Free teaching ideas resources activities games worksheets Kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th grade ESL special education autism teacher blog
Learn what makes up blood in this zany blood for kids activity for learning about the human body. Hands-on, EASY blood model!
Free & funny readers' theater scripts by T. P. Jagger. Use readers' theater (readers' theatre) scripts to improve students' reading fluency.
Read about six fun activities to help teach the scientific method in your upper elementary classroom.
Need ways to support and help your students with ADHD or other attention needs? This blog post provides tips to help you support these students.
Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our V.I.P. exclusive newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables. Note: This blog post contains resources from our TpT store and our Amazon Associate store. --------------------------------------------- PIN to Save for Later The scientific method is a series of steps followed by scientific investigators to answer specific questions about the natural world. It involves making observations, formulating a hypothesis, and conducting scientific experiments. Scientific inquiry starts with an observation followed by the formulation of a question about what has been observed. The steps of the scientific method are as follows: Observation Question Hypothesis Experiment Results Conclusion --------------------------- Click HERE for a brief online quiz to practice the steps of the scientific method. --------------------------------------------------------- Click HERE for an online interactive flash presentation. --------------------------------------------------------- Click HERE to visit the ASU School of Life Sciences to see ways to teach students about the scientific without having to pose only science related questions! --------------------------------------------------------- Scientific Method Interactive Notebook Activity Click HERE. --------------------------------------------------------- The video below is a basic introduction to the scientific method steps and terms. --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- Click HERE for FREE Scientific Method Vocabulary Task Cards --------------------------------------------------------- Click HERE for a crossword puzzle. --------------------------------------------------------- View this video for the scientific method in action with a lemonade experiment. --------------------------------------------------------- View this cartoon type video to learn about science variables. --------------------------------------------------------- Your students will remember scientific method vocabulary with this interactive notebook activity. Click HERE. --------------------------------------------------------- Here are some songs to help students learn the steps. Songs always make learning easier! --------------------------------------------------------- Here is a scientific method experiment on apple oxidation: --------------------------------------------------------- Watch this high interest video showing the scientific method with Diet Coke and Mentos! --------------------------------------------------------- This is a great time-saving and money-saving resource! Click HERE. ------------------------------------------ Click HERE for tons of free science experiment ideas - practical for the classroom! --------------------------------------------------------- You may also like these resources from our Amazon Associate store: Mad Margaret Experiments with the Scientific Method (In the Science Lab) I'm Mad Margaret, and I'm not really mad, I'm just crazy about science! When a friend tells me he has a sneezing problem, I help him use the scientific method to solve it. I'm no Einstein, but I can tell you all about the scientific method! Grades 2-3 --------------------------------------------------------- 4M Kitchen Science Kit --------------------------------------------------------- The Magic School Bus - Chemistry Lab ------------------------------------------- You may also like this free science lesson plan: --------------------------------------------- Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables. Click HERE to follow us on Instagram. Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest. Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find great resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!
Discover grammar games that are engaging, rigorous, and fun! These I CAN Grammar Games are perfect for grammar review, practice, and literacy centers!
Activities include: 1. Ratio and Proportions Movie 2. Proportions Rap Song 3. Tic Tac Toe Easy Math Strategy 4. What is a Ratio? Video 5. Online Proportions Dirt Bike Game 6. Battleship Proportions Game 7. Online Martian Ratios Game 8. Online Ratio Blaster Game 9. Ratios Review Worksheets 10. FREE Ratio Tables Task Cards 11. Real Life Ratios Worksheets 12. Proportions Task Cards 13. Ratios and Proportions Workbook Practice 14. Ratios Made Simple Reading Book 15. Classroom Math Bulletin Board Set http://promotingsuccess.blogspot.com/2014/05/monday-math-ratios-and-proportions.html
Teaching the scientific method to kids can be tough. Here are some modifcations to the classic steps of the scientific method for special eduacaiton students.
Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our V.I.P. exclusive newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables. Note: This blog post contains resources from our TpT store and our Amazon Associate store. -------------------------------------------- Here is a hip-hop version of PEMDAS by Flocabulary: Order of Operations Math Rap by Mr. Tomai's class: You may also be interested in using task cards in your classroom. Task cards may be used for a scavenger hunt, a game of SCOOT or for other movement games. Brain research shows us that movement increases student achievement. You may wish to try these free task cards to see how well they work in your classroom. Free Order of Operations Task Cards You will receive six task cards for students must determine the missing sign. A student response form is provided along with an answer key. These cards work well as a Common Core review, test prep or as a quick formative assessment. CCSS.Math.Content.5.OA.A.1 CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.2c You may also like: Order of Operations Task Cards – Solve the Equation ★ You may also like this order of operations bundle to save TIME and MONEY: ★ MEGA BUNDLE – ALL 10 Order of Operations Task Card Sets – 280 Task Cards In ALL ------------------------------ Order of Operations Task Cards Anchor Chart You will receive a PEMDAs poster and 2 student graphic organizers for your 5th or 6th grade math centers. They are in color and in black and white. ------------------------------ Free Order of Operations Winter Theme Owls Task Cards You will receive 10 owl themed task cards to use in your math centers or stations as review games, for test prep activities or as a quick formative assessment. A student response form and answer key are also included. Grade 5 Common Core: CCSS.Math.Content.5.OA.A.1 CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.2c For 30 additional cards to have a scavenger hunt or play a game of SCOOT: ★ Winter Math 30 Order of Operations Task Cards ★ ------------------------------ Your students may also like this order of operations math card game: ------------------------------ Here is a whole brain teaching lesson about the order of operations. ------------------------------ Finally, this video shows some downsides of the order of operations and the need for parenthesis. ------------------------------ You may also like these order of operations resources from our Amazon Associate store: McDonald Publishing Order of Operations Poster ------------------------------ Order of Operations Flash Cards ------------------------------ The Story of the Order of Operations: PEMDAS by Kim Huffstetler --------------------------------------- Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables. Click HERE to follow us on Instagram. Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest. Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find great resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!
When I started at my new school last year, I came into a new reading program. I was used to doing almost all of my reading instruction WHOLE CLASS, but my school uses a guided reading model all the way up to 5th grade. I definitely had to rethink my reading block! I had done centers in the past, but wanted a really clear way to maximize the time and make the transitions clear for the students. Here's how I do my guided reading block! ROTATIONS We have Guided Reading/Centers Monday-Thursday from about 1:10-2:00 and I rotate through four groups. This means each center is 12 minutes long, with about 30 seconds for a transition. 12 minutes can fly by, so the students have to work on getting those transitions DOWN. I found a FANTASTIC resource by my friend Kristen of Chalk & Apples, and it has made centers SO easy. There are tons of different icons that can be easily swapped out on different days or weeks. I change mine up all the time! In a typical week, I do guided reading with leveled passages on Monday and Wednesday, and we do literature circles on Tuesdays and Thursdays. GROUPS My students are grouped according to DRA levels, because that is what my school uses. You might use AR, Lexile, or another measure. I have four groups: Low, Low-Mid, High-Mid, and High. Each group has a number, but I assign the number randomly so it doesn't match up to skill level in any way. I have 24 students in my class this year, so there will be 6 kids in each group. If you have a larger class, you can still make it work by having your higher groups work on their own while you work with a lower group and just check in! GUIDED READING I LOVE this close reading resource from Fifth in the Middle. I bought the entire bundle so I have TONS of options. Each reading comes in four reading levels, but they are on the same topic and look the same so students don't notice. There is also a paired text that I try to use for morning work toward the end of the week. There are several pages of activities for each passage, and I often have the students start these at the table with me after we've read the passage out loud. When it is their turn for guided reading, the students come to me at our back table with a pencil and a highlighter. I give them their sheets for that day and discuss what we will be looking for while we read (unfamiliar words usually) and we begin reading. I like to make sure each child reads, so however I have to break it up to make that happen. After reading through, I ask them to scan through again to find specific information. This changes week to week, so one time it might be looking for transition phrases, and another it might be looking for dates to create a timeline. Then, we talk about what everyone found and work on putting together the information on the worksheet. I, of course, provide a lot more scaffolding and support to my lower readers, while my high readers are able to do the activity on their own. LIT CIRCLES On the days that we have literature circles, the students still come to the back table with me, but this time they bring their lit circle book (which varies) and their lit circle binder. In their binder, they keep all of their jobs and their reading schedule. I have used about a GAZILLION resources for lit circles (including online blogs), but this one from Pocketful of Primary is my absolute FAVORITE: It is SOO easy to adapt to groups of different sizes and I found it very user-friendly for both the kiddos and for myself! I organize the jobs using a hanging file I found on Amazon. You can find it here: THE OTHER CENTERS So what do the kiddos do during their other blocks of time? Here's some options I cycle through: STAPLES: Partner Reading Each student has a partner from their reading group that they meet up with for this activity. I typically use "I Survived" books or similar short chapter books. I stock up through Scholastic! I have 6 shared books for the entire class, and I place a sheet inside the front cover so the students can write their names and where they ended each day they read. I always have new books ready to go for the students who finish. I do this strictly for fluency, so I don't do quizzes or worksheets. Silent Reading (KBAR) In my class, we call silent reading KBAR- Kick Back and Read. When we do a whole class KBAR, I sometimes take it outside. Spelling (Spelling City) I typically use Spelling City for centers, but sometimes do a worksheet instead. Vocabulary (Quizlet)Quizlet is AMAZING. I love using this for vocabulary! The students really enjoy it as well. Keyboarding (KWT) This is a tough one since monitoring the students' finger placement is so important. I don't do this OFTEN as a center, but throw it in now and again. Writing If we are working on a longer project (such as the state report), I have the students use this chunk of time for that. Otherwise, I sometimes provide a prompt or allow them to free write. Here's one of the resources I use: NoRedInk If you've never used this site, CHECK IT OUT! It's one of the best ways to get some extra grammar practice into your day! Be aware that the initial set up takes a bit of time because the students have to select a bunch of their favorites from different categories: books, tv shows, movies. What's neat is the site uses their preferences and their name + their friends' names when building the practice sentences. The kids get a kick out of it! Task Cards (small group) Students work with their reading group and record their answers on individual answer sheets. I have a huge selection of task cards that I keep in one of these bad boys from Michael's: Cursive (Can Do) I love that my school teaches cursive, but in fifth grade, we don't have a lot of specific time for it. To keep the kid's practicing, I assign pages from our cursive book during centers. Reading Comprehension (Reading Plus) We use Reading Plus, but there are many online reading comprehension sites. Use whatever your district provides or what works for your class! Games I will occasionally throw in a review game for the kids to play with their small group. The key is they have to be short and not too loud! Comment below if you have other questions or want to add some advice on running smooth ELA centers with Guided Reading!
In this blog post, you will find a FREE graphic organizer, a read aloud video, bat fact videos, a free printable bat facts sheet, a video about the world's largest bat, directions for a comprehension game, a FREE counting worksheet and more. Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store. --------------------------------- The activities found below go along nicely with this book (found in our Amazon Associate store): Stellaluna Special Edition Hardcover by Janell Cannon , Stellaluna Plush Doll , Activity Booklet, Downloadable Crafts with Activity Kit and Create a Bat Artwork Gift Set Stellaluna Amazon's Review: Baby bat Stellaluna's life is flitting along right on schedule--until an owl attacks her mother one night, knocking the bewildered batlet out of her mother's loving grasp. The tiny bat is lucky enough to land in a nest of baby birds, but her whole world has just turned upside down. Literally. Stellaluna's adoptive bird mom accepts her into her nest, but only on the condition that Stellaluna will act like a bird, not a bat. Soon Stellaluna has learned to behave like a good bird should--she quits hanging by her feet and starts eating bugs. But when she finally has an opportunity to show her bird siblings what life as a bat is like, all of them are confounded. "How can we be so different and feel so much alike?" one asks. "And how can we feel so different and be so much alike?" asks another. "I agree," Stellaluna responds. "But we're friends. And that's a fact." Anyone who has ever been asked to be someone they're not will understand the conflicts--and possibilities--Stellaluna faces. This gorgeously illustrated book is sure to be an all-time favorite with readers, whether they've left the nest or not. FREE Printable Graphic Organizers Parts of a Story (Click the picture to download.) Stellaluna Printable Book Activities https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Promoting-Success --------------------------------------------- Click HERE to purchase our Stellaluna Bundle of teaching resources from our TpT store to save time and money. --------------------------------------------- Click to watch the story read online: --------------------------------------------- An orphan short-tailed fruit bat hand-raised by Bat World Sanctuary. Adorable - This video is great for creative writing! --------------------------------------------- Meet the World's Biggest Bat --------------------------------------------- Click HERE for free facts about bats and rabies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. --------------------------------------------- Click the picture to enlarge and print a FREE dot to dot worksheet. --------------------------------------------- Click the question to play an online Stellaluna reading comprehension game. --------------------------------------------- Bat Paper Sculpture (Click the picture) --------------------------------------------- Bat Finger Puppet --------------------------------------------- A Stellaluna Bat Craft Activity --------------------------------------------- Free Bats Counting Worksheet --------------------------------- Echolocation Song --------------------------------------------- Click the picture for an echolocation game. --------------------------------------------- Echolocation Experiment --------------------------------- What is the difference between bats and birds? Bat vs. Bird Venn Diagram Activity --------------------------------- You may also like these items from our Amazon Associate store: Folkmanis Little Bat Hand Puppet Wild Republic Bat Plush Stuffed Animal Fun Express Halloween Hanging Bats Safari Ltd Incredible Creatures Brown Bat Lina & Lily Halloween Bat Print Infinity Loop Scarf Lightweight Bat Stencils Halloween Party 36 Pieces Decorative Ba ts Wall Decal Annie's Organic Bunnies and Bats 15 Count Fruit Snacks --------------------------------- Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!
Free teaching ideas resources activities games worksheets Kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th grade ESL special education autism teacher blog
Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables. Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store. NOTE: This blog post contains resources from our TpT store and our Amazon Associate store. --------------------------------- How do you teach long division? Personally, I think large graph paper (with a number in each square) works really well and is essential for beginning skills. Here is a free download for you. Click HERE. Graph paper helps students understand the process and keep all numbers aligned. Graph paper also helps with ongoing, formative assessment. It is much easier to analyze errors and repeated patterns when problems are aligned! This leads to more targeted instruction and increased student achievement. --------------------------------- Long Division Song --------------------------------- Daddy, Mother, Sister, Brother Steps to Long Division Video --------------------------------- How to Teach Long Division to Kids --------------------------------- Online Game for Step by Step Division ------------------------------------- More resources from our TpT store: Free Division Task Cards ------------------------------ Free Top 20 Uses for Task Cards ------------------------------ Divisibility Rules Worksheets ------------------------------ Divisibility Rules Printable Posters ------------------------------ Division Strategy Poster ------------------------------ Divisibility Rules Task Cards ------------------------------ Division 2-3 Digits by 1 Digit Task Cards (No Remainders) ------------------------------ Division 2-3 Digits by 1 Digit Task Cards (With Remainders) ------------------------------ Division 4-5 Digits by 1 Digit Task Cards (No Remainders) ------------------------------ Division 4-5 Digits by 1 Digit Task Cards (With Remainders) ------------------------------ Division 3-4 Digits by 2 Digit Task Cards (No Remainders) ------------------------------ Division 3-4 Digits by 2 Digits Task Cards ------------------------------ Division 4-5 Digits by 2 Digits Task Cards (No Remainders) ------------------------------ BLOG POSTS Visit this other blog post for more ideas and freebies: ------------------------------ Visit this blog post for a fun long division song! --------------------------------------- More resources from our Amazon Associate store: LeapFrog Twist and Shout Division ------------------------------ LeapFrog Electronic Flash Magic Flash Cards Multiplication and Division ------------------------------ Multiplication and Division Game ------------------------------ Montessori Division Board --------------------------------------- Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for SECRET SALES and FREE printables. Click HERE to follow us on Instagram. Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest. Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!
The first week anxiety and nerves are real! Help your new students with some beginning of the year team building activities and ice breakers.
Special Education teachers are the masters of data collection! At times, collecting data can be overwhelming, especially when you sometimes have to outsource the collecting to other teachers, specialists, or teaching assistants. Tracking accommodations is necessary to make sure an IEP is being followed and can be helpful in determining which accommodations should be added to or removed from the IEP. Believe it or not, collecting data on accommodations and modifications does not have to consume your life! Share Information Be sure to share vital information with all teachers and assistants that work with your students. I have an accommodations organizer that I organize all of the information of my class. The information is in one place which is helpful for sharing information with assistants, special area teachers, and substitutes. When I first began teaching, I did not bother sharing such information with special area teachers until it was brought to my attention that a student of mine did not complete a test in physical education class. That student had trouble reading and was supposed to have his tests read. The PE teacher was unaware of his accommodations and therefore did not deliver them. I use a special form that reminds me of who needs to be informed of accommodations and modifications at the beginning of the school year and after an IEP annual review. Train Your Team If you have paraprofessionals in your classroom working with students, it is important to train them in how to deliver and how to track accommodations and modifications. Some interventions are more detailed than others. Observe your team while they are working with students and provide feedback as needed. The time you put in to properly train your team to record data the same way you would is so well spent! Use Checklists When I first started teaching, I used to write notes on a post-it that included which accommodations and modifications were used on assignments along with their effectiveness. It was very time consuming and often times, I forgot to add some things. Finally, I came up with a few checklists and forms to help the process. Level of Support One of the forms I use tracks the level of support a student needs from an adult. I use this one to determine the need for a 1:1 teaching assistant. It is useful before adding a TA and to collect data to see if continuing the intervention is a necessity. The adult that works with the student at that time fills it out while working with the student. Accommodations and Modifications Tracker I use this form two ways, depending on what I am collecting data for. As an IEP meeting approaches, I like to review the need for the interventions on the IEP. I can track the types of interventions are needed for different types of assignments and activities. More importantly, I can track the effectiveness of such interventions. I can also cut this tracker apart to staple it onto work samples. The work samples can be to show the Committee on Special Education the student's growth or regression. I also like to send work home with students with the form filled out from time to time so parents can see what kind of help the student needs in order to complete assignments at school. Frequency Tracker Another way I like to track the use of accommodations and modifications needed in school is with a frequency tracker I created. This gives me a quick visual of which interventions are being used and which are not. I focus on this during the weeks before a meeting so I can determine which accommodations and modifications need to remain, be added, or be removed from an IEP. Data collection is so important but it doesn't have to take over your entire life. Once you create a few checklists that fit your classroom or purchase one of the many checklists and charts from my TpT store, you will save yourself a ton of time and will have more data than you've ever had before!
Teaching theme is not an easy task! Not only do students need to have a strong comprehension of the story's elements (like plot, setting, and characters), but they also have to be able to make inferences to find the author's message, since most themes are not overtly stated by the author. So, what are some of my favorite activities for helping kids understand theme? I'll list a number of them here. 1. Make an Anchor Chart Anchor charts are a great way to make learning visual and to have a record that kids can refer to when they need a bit of extra support. Theme may be defined in a number of ways. To me, the theme is the author's message or what he/she wants the reader to take away/learn from the story. It is a BIG idea, with a real-world or universal concern and can be applied to anyone. Besides talking about what a theme is, you'll also want to go over what it isn't. For example, some kids confuse the main idea of the story with its theme. To help students understand the difference, it's helpful to use stories that everyone in the class knows, like previous read alouds or classic stories like The Three Little Pigs. You can take each story and discuss the main idea (what the story was mostly about - specific to the story) vs. the theme (the lesson the author wants the reader to know - not specific to the story), to contrast the two ideas. The second area of confusion for some kids is that the theme is not specific to the characters in the story. In the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, for example. The theme would not be that...A little mouse named Chrysanthemum learned to accept the uniqueness of her name. The theme would be larger than the book and would be something like...It's important to accept oneself. Also, you'll want to explain to your students that often times, a book has multiple themes and there are several answers which work equally well to describe a book's theme. Since theme is very subjective, I tell students that I will accept any answer, as long as they have the text evidence to prove it. For example, in the book, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, one might argue that the theme is about friendship, another might say family, or even courage, or kindness. Any one of these themes would be right, and counted as such, since they each fit the story and could be supported by text evidence. 2. Use Pixar Shorts to Practice Theme Besides the sheer enjoyment which comes from watching these mini-films, your students can learn a lot about reading concepts from these. They're great for ELL students or for struggling readers, and for all readers really since the text complexity piece is removed. You can find these clips on YouTube, but you'll want to make sure to preview them first, so you're more familiar with the plot and are able to focus on theme questions. Here are some of my favorite Pixar Shorts for teaching theme: Piper Partly Cloudy Lava Boundin' 3. Use Mentor Texts Mentor texts are one of my go-to teaching tools as picture books are able to portray examples of just about any reading concept you need to teach. One thing I like to do when using mentor texts for theme, is to vary the types of questions I ask. Rather than always saying What is the theme?, I might ask... What is the deeper meaning of this story? After reading this book, what do you think matters to this author? Which idea from the story do you think might stay with you? What did the author want people to learn from this story?... Once kids answer, you might say, Ah...so that's the theme! Some of my current mentor text favorites for theme include the following: Ish by Peter H. Reynolds I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe Journey by Aaron Becker (a wordless book) Beautiful Oops by Barry Saltzberg The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Pete and Pickles by Berkeley Breathed If you're looking for more titles, I have a FREE Mentor Text List for Literature which includes a page on theme which you can download from my TpT store. 4. Use Posters with Themes to Chart Book Themes I like to choose 8 - 10 common themes and place posters of them in the classroom. These are included in my Theme unit but you could easily make them yourself if you'd like. After we finish a class novel, a read aloud, or a mentor text as part of a mini-lesson, I like to have the kids discuss the theme of the book. Once we decide on the theme, I place a miniaturized copy of the book's cover (about 3 x 3 inches or so) under the correct theme poster. You can also make the posters more interactive by allowing kids to write titles of books they have recently read on sticky notes, under the posters as well. 5. Use Songs to Practice Finding the Theme I love to add music to the classroom whenever possible. Not only does it add instant motivation for some kids, but it is also just good for them in so many ways. There are lots of songs you can use to teach theme, from current pop songs to oldies, rap songs, and country songs. While all of these work well, I especially enjoy using Disney songs. Disney songs are easily recognized for some kids, have catchy, fun tunes, and have lyrics that need no censoring (yay!). You can easily find the lyrics online to project on a smartboard or document projector, and the song clips may be found on YouTube, Here are some of my favorite Disney songs which work well for theme: Hakuna Matata from Lion King Just Keep Swimming from Finding Dory Reflection from Mulan Let it Go from Frozen Something There from Beauty and the Beast A Whole New World from Aladdin 6. Introduce Short Texts Using Task Cards Using task cards for theme gives your students a great deal of practice in a short period of time, which makes them a perfect way to begin to practice finding the theme using text. I love the fact that students can read multiple task card stories and practice finding the theme 20 - 30 times, in the time it might take to read a story and find the theme once. You can do task cards as a center activity, to play Scoot, or as a whole class scavenger hunt. One thing I like to do for the scavenger hunt is to make sure everyone has a partner and to pair stronger readers with struggling readers. 7. Add Some Writing After students have worked on theme for a week or two, I like to have students create their own short stories which show a strong theme, without directly stating it. This changes each student's role from a theme finder, to a theme creator and gives students insight into how authors create a situation that allows a theme to unfold. When I introduce this project, we refer back to the task cards we just completed, as an example of story length and rich content. In a matter of 2 - 3 paragraphs, students learn that they can include enough information to let our readers know our message. After students are finished creating these short stories, it's fun to share them in some way, to give more theme practice. Sometimes I have students meet in small groups to share out, with group members guessing the theme. Other years, I leave a stack on my desk and grab several if we have a few minutes. Either the students or I read the short story out loud, and the class discusses the theme. 8. Move to Passages, Short Stories, and Novels. Once we have scaffolded a great foundation for the understanding of theme, there comes a point where kids have to move on to text which is more challenging. I like to use page-long passages which I have created, before using short stories, and ultimately novels. If you're looking for some ready made materials to help you teach theme, here's a packet I love to use which works well for 4th and 5th Graders. Click here to read more about the Theme unit. Want some more teaching ideas and activities to teach theme? Click here to read Teaching Themes in Literature. If you like this post, make sure to share it with a teacher friend! Thanks so much for stopping by! For more ideas and strategies focused on upper elementary, be sure to sign up for The Teacher Next Door's free email newsletter! Bonus, you'll also gain access to my FREE Resource Library which contains exclusive upper elementary freebies that you won't find anywhere else! I'd love to connect with you! The Teacher Next Door's Website Pinterest Facebook Instagram TpT Store
These human body for kids activities allow children to learn about the heart, muscles, lungs, 5 senses, bones organs, cells, and so much more!
Seems simple, RIGHT? Read a chapter, write a summary… Our students see this a lot, whether it be on our reading assessments, in our own classroom work, or on our state assessments. Bottom line, we want our kids to be proficient (and feel confident) in taking out the important elements from a piece of text,...
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
Teaching theme is not an easy task! Not only do students need to have a strong comprehension of the story's elements (like plot, setting, and characters), but they also have to be able to make inferences to find the author's message, since most themes are not overtly stated by the author. So, what are some of my favorite activities for helping kids understand theme? I'll list a number of them here. 1. Make an Anchor Chart Anchor charts are a great way to make learning visual and to have a record that kids can refer to when they need a bit of extra support. Theme may be defined in a number of ways. To me, the theme is the author's message or what he/she wants the reader to take away/learn from the story. It is a BIG idea, with a real-world or universal concern and can be applied to anyone. Besides talking about what a theme is, you'll also want to go over what it isn't. For example, some kids confuse the main idea of the story with its theme. To help students understand the difference, it's helpful to use stories that everyone in the class knows, like previous read alouds or classic stories like The Three Little Pigs. You can take each story and discuss the main idea (what the story was mostly about - specific to the story) vs. the theme (the lesson the author wants the reader to know - not specific to the story), to contrast the two ideas. The second area of confusion for some kids is that the theme is not specific to the characters in the story. In the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, for example. The theme would not be that...A little mouse named Chrysanthemum learned to accept the uniqueness of her name. The theme would be larger than the book and would be something like...It's important to accept oneself. Also, you'll want to explain to your students that often times, a book has multiple themes and there are several answers which work equally well to describe a book's theme. Since theme is very subjective, I tell students that I will accept any answer, as long as they have the text evidence to prove it. For example, in the book, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, one might argue that the theme is about friendship, another might say family, or even courage, or kindness. Any one of these themes would be right, and counted as such, since they each fit the story and could be supported by text evidence. 2. Use Pixar Shorts to Practice Theme Besides the sheer enjoyment which comes from watching these mini-films, your students can learn a lot about reading concepts from these. They're great for ELL students or for struggling readers, and for all readers really since the text complexity piece is removed. You can find these clips on YouTube, but you'll want to make sure to preview them first, so you're more familiar with the plot and are able to focus on theme questions. Here are some of my favorite Pixar Shorts for teaching theme: Piper Partly Cloudy Lava Boundin' 3. Use Mentor Texts Mentor texts are one of my go-to teaching tools as picture books are able to portray examples of just about any reading concept you need to teach. One thing I like to do when using mentor texts for theme, is to vary the types of questions I ask. Rather than always saying What is the theme?, I might ask... What is the deeper meaning of this story? After reading this book, what do you think matters to this author? Which idea from the story do you think might stay with you? What did the author want people to learn from this story?... Once kids answer, you might say, Ah...so that's the theme! Some of my current mentor text favorites for theme include the following: Ish by Peter H. Reynolds I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe Journey by Aaron Becker (a wordless book) Beautiful Oops by Barry Saltzberg The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Pete and Pickles by Berkeley Breathed If you're looking for more titles, I have a FREE Mentor Text List for Literature which includes a page on theme which you can download from my TpT store. 4. Use Posters with Themes to Chart Book Themes I like to choose 8 - 10 common themes and place posters of them in the classroom. These are included in my Theme unit but you could easily make them yourself if you'd like. After we finish a class novel, a read aloud, or a mentor text as part of a mini-lesson, I like to have the kids discuss the theme of the book. Once we decide on the theme, I place a miniaturized copy of the book's cover (about 3 x 3 inches or so) under the correct theme poster. You can also make the posters more interactive by allowing kids to write titles of books they have recently read on sticky notes, under the posters as well. 5. Use Songs to Practice Finding the Theme I love to add music to the classroom whenever possible. Not only does it add instant motivation for some kids, but it is also just good for them in so many ways. There are lots of songs you can use to teach theme, from current pop songs to oldies, rap songs, and country songs. While all of these work well, I especially enjoy using Disney songs. Disney songs are easily recognized for some kids, have catchy, fun tunes, and have lyrics that need no censoring (yay!). You can easily find the lyrics online to project on a smartboard or document projector, and the song clips may be found on YouTube, Here are some of my favorite Disney songs which work well for theme: Hakuna Matata from Lion King Just Keep Swimming from Finding Dory Reflection from Mulan Let it Go from Frozen Something There from Beauty and the Beast A Whole New World from Aladdin 6. Introduce Short Texts Using Task Cards Using task cards for theme gives your students a great deal of practice in a short period of time, which makes them a perfect way to begin to practice finding the theme using text. I love the fact that students can read multiple task card stories and practice finding the theme 20 - 30 times, in the time it might take to read a story and find the theme once. You can do task cards as a center activity, to play Scoot, or as a whole class scavenger hunt. One thing I like to do for the scavenger hunt is to make sure everyone has a partner and to pair stronger readers with struggling readers. 7. Add Some Writing After students have worked on theme for a week or two, I like to have students create their own short stories which show a strong theme, without directly stating it. This changes each student's role from a theme finder, to a theme creator and gives students insight into how authors create a situation that allows a theme to unfold. When I introduce this project, we refer back to the task cards we just completed, as an example of story length and rich content. In a matter of 2 - 3 paragraphs, students learn that they can include enough information to let our readers know our message. After students are finished creating these short stories, it's fun to share them in some way, to give more theme practice. Sometimes I have students meet in small groups to share out, with group members guessing the theme. Other years, I leave a stack on my desk and grab several if we have a few minutes. Either the students or I read the short story out loud, and the class discusses the theme. 8. Move to Passages, Short Stories, and Novels. Once we have scaffolded a great foundation for the understanding of theme, there comes a point where kids have to move on to text which is more challenging. I like to use page-long passages which I have created, before using short stories, and ultimately novels. If you're looking for some ready made materials to help you teach theme, here's a packet I love to use which works well for 4th and 5th Graders. Click here to read more about the Theme unit. Want some more teaching ideas and activities to teach theme? Click here to read Teaching Themes in Literature. If you like this post, make sure to share it with a teacher friend! Thanks so much for stopping by! 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