Elementary Classroom
Rigorous Paired Passage Instruction : Step by Step Breakdown
Paired passage analysis and comprehension is a tricky skill for most of my readers, but definitely for my readers who are not proficient. I have found that the more exposure and practice they have with paired passages, the more confident and successful they are. However, I have found that many of my 5th graders come to me with limited practice, which as you can imagine … [Read more...] about Rigorous Paired Passage Instruction : Step by Step Breakdown
New Nephew & Free Baby Printables for the Classroom
This week's Math is Real Life post is brought to you by the birth of my new nephew! While at the hospital waiting for his arrival, the family made estimates on how much they thought he would weigh and how long he would be. My guess was nine pounds and six ounces and 21.5 inches long. My guesses were the closest! Baby Benjamin was born weighing nine pounds and nine … [Read more...] about New Nephew & Free Baby Printables for the Classroom
Test Prep Dress Up – Engaging Test Prep
I have a love/hate relationship with test prep. I dislike it for all the obvious stressful reasons: the stress on the students and teachers, the time it takes away from instruction, and how monotonous it can get. But, this year my teammate and I have been very intentional about planning engaging test prep activities that the students (and teachers) love! Here is my new … [Read more...] about Test Prep Dress Up – Engaging Test Prep
Unshakeable – Uncover the Compelling Reason for Every Lesson You Teach!
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases- which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you any extra). Click here for more information about my disclosure policy. I recently had the opportunity read Angela Watson's new book Unshakeable: … [Read more...] about Unshakeable – Uncover the Compelling Reason for Every Lesson You Teach!
Plan an Easter Egg Hunt Freebie!
Every year, my family and I love prepping for our family Easter Egg Hunt. We have a large yard with great spaces for hiding eggs, so we love having the hunts at our house. We usually hide mostly plastic eggs with candy in them. Sour Patches and Skittles are some of the favorites! To plan an Easter Egg Hunt, you definitely need math, so this is a perfect "real world" … [Read more...] about Plan an Easter Egg Hunt Freebie!
Test Prep Egg Hunt Activity
Test prep doesn't have to be boring and stressful for the teachers or the students. We try to keep some of our test prep activities super engaging and high-energy to keep students (and teachers) from getting stressed. This post shares details about one of my favorite engaging test prep activities that works perfectly during the spring, which is right at test prep season … [Read more...] about Test Prep Egg Hunt Activity
Great Depression Poster Project Freebie
A few months ago, my class created some old-school Great Depression Poster Projects. I know we are in the technology age, but many of my students don't have access to computers outside of school. In order to give them an assignment that could be completed 100% outside of classroom, I had to keep it old school. :D I gave the students a requirement page that … [Read more...] about Great Depression Poster Project Freebie
Lucky You! St. Patrick’s Day Freebies
It may be Friday the 13th (yuck!), but I have teamed up with some great blogger friends to bring you some LUCK and some great St. Patrick's Day freebies! Some of these freebies are St. Patrick's Day themed and some are not, so check them all out to see which ones you can use! My "Golden Freebie" for you is a recently updated resource on perimeter and area. This … [Read more...] about Lucky You! St. Patrick’s Day Freebies
FREE Snow Day Fraction Word Problems
I don't know about where you live, but there is something about snow in the South that has people getting bread, milk, and measuring tapes! We recently had a pretty good amount of snow for North Georgia (although it was melted within two days...womp womp). All over Facebook, people were posting their measurements of the snow. I took this opportunity to make a fraction … [Read more...] about FREE Snow Day Fraction Word Problems
What Can You Put in an Interactive Notebook? {Freebie Included}
Interactive math notebooks are an amazing way to anchor your students' learning. In my classroom, our interactive notebooks become a personalized student textbook. The day before our mid winter break, I snapped a few pictures of my favorite interactive notebook pages from our math notebooks. I wanted to share these pages with you as a diverse look at all the different … [Read more...] about What Can You Put in an Interactive Notebook? {Freebie Included}
Differentiated Fraction Tasks {And FREEBIE Computation Challenge}
If any skill will be the death of me, it is definitely Fractions! They are so hard for 5th graders to wrap their heads around. And the standards for 5th grade? Gah, I remember learning some of these standards in middle school! But, unfortunately, they must be taught. In order to make Fractions a bit more tolerable, I created Fraction Tasks and Challenges … [Read more...] about Differentiated Fraction Tasks {And FREEBIE Computation Challenge}