Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
Happy Thursday! This week has been super busy for me! I finally got to set up my classroom yesterday! School starts next week so I was working like a crazy person to get as much done as possible. I will post lots of pictures next week! I have had quite a few questions about my Roll and Answer Math Centers. I wanted to write a quick little blog post to explain how to use … [Read more...] about Easy Prep Math Centers: Roll and Answer Games {Freebies}
Hello, friends! I am back on this sunny Sunday with another post with another writing workshop idea about Gathering Seeds for Narrative Writing during Writing Workshop. Check out my previous post here for more ideas on generating narrative writing ideas. Today's post is a twist on making lists with a fun little organizer of sorts. Please don't judge my terrible … [Read more...] about Writing Workshop Idea for Gathering Seeds: I Bet You Didn’t Know!
Have I told you guys yet that I am moving schools? Well, if not, I am moving schools! I will still be in 5th grade but I am teaching in a school that is known as a Literacy Collaborative School that uses Fountas and Pinnell with fidelity. I met with my literacy coach today to map out the first few days of school. While I was pulling out my seed notebook, I decided it … [Read more...] about Writing Workshop: Gathering Seeds
I am back with another chapter review from What's Your Math Problem? I felt like this chapter was really key for those states that are shifting to Common Core. As the students are presented with more challenging problems, they need more advanced thinking strategies in their toolbox. Let's take a look at some of these strategies. I am in love with this advanced … [Read more...] about Advanced Thinking Strategies in Math
Happy Wednesday! I recently read Chapter 4 of the book, What's your Math Problem? and this was my favorite chapter so far. This chapter is all about the students using math problem solving strategies to get themselves organized before or while they are solving a problem. The math problem solving strategies discussed in this chapter are: Look for a Pattern … [Read more...] about Math Problem Solving Strategies
Is everyone out for summer by now? I hope so! This summer one of my projects was to tackle close reading. I have done variations of close reading for awhile. But I really wanted something rigorous and aligned to the common core. So this was born: Close Reading Mega Kit for for Grades 4-6 and 3rd Grade. To read about how I use this close reading kit during a specific read … [Read more...] about Close Reading Resources {Mega Kit}
I am back with post #3 for the Reading Literature Standards Chapter of my book club! This post will discuss Key Ideas and Details Standard 3 (RL.3.3, RL.4.3, RL.5.3) which focuses on teaching story elements. The post about Standard 1 can be found here and Standard 2 can be found here. Make sure you head over to those to grab the free printables for those … [Read more...] about Common Core Reading: Teaching Story Elements
When the common core standards first hit my state, I knew I needed to do some research and studying to fully understand the reading standards and how to teach them. One way that I did this was by joining a book club and reading Teaching with the Common Core Standards for ELA. This post will share some of my thoughts and a few free graphic organizers specific to teaching … [Read more...] about Teaching Theme & Summarizing : FREE Reading Graphic Organizers
I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! As I mentioned in my last post, I joined another Book Club this summer and we are reading Teaching with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. This chapter focuses on RL.1 which is about making inferences and using evidence to support those inferences. Check out post for RL.2 by clicking here and RL.3 clicking here. … [Read more...] about Making Inferences Freebies
Multiplying and dividing fractions are some of the most difficult skills for my fifth graders to understand and master. The actual solving of the equation is not difficult and many prefer these operations to adding and subtracting fractions. However, my students struggle with word problems involving multiplying and dividing fractions because their conceptual understanding … [Read more...] about Multiplying and Dividing Fractions: Fraction Fun with Snacks! {Freebies}
Geometry + math projects + end of the year is the perfect trifecta! This post shares my favorite end of the year math project that has students applying what they know about geometric elements to design an extreme playground makeover! A link to grab the printable and digital directions is also included. About the Math Project: Extreme Playground Makeover … [Read more...] about End of the Year Math Project : Extreme Playground Makeover
Testing is starting Monday! My students have been working so hard to prepare and practice their skills. I still have a few hands on test prep ideas to share with you for keeping your students engaged during test prep and making it fun! This activity is similar to the sentence surgery idea that has been spotted floating around Pinterest. Click on the image to see the … [Read more...] about Hands On Test Prep for Upper Grades
