Sharing Our Blessings: 9 Great Ways to Celebrate the 67th Day of School
As we reach the 67th day of school (or perhaps that day has already passed at your school), I can’t help but reflect on just how many blessings this year has brought. I’m grateful every day for my two amazing adult daughters, my two playful cats, my lazy old dog, my 100-pound weight loss, and, […]
6 Terrific Ways to Make Morphology Meaningful and Engaging in Your Upper Elementary Classroom
As upper elementary students begin to tackle increasingly complex texts, their success often hinges on their vocabulary knowledge. One of the most powerful tools we can offer them is a deep understanding of morphology (the structure of words and how they are formed). Come along with me and learn why morphology isn’t just about memorizing […]
Reading Intervention Activities that Students Love
Introduction It’s almost testing season. If you’re anything like me, you’re looking for some great reading intervention activities that students love that don’t make you feel like you’re “teaching to the test”. Well, you’re in luck! My friends and I are here with a collection of wonderful reading intervention ideas that your upper elementary students […]
7 Fantastic Activities for Engaging Your Students in the Study of Historical Figures
Biography or Narrative Nonfiction I’m excited to share seven fantastic activities for engaging your students in the study of historical figures with narrative nonfiction. But, first, what is the difference between biography and narrative nonfiction? As I see it, a biography encompasses a person’s entire life whereas narrative nonfiction highlights and details a small moment […]
6 Beautiful Winter Read Alouds for Teaching 7 Elements of Author’s Craft
A teacher reads one of 6 beautiful winter read alouds for teaching 7 elements of author’s craft to captivated students.
Teaching Vocabulary with Mentor Texts
Teaching vocabulary is essential for reading comprehension, and using mentor texts to model is a great idea. With mentor texts, we can work on so many skills. In this post, I’ll share how I teach vocabulary in upper elementary. We’ve all heard about the science of reading, right? If you haven’t, you should probably start […]
Inspiring Students to Think Creatively About Renewable Energy
In my experience, children love to make a difference. One year, something of value (I think really high end headphones, but I’m having a hard time remembering) went missing from the ESOL teacher’s class and three boys in my class held a bake sale to raise money to replace them. Think about it. Alex’s Lemonade […]
How to Build Community During Back to School Using How to Read a Book
As much as I have been (and am) enjoying my summer, I’m getting excited about returning to my physical classroom in a few short weeks after teaching from home for over a year. The gears in my mind are turning and my creative juices are flowing. Recently, I was Googling great books to start the […]