Earlier this week, I blogged about sneaking some constructed response practice into Halloween fun. Read that post and grab two free math tasks by click here. The students had a great time completing them and it was some much needed practice so I decided to create a winter version for this upcoming winter season. I created four winter math word problems based on the common ... Read More
Halloween Math Constructed Response Practice
You guys, I got super smart this year and tied some of our Halloween Math with some extra constructed response practice. The kids never knew they were preparing for an assessment with these fun problems! This year, our district is having students take constructed response assessments on a few of the fraction common core standards (multiplying fractions by a whole, ... Read More
Free Fraction Center {Nacho Math}
I just found out today that our Math night is a nacho theme. It is called Nacho Ordinary Math Night. I thought that was the cutest idea! So, I made this cute nacho themed free fraction center using these fun nacho graphics from Ashley Hughes (LOVE her work). On another note, the heat was running full blast in my room this morning. It reminded me of that ... Read More
Teaching Poetry in Reader’s Workshop
Confession- I love reading, but I don't love reading poems for young adults or adults. For some reason, I can never get the message or theme just right. Luckily, I do enjoy teaching poetry to my 5th graders, mainly because I use a reader's workshop format for teaching reading. Also, the poems used in 5th grade are definitely more interesting and reader-friendly. This post ... Read More
Struggling Readers Take Home Book for Reading Strategies
Do you find that your struggling readers often need a little extra push to help them apply reading strategies while they are reading at home? I often find that my below grade level readers don't naturally apply the different reading strategies that have been taught while they are reading. To help, I created this free Reading Take Home Book specifically to help my students ... Read More
Morning Work Freebies to Start the Year
I use a lot of my review printables and resources from my TeachersPayTeachers store throughout the year. However in the beginning of the year, I like to use resources specifically created based on the standards I have taught so far that year. This builds the students' confidence and makes the review truly a review and independent. To be honest, when I try to use 4th ... Read More
Daily Three Reading Stations
If you are considering implementing reading stations in your 4th or 5th grade reading classroom, Daily 3 or Daily 5 reading stations are a great option. If you are not familiar with Daily 3 reading, it is a variation of the Daily 5 reading which you can read more about here. Daily 3 reading is how I structure my literacy block to allow my students to complete daily ... Read More
Personal Word Collector for the Teacher
I am so excited about our spelling program this year. We are using Fountas and Pinnell principles to generate words that follow that principle (with the students' help). But, the best part, we are using the students misspelled words to generate personal word lists. We plan to do a week of principle words and a week of personal words. Here is an example: Week 1: ... Read More
Teaching Volume – (Free Volume Hands-on Activity and Posters)
When we moved to the Common Core standards this year, volume was a new skill for my 5th graders. Also, since there were three standards that addressed some aspect of volume, it was assessed more frequently than the other standards. I knew I needed to find or create some quality and engaging resources for teaching volume. This post shares my go-to activities, video, and ... Read More
Halloween Freebie
I am joining this fun linky party with Graphics from the Pond. She made this adorable Friendly Ghost Clipart and has created an opportunity to get this set for free and join her linky part to showcase your Halloween Freebie resources! So, I used this clipart to make this cute Halloween Freebie - Decimal Place Value Sort. Check it out and follow the link at the bottom to ... Read More
Shared Reading for Upper Grades: Poetry Website
Poetry is something I have always struggled with as a teacher. I have a hard time finding engaging poetry collections and just really don't get into poetry that much as a reader. When I was recommended this great poetry website (http://www.poetry4kids.com/) by a fellow teacher, I knew it was just what I needed and perfect for a shared reading activity. I know that as a ... Read More
Teaching Classroom Procedures
Classrooms procedures and explicitly teaching classroom procedures is the backbone of a successful classroom. I always teach, reteach, review, practice, review, reteach (you get the idea!) the procedures all year long. It helps my classroom run smoothly with less distractions and behavior problems. This year, I also wanted to have my students complete some type of ... Read More
