Dig deep with these fun activities!
Okay teacher friend. It’s finally here. And I’m so excited! I’ve had this resource collecting dust on my computer for years now. I’ve been using this strategy in my classroom for the last few years, but haven’t had the energy or time (teacher life + mom life is exhausting, am I right?) to put it all together so that it’s ready to go for busy teachers like you! Well, it’s finally finished and I finally get to unveil it to you! Did you know I have a FREE downloadable reading response menu board that you can print now and use in your
Are you ready for the month of March? We are all geared up for some fun learning this month! Our March NO PREP packets are done and we are ready to go!
Fluency is an important components of reading, yet it is often neglected. What type of activities could I plan that were NOT teacher directed? To improve fluency, students need to read over and over which takes time. Time is in short supply for most teachers. Some parents listen to their children read at home, but not ALL. How could I fix this problem to ensure ALL of my students were getting enough practice? The answer was partner fluency checks. You can try a free partner fluency check. Teachers who downloaded the file above asked if I had more activities like the ones in the file. I recently made a Kindergarten-1st grade Fluency Check file and a 2nd-3rd grade Fluency Check file. Color Code the fluency cards by reading levels so you can quickly see the difference without looking at the bottom of the card. Punch a hole and put the cards on a ring for easy storage. The reading passages come in two formats - fluency cards and comprehension printables. More formats means more times reading the same passage which improves fluency. There are also comprehension signs. Punch a hole and put the signs on a ring. Use them to ask questions after a read aloud or with your small group. Comprehension signs are perfect for quick checks after a read aloud. Put the comprehension signs on a ring. Keep the ring where you read to your class. Set up a literacy center using the signs and comprehension passages. This is a quick center to set up. Reading the passages in different formats will improve students' fluency. Partner fluency checks and literacy centers are NOT teacher directed activities. Perfect fluency activities for busy teachers! I currently have the following Fluency Check files available: Kindergarten and 1st Grade Fluency Check Fluency and Comprehension Passages Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Christmas themed passages Bundle - Volume 1 & 2 2nd and 3rd Grade Fluency Check Fluency and Comprehension Passages Volume 1 Volume 2 Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Don't have time in your day to reach every student? My 10 Minute Reading Intervention resource can help you squeeze in lessons that are fast & effective!
Get your students excited about language review with these FREE grammar activities for 3rd grade! Hands-on, collaborative, & fun ELA review!
Download your complete guide to the third grade reading standards for both nonfiction and fiction texts. This is handy tool for guided and shared reading.
Adding some fun games for reading in the classroom schedule will instantly get your kids excited to read! These 5 fun reading games are...
Discover grammar games that are engaging, rigorous, and fun! These I CAN Grammar Games are perfect for grammar review, practice, and literacy centers!
Back to School is right around the corner for us and I am SUPER excited to kick of this school year with some fun, hands-on and engaging resources for The
Get your students excited about language review with these FREE grammar activities for 3rd grade! Hands-on, collaborative, & fun ELA review!
Take your word work reading center to the next level with these low prep and engaging word work centers! Plus, learn how to organize and run the word work center!
How to Avoid the Summer Slide! Summer is right around the corner! We all LOVE our summer vacation, but not the "Summer Slide!" According to Oxford
Do you have struggling readers you just can't reach? This mega list of reading intervention activities will help you teach all students how to read!
Science of reading activities can be so helpful for students of all ages. Reading is an essential skill to have in order to succeed in school and life. It’s not just about being able to read the words, it’s about understanding what you are reading and connecting those ideas with what you already know.
Activities that boost fluency all year long…and that you only have to prep once!
Free reading comprehension passages for grades 2 - 3
I mean...why WOULDN'T you use cootie catchers in your reading block? It makes perfect sense. Ok - remember last week how I was talking about doing a little spring cleaning with some of my TpT resources? Well, I did a little spring cleaning in my file folders on my computer as well. Yikes. Now THAT'S a bit of a rabbit hole. I got in a little deeper than I wanted to, but I figured I might as well finish the job. I got rid of a lot (a LOT) of cringe worthy products that just didn't make the cut anymore, and I got some major organizing done as well. BUT - you know what I found? THIS >>> It's a reading comprehension cootie catcher that I TOTALLY forgot I made! And since it resurfaced for me - I thought I'd resurface it for you! I'm sure I made it for you guys in the first place, but I can't for the life of me find it anywhere on the blog. There's actually 3 different versions. They have different comprehension questions that can be used with any fictional book. They work great as a quick partner review game. You can download them here! Find any long-lost things in your spring cleaning, lately? Pin and Share this freebie:
Discover grammar games that are engaging, rigorous, and fun! These I CAN Grammar Games are perfect for grammar review, practice, and literacy centers!
This post shares 3rd grade literacy center ideas that work with any Language Arts curriculum and last the entire school year + FREE printable
Adding some fun games for reading in the classroom schedule will instantly get your kids excited to read! These 5 fun reading games are...
I receive a lot of questions about how I run my literacy block. At my school, our schedule is blocked out, but I have freedom to arrange my own blocks (if that makes sense). So my literacy block is 9:40 – 11:15, and this is what I’ve decided to do with it: We start right ... Read More about My Literacy Block
Hello darlings! Amy here from That Teaching Spark! When I teach spelling, I am often on the hunt for fun, yet practical activities for my students to practice their spelling pattern for the week. This year, I am meeting with my students in small groups to work on differentiated spelling lists. One of my rotations is called Choice. This is where students get the “Choice” of the activity they would like to complete. They are allowed to choose from a list of activities on their Choice Board. We glue these boards onto the inside cover of our Word Study Journals so students have them all year. (Freebie at the end of post!) At the beginning of the year, I introduce each activity choice and have students practice it. That way when rotations come along, I have a well oiled machine with students working independently. While I completely agree that activities such as these are NOT effective in long term application of spelling words, research shows that adding kinesthetic activities helps with memorization. I teach the understanding and the word pattern “rules” during my Teacher Rotation. A few Favorites…. I created the Michelangelo Spelling activity after our art teacher did a project with my kiddos about the Sistine Chapel. My kiddos LOVE taping their paper to the underside of their desks and “painting” like Michelangelo. Of course, they are just writing their spelling words, but it is incredibly motivating. My kiddos also love Ghost Spelling. They write their words on paper with a white crayon and then color over the crayon with a marker. It “magically” shows up. Another favorite of mine is Context Clues. Students must write a sentence with the word that is so detailed, that another student could figure out the word if the word was covered up. I use the little sticky flags for this activity. I wanted to give this Choice Board to you FREE!
This post shares 3rd grade literacy center ideas that work with any Language Arts curriculum and last the entire school year + FREE printable
If you're tired of teaching parts of speech lessons only to have kids forget all about it the next day, try these easy ideas and activities!
Follow this step-by-step lesson plan to teach your students how
When teaching narrative writing in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, there are so many writing skills to cover. They range from creating a sequence of events (beginning, middle, and end) to more difficult
Looking for activities for a civics unit to teach being a good citizen for kids? This blog post has resources and activities you'll love!
Having a wide vocabulary is a huge part of what helps students to be successful in both reading comprehension and writing. This is why vocabulary is one of the National Reading Panel’s five core elements
Vocabulary instruction is so critical in today’s classroom! A vast vocabulary will help students to become better readers and writers. Vocabulary is also essential to their performance on standardized tests. Helping kids to develop their vocabulary is time that is well spent in a busy classroom. I have developed a routine to teach new vocabulary
These 3rd Grade Word of the Week: Daily Academic Vocabulary Activities are great for morning work and ideal for ESL students or those who are struggling with gaps in Tier 2 vocabulary. Limited vocabulary, especially academic language, can be a huge barrier to student success in middle school. Effectively build your 3rd graders’ academic vocabulary skills in 10 minutes per day with this Word of the Week resource that focuses on building a strong foundation of word knowledge. Available no-prep Word of the Week printables, these simple, targeted academic vocabulary activities focus on critical Tier 2 vocabulary to help transition students from word recognition to application using the framework derived from Marzano's study of vocabulary acquisition. YOUR 3RD GRADE WORD OF THE WEEK DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: • Instructional guide with implementation suggestions • Word list • Word cards for word walls or personal dictionaries • 36 weeks of daily vocabulary warm-ups • 4 Quarterly review quizzes to monitor retention • Answer keys for review quizzes In this Third Grade Academic Vocabulary Resource you'll: ✔️FIND QUICK, EFFECTIVE DAILY PRACTICE TO BUILD ACADEMIC LANGUAGE When used as a daily warm-up, this word of the week resource gives your students a chance to discuss and utilize academic language through the research-based format identified by Marzano and colleagues. ✔️DIG DEEP INTO COMMONLY USED (& TESTED) ACADEMIC VOCABULARY This bundle includes 36 purposefully selected vocabulary words commonly seen on third-grade assessments and academic tasks, and daily practice scaffolds from identification to application and analysis as students build a deeper understanding. Perfect for classroom use, intervention groups, or tutoring. WORDS INCLUDED IN THIS RESOURCE: ✔accurate ✔additional ✔anticipate ✔arrange ✔alter ✔assist ✔classify ✔critical ✔constant ✔construct ✔defend ✔develop ✔disagree ✔exclude ✔identify ✔illustrate ✔impact ✔investigate ✔irrigate ✔justify ✔mend ✔minimum ✔occur ✔peer ✔persaude ✔prior ✔purpose ✔recall ✔recognize ✔repair ✔response ✔request ✔ridiculous ✔scatter ✔similar ✔specific ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's how this Word of the Week Academic Vocabulary Bundle Works: ❏ Monday: Introduction to the word of the week, including part of speech ❏ Tuesday: Define the word & create a non-linguistic representation (visualize) ❏ Wednesday: Identify synonyms & antonyms for the vocabulary word ❏ Thursday: Apply student knowledge through paragraph writing ❏ Friday: Assess student understanding & provide application opportunities Here's why teachers love these novel units... ♥ Thanks so much for this detailed thorough product and for making vocabulary instruction easy! The one word a week format with many opportunities to use and understand the word will definitely benefit my class of ELLs. ♥ I have been looking for a way to help my students have a better understanding of academic vocabulary and this is the perfect resource for that! ♥ Loved using this with my reading tutorial/resource class. It helped break material down to students' instructional level in order for them to understand the basic concept, and from there we were able to increase the rigor! ♥ I LOVE these pages and used these for our "word of the week" students enjoyed completing each daily task as a warm up. I even purchased the same resource when I moved on to teach fifth grade because I found it so valuable to build student's academic vocabulary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This product is also available for the following grade levels: 2nd Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language 4th Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language 5th Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language 6th Grade Word of the Week: Vocabulary Activities for Academic Language Middle School Word of the Week for 7th Graders & 8th Graders Other Vocabulary Activities Your Students May Enjoy: Math Vocabulary Activities for Word Work or Stations Science Vocabulary Activities for Word Work or Stations Social Studies Vocabulary Activities for Word Work or Stations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terms of Use: © Rebecca Davies. All rights reserved by the author. These materials are intended for personal use by a single classroom only. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. For use in multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Clipart and elements found in this PDF are copyrighted and cannot be extracted and used outside of this file without permission or license. See product file for clip art and font credits.
In first grade reading comprehension is something new, challenging, and difficult to teach because even though they’re all 6 or 7 they’re developmentally so different. Head over to my blog to get this comprehension page. Depending on what grade you teach it’d be great for: homework individual assessment small groups partners intervention challenging gifted students ... Read More about Reading Comprehension
Back to school means a new group of scholars to meet, assess, teach and love on! It's so exciting! But it's tough too. You are busy making relationships and teaching routines, but you also have to get to know your students' academic needs. What reading level are they currently reading at? How much do they
Kids will have fun looking for nouns all around them in this Grammar Activity for Kids. Simply print the Noun Hunt printable and head out for fun learning.
Find 23 ready to use, effective vocabulary activities your students will love, by The Teacher Next Door!
Here in third grade, we practice fluency daily with: -Word Lists -Phrase Lists -Passages/Running Records My Mental Journey I have had a love-hate relationship with fluency. As a third grade teacher, my students are subject to end of year, high-stakes testing for the first time. Fluency is not tested on these exams, students have
Teaching syllables can be fun and engaging with your upper elementary aged students.
Are you looking for early finisher activities to keep your students engaged and productive when they complete their work early? Look no further! Here are 20 early finisher activities that your students will love. From creative projects to physical activities, there’s something here for everyone! These early finisher activities will help keep your students motivated and on task while also having a little fun. So grab the supplies, turn up the music, and let's get started with these awesome early finisher activities today! (Some links below are Amazon affiliate links. . .no extra charge for you, but it helps support
Perfect for kids in kindergarten through middle school, these reading comprehension strategies and activities for struggling readers will not disappoint!
I have always struggled with spelling, and how to engage students in meaningful activities to practice their spelling words! I have tried just about everything under the sun, from rotating through teacher-selected word work centers, to a free choice spelling menu where students try to complete different activities throughout the week. Nothing seemed to work!
