Teaching with Jennifer Findley
Upper Elementary Teaching Blog
The time after the long holiday break is always a great time to "restart", review expectations, and start fresh and new. On this post, I want to share a free printable and digital New Year's resolution activity that you can use with your 4th and 5th graders. This is a great way to connect the new year with your classroom expectations and goals. About the New Year's … [Read more...] about New Year’s Resolution Activity (Digital + Printable)
While winter may not be the favorite season for most people, it definitely comes with very interesting topics to read about...extreme sports, Winter games, animal behavior in the winter, to name a few. For my students (in the south) we love all things snow. This post will share one of my favorite winter read alouds about snow and some free comprehension questions … [Read more...] about Winter Read Aloud (Free Digital Winter Reading Activity)
Giving students feedback is powerful to drive instruction and student learning. However, giving detailed feedback that both addresses mistakes or misconceptions AND helps move students to the next level can be time-consuming for teachers. This post will share a huge bank of ready-to-use feedback statements for the key reading skills taught in grades 4-5. Let's be … [Read more...] about FREE Reading Skills Feedback Bank for Grades 4-5
Every teacher (new or experienced) knows the importance of having strong classroom management. A huge part of successful classroom management is teaching expectations. Setting up a strong virtual classroom management with students you have never met is a definitely more of a challenge than with face-to-face instruction. This post will share steps for teaching digital … [Read more...] about Teaching Digital Expectations – Virtual Classroom Management
Checking students' understanding after completing a lesson is always important. And it's even more important during digital instruction. In this post, I am sharing free digital exit slips that work for any lesson and in any subject. I will also share some next steps and ideas for using the free digital exit slips. About the Digital Exit Slips Using exit slips allows … [Read more...] about Free Digital Exit Slips for Any Lesson
Teaching reading in 4th and 5th grade can be so rewarding but also challenging. Teaching reading virtually can make that even more challenging. But, with the right strategies and resources, it can be done and done well. This post will share a breakdown of an example way to structure your weekly digital reading instruction, including ways that you can incorporate best … [Read more...] about Teaching Reading Virtually
Using task cards for reading instruction is a great way to introduce, model, and teach reading skills and standards in less-threatening ways (compared to lengthy texts). They are also perfect for targeted re-teaching. But how can you maximize these benefits of task cards during digital reading instruction? Keep reading for some ideas and strategies for using task cards … [Read more...] about Using Task Cards for Digital Reading Instruction
Graphic organizers are a great way to have students respond to texts in an organized way and can be a natural scaffold to move from simple to more complex essay or letter type responses. This post will share some free digital graphic organizers that you can use in your reading instruction. These are great to use the first weeks or months of school to help get your … [Read more...] about Free Digital Graphic Organizers for Grades 3-5
Multiple-choice practice is definitely "easy"...as far as grading goes. If you are using multiple-choice digital quizzes, such as Google Forms that are self-grading, they're even more time-saving. However, you do have to make sure that the results are authentic and that you are using these quizzes and assessments in the way they are intended, which ultimately is to drive … [Read more...] about Free Accountability Recording Sheets for Google Forms
At the beginning of the year, it's important that we get to know our students as mathematicians...how they feel about math, their confidence levels, and their interest levels in regards to math. If you are looking for a way to digitally get an idea of how your students feel about math and their interests/mindsets about math, click here for free digital math interest … [Read more...] about Digital Math Pre-Assessments for the Beginning of the Year
Google Forms are a great option for having your students practice skills digitally. They allow for self-grading AND you have the option to release student scores after each student submits their answers. The students love that instant feedback. But most Google Forms are not the most exciting or engaging practice opportunities (unless you add in those elements). One way to … [Read more...] about Free Digital Progress Trackers for Google Form Practice
As teachers, we know the importance of getting to know our students, their interests, learning styles, preferences, and families. Getting to know your students is important for building relationships, which leads to stronger classroom management and higher levels of engagement. Knowing your students also helps you create learning opportunities that even your most … [Read more...] about Free Digital Activities for Getting to Know Your Students
