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
Browse the archives below for even more great ideas
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
Reading Is Thinking: Using Thinkmarks with Reading Strategies
Teaching readers who struggle to construct meaning during reading is a challenge. It is a challenge for the students because they struggle connecting to and getting immersed in books. Teachers are challenged with making complex texts comprehensible and engaging, while teaching grade-level reading skills. One way that I help with this is to teach my students to mark their ... Read More
Test Taking Strategies {Teaching Students to “Work the Text”}
Well my friends, I don't know about you, but the new year has always brought me testing anxiety! Gotta get those kids ready to take the TEST. However, this year I have a little less stress than usual. Did I get the gifted students? Nope! Do all my kids read on grade level? I wish! Did I learn some test taking strategies in the past few years that work? Yes, and this ... Read More
Reading Strategies: “Work” the Text
"Your students are not engaged with the texts they are reading." I will never forget when my administration said that to me after an observation my first year teaching. I remember thinking "They were reading the text. That is enough, right?" However, it wasn't and my students' comprehension suffered because they were not actively engaged with the texts they were ... 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
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
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
FREE Sentence Stems for Reading Strategies
Each year, I begin my reading instruction with the focus on having my students discuss and record their thoughts while reading using think marks and in reader's response letters and other write about reading activities. I implement strategies and instruction for this type of reading before we even get into 5th grade level reading instruction. Since the majority of my ... Read More
Guided Reading Notes
I recently updated my Guided Reading Binder and wanted (and desperately needed) a new guided reading form to keep more organized and teacher-friendly reading notes. I found that keeping individual papers for each student on each book was too tedious and took up too much paper/time. To help, I made a new guided reading template which I have been using to take daily guided ... Read More
