There's a lot of ground to cover when you teach creative narrative writing. Here are 5 creative narrative mini-lessons you should be sure to use!

One of the things I do every year that really makes a difference in my students' learning is having them use notebooks to store notes, examples, work, and

Follow this step-by-step lesson plan to teach your students how

Supercharge your morning work with I Heart Literacy! Each page features a fun theme so your students will not only be practicing reading and ELA skills, but will also be learning about a curriculum-based topic. A wide variety of Common Core skills are addressed. Try these five free pages for free! Happy Teaching! Rachel Lynette ... Read More about Morning Work ELA and Reading Freebie!

FREE 5th grade literacy pacing guide! This free 5th grade ELA pacing guide includes reading, writing, and language skills.

Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!

Analyzing character traits is a key fiction reading skill that is needed for successful comprehension. In most cases, authors do not just come out and tell readers the traits that a character possesses. By teaching

FREE ELA Morning Work Grades 3-5. A LOT of skills in a LITTLE amount of time. The simplest (and most engaging) way to consistently cover critical ELA content in 10 minutes per day. Grab your FREE WEEK to perk up your morning routine now! Enter your information to get your FREE ELA Morning Work for Grades 3-5 instantly!

For the most part, reasoning, deducing, inferring, and critical thinking are not skills that come naturally to our students. Rather, they must be nurtured and developed. We want our students to become critical thinkers so they can reason and apply logic to solve novel problems throughout their lives. These skills will set them up to...

Every school year is different. Different students, different needs, different plans. But one thing always remains constant: The need for engaging, SHORT novels. Maybe you're filling a shorter amount of time. Maybe you're dealing with short attention spans. Maybe you just need a quick read! Today I’m sharing 10 books your students will LOVE. These books are all 120 pages or less, making them an efficient read. BONUS: You'll also find 4 books that are 140 pages or less that I just couldn't leave off. Explore the list below of the BEST short novels for your school year. Let me know in the comments what I’ve missed and which are your favorites! Engaging Novels under 120 pages: 1. The Tiger Rising by: Kate DiCamillo Rob and Sistine's surprising discovery of a tiger gives them the courage to face past trauma. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 2. Frindle by: Andrew Clements Join Nick Allen as he sparks a language revolution by inventing a new word, 'frindle', and learns about the power of creativity in the process. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 3. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by: Louis Sachar Explore the eccentricities of Wayside School, a thirty-story building with a classroom on each floor, and encounter its quirky students and teachers. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 4. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by: Judy Blume Peter Hatcher navigates the challenges of sibling rivalry and growing up with his mischievous younger brother, Fudge. 5. My Father's Dragon by: Ruth Stiles Gannett A resourceful young boy named Elmer sets off on an adventure to rescue a baby dragon. 6. The Chocolate Touch by: Patrick Skene Catling A boy named John discovers the consequences of his insatiable love for chocolate when everything he touches turns into chocolate. 7. Sounder by: William H. Armstrong A young African American boy and his dog, Sounder, face hardship and injustice in the rural South as they strive to reunite their family. 8. Sarah Plain and Tall by: Patricia MacLachlan A widowed farmer and two children eagerly await the arrival of Sarah, a kind-hearted woman from Maine, as they hope she will become their new mother. 9. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by: Betty MacDonald Enter the whimsical world of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, a magical woman who helps parents solve their children's misbehavior. 10. Fantastic Mr. Fox by: Roald Dahl Mr. Fox outsmarts three mean farmers who are determined to catch him and his family by relying on his cleverness and love for adventure. Engaging Novels under 140 pages: 11. Number the Stars by: Lois Lowry Two young Danish girls, Annemarie and Ellen, display bravery and resilience as they help Ellen escape the Nazis during World War II. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 12. Tuck Everlasting by: Natalie Babbit A young girl named Winnie Foster discovers the Tuck family's secret of immortality and must decide between eternal life and the natural cycle of life and death. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 13. Stuart Little by: E.B. White A small and adventurous mouse named Stuart Little embarks on a series of daring escapades in New York City, searching for his friend Margalo the bird. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 14. Mr. Popper's Penguins by: Richard and Florence Atwater Mr. Popper's life takes a chaotic turn when he unexpectedly receives a penguin as a gift. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics, or posts made in this blog.

No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!

Morphology walls are a great tool in 4th and 5th grade classrooms! Read more and sign up for free posters to make your own morphology wall!

Constantly on the hunt for fun morning meeting games that will engage your upper elementary students? I used to be too. These 10 games will...

I always get a lot of questions about how I schedule my ELA Block. I've been working on this post for awhile, and I'm hoping it proves to b...

Thinking about implementing a Daily Three reading structure for reading rotations? Check out this post for details and example activities for each roation.

While I am a firm believer in students reading real books that they choose and doing this often, I also love to include reading games and reading centers in

We are headed quickly for Back to School! Summer seems to go by faster every year, don't you think? This year for one of my goals in reading as we start back to school, I

This is a Wonder end of novel project choice activity for Wonder by RJ Palacio. The purpose of this activity is for students to show their understanding of the novel through various project choices. Included In Activity:  A list and description of eight different end of novel projects for students. There are many ways that you could use this with your students. You could assign a project due by the end of the book, allow students to use them as extra credit, or use them as a culminating activity where they have to work together to complete the project. This activity is included in our Wonder novel unit. ⭐ Click HERE for our 73-page Wonder Novel Study Unit!! All files are saved in PDF to secure the font and purchased clip art. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click HERE for Our Custom Novel Units Bundle! You Pick 3! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Make sure to check out our other novel units! Novel Unit Custom Bundle That You Make: Pick 5!! Al Capone Does My Shirts The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Bridge to Terabithia Chasing Vermeer The Devil’s Arithmetic Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone The Lightning Thief Maniac Magee The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg Mudshark Number the Stars One Crazy Summer On My Honor The Red Pyramid Rules Running Out of Time Sarah Plain and Tall A Single Shard Sideways Stories from Wayside School Swindle Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing The Tiger Rising Tuck Everlasting The Whipping Boy The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones And click here for even more novel units like the ones listed above! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Our Wise Guys Store Copyright ©Wise Guys. All rights reserved by author. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. 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). Clip art and elements found in this PDF are copyrighted and cannot be extracted and used outside of this file without permission or license. Intended for classroom or personal use ONLY.

Thinking about implementing a Daily Three reading structure for reading rotations? Check out this post for details and example activities for each roation.

Unlock strategies for 4th and 5th grade small group reading. Explore different focuses and a six-step process to use.

As teachers begin planning for back to school, I see an abundance of creative classrooms filling my Instagram and Pinterest feeds. I love seeing how other

This Royal Classroom Transformation is a great activity for students to practice math skills while pretending to be royals for the day.

Reading comprehension strategies for all types of learners. Encourage and

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!

Finding chapter books for kids to read that they have a high interest in is key. Listed here are some of our favorite chapter book series for kids in 4th and 5th grades. Most of these are ones that I either read as a kid or used as a reading tutor. Note that while these ... Read More about Favorite Chapter Books for Kids in 4th and 5th Grades

Here are 13 fun classroom games to keep students to loves learning . Click here:

Free Printable Daily Work For 9/8/2015 4th and 5th Grade I haven’t thought about sharing our daily work with you all but decided someone out there might find use for it as well. These are a f…

Are you looking to capture the thrilling spirit of the 2024 Summer Olympics in your classroom? With the games fast approaching, I've developed an exciting

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

Struggling with how to address phonics gaps in your 4th or 5th graders? This blog post shares strategies to reteach and review phonics skills.

A NO PREP art/language activity teachers can use any time. All you need is paper!

As a teacher, I am always on the hunt for the perfect tools at the cheapest prices for my ELA classroom. Taking care of our students and keeping our learning

Teachers often have questions about what a literacy block should actually look like. How do you structure your time? When do you pull reading groups? How and when do you teach grammar? The list of questions is lengthy, and with good reason. No one really ever told us what to do! Probably because there is […]

Kick-start your middle school student's year with these fun and engaging back to school activities for ELA!

This post breaks down how I teach reading in 5th grade and how my reading block is structured, including the materials needed.

Teaching students story elements is crucial to their reading comprehension of fiction texts. These reading crafts are fresh, hands on and unique fiction activities for supporting students in understanding the story elements. It is an alternative to reading response that will help you to reach all learners in your classroom. These story elements activities require little to no prep, and the only materials needed are scissors and glue. WHAT’S INCLUDED: 7 Story Elements Crafts: Character Accordion Book: Students describe characters in the story on blank people that fold back and forth to create an accordion. Students can include descriptions of 4 or more characters in their accordion book. Settings Direction Sign: This settings flip book allows students to describe up to 4 settings in a story. A large (4 pages) or small (2 pages) settings sign option are included depending on how much space your students will need. Setting Visualization Photo Frame Pocket: Students find and record text evidence describing a particular setting onto cameras. They illustrate the setting on the front of their photo frame pocket, and place the cameras into the pocket. Plot Rollercoaster: This lift the flap craft has space for students to describe the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution on the back page of where they lie on the plot rollercoaster. Plot Mountain: Students describe the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution on the back page of where they lie on a plot mountain. Problem & Solution Ladder: In this craft, students describe the problem, steps the characters took to solve the problem, and finally, the solution. Problem & Solution Puzzle: Students open puzzle flaps for 3 problems in the story that open up to reveal 3 solutions.

Halloween math activities and reading comprehension can be so much fun with Halloween Project Based Learning! What upper elementary student doesn't love haunted houses and everything spooky? Turn that excitement into learning with a creative, engaging, hands-on Design a Haunted House Project! This project is not only perfect for classrooms already familiar with project based learning (PBL), but it's also ideal for teachers who are looking for ways to really engage students with a high-interest activity. Kick off your Halloween Project Based Learning Unit by showing several different videos or ads which highlight haunted attractions and persuade people to visit

Increase student engagement and reading comprehension with this simple strategy!