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
Multiplying and Dividing Fractions: Fraction Fun with Snacks! {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
Field Day Centers {Keep Them Engaged All Day!}
Summer is quickly approaching! 3 more weeks for us. With the end of the year winding down, the kids are beginning to get antsy and ready for summer (and let’s be honest, so are the teachers!) I don’t know about you but this is the time when I have to really think outside the box to keep my students engaged and excited about being in the classroom. This is a huge feat on ... Read More
End of the Year Math Project : Extreme Playground Makeover
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
Hands On Test Prep for Upper Grades
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
Test Prep Activity | Gallery Walk: Get Them Moving!
As promised I am back with another test prep activity that we have been doing lately to get ready for our state tests. This specific test prep activity may be my favorite and I can definitely see myself doing this all year long. It is a spin off a traditional gallery walk and gets the kids moving, reviewing, and critiquing each other's work. I prepared the activity by ... Read More
Test Prep: Graffiti Style
Test prep doesn't have to be the same old monotonous review and work. In fact, I prefer to spice up my test prep activities to keep my students engaged and to keep the work relevant and interesting. On this post I will share a test prep activity that works well with any subject and any type of question. If you have never seen this before, students respond to a text or ... Read More
Roller Coaster Fun: Potential and Kinetic Energy Review
My first year or two teaching I was very guilty of thinking that engaging science needed to involve some sort of complex science experiment. Thank goodness I learned a few years in that that was not true. I learned that drawing, designing, and even reflective discussions were a great way to engage my students in science topics we were studying. Last week this was put ... Read More
Teachers Pay Teachers Tips and Advice
Every now and then I get questions from teachers wanting to start creating and selling their own resources on TeachersayTeachers. On this post, I want to share with you some information I put together for some teachers at school with some Teachers Pay Teachers tips and advice for getting started with selling teacher created resources. I am by no means an expert, but here ... Read More
Test Taking Tips for Reading
I don't know about you guys, but I am beginning to feel the pressure of standardized tests! We have been working hard all year on comprehension strategies that really make the students think about a story. You can read about that here and here. Now, I am trying to be much more deliberate about teaching the students some specific strategies and test taking tips to help ... Read More
Teaching Theme in the Upper Grades and a FREEBIE!
In reading, we recently finished up a week long unit teaching theme, and for the first time ever, it went fabulous! As of this blog post's original date, this is my 3rd time teaching theme of literature, and to be honest, I have always struggled to find theme activities and resources to help my students really understand this tricky concept. This year, the stars aligned ... Read More
Math Assessment Accommodations Made Easy!
One more day to go till the weekend! I wanted to write a quick post to share with you how to make simple math assessment accommodations for students with IEPs or on RTI plans. First, I must tell you this was not my idea or my work. I was in a fellow teacher's (4th grade) room when I saw this on a student's desk. I was immediately impressed and knew I had to share it! I ... Read More
