Your sixth grade students are ready not just to read young adult novels; they are ready to engage, discuss, and devour good literature.
With so many good books for 6th graders, which are the best choices for your 11 and 12-year-olds in 6th grade? I got you covered. I've read ALL of these books and know what is on grade level and what kids like based on my elementary grades teaching experience and parenting two readers.
Help your students become more empathetic and compassionate with these social emotional learning lessons and activity ideas that are perfect for back to school or for building classroom community any time of the year. Pull out a copy of Each Kindness by Jaqueline Woodson and your students will be re
Looking for inspiration for teaching middle school reading skills? Read on to see how I teach the essential elements in a 6th-grade classroom.
Learn six ways to help reluctant readers gain confidence and improve their reading skills in upper elementary and middle school classrooms.
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
Are you looking for the best read alouds for 6th graders? Find highly recommended 6th grade read aloud book for your 6th graders.
Podcasts in the classroom are so fun and engaging! Have you jumped on the podcast train yet?! I have a great system for using podcasts in the classroom...
Best books for 6th-grade students, classrooms and libraries. These are excellent 6th-grade novels to add to your classroom library or book club collections.
Looking for read alouds for older kids or students? Searching for 6th grade read alouds? Click here for 10 of the best read aloud books for 6th graders!
Your kiddo is going to absolutely devour this summer reading list 6th Grade, 7th and 8th Grade. I know they'll get hooked once they start!
Transform your 6th grade classroom into a hub of creativity and critical thinking! Our 6th grade journal prompts cover a wide range of topics.
Recommended books for summer reading for 6th grade (ages 11-12), including different genres and set in countries around the world.
This post explains how teachers can use an academic version of the highly engaging Spoons game to review concepts. Free games included!
After typing out Elijah's 6th Grade Reading List, I determined to get serious about sharing my other lists. I know there are other moms out there like me who have voracious readers and who want to give their students quality literature. I purposefully saved some of these books for Elijah's 7th grade reading list, even …
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Picking good books can be a challenge, but this 5th grade reading list has TONS of fun-to-read fifth grade books on a handy list for Grade 5.
Learn five great reasons to use versatile reading logs in upper elementary or middle school grades and discover the multiple benefits to your classroom.
Make the most of your reading instruction with these engaging reading comprehension activities for middle school!
Below is my list of the 15 best books for 6th graders. As an ELA teacher, these are my tried-and-true tools for unlocking the reader buried within all of my
Grab your copy of FREE ELA Curriculum Maps grades 6th-8th and save yourself a year's worth of planning! Digital maps with a planner, calendar, and more!
Get your students settled and learning as soon as class starts by using bell ringers for middle school ELA!
Read about six fun activities to help teach the scientific method in your upper elementary classroom.
Hey friends! So I LOVE books and over the last 3-4 years of teaching, I have started to kind of put books into categories based on what I feel or think as I am reading, and always take this into consideration when I pick a read aloud or create a reading unit. I still believe ... Read more
Some days you just need a break from the monotony! Preparing for exams, transitioning to a new unit, days when half your students are gone for a basketball tour
Searching for a books for sixth graders? Check out this post for 25 books of various genres that will satisfy any reader!
This 6th grade reading list will help you choose books for your child. Also, there's a FREE lesson or novel study for each book on the list!
Our 6th grade reading list for homeschool - includes books for literature and learning fun.
How I implement and run guided reading and small group in my middle school and upper elementary ELA classrooms
Need to know how to help students write summaries? These lesson ideas and summarizing ideas and tips for the upper elementary classroom will help you teach summarizing and help your students write summaries as they read.
50+ Favorite Books for 6th Grade from 6th Graders including my daughter and her friends. They are reading everything from adult to fantasy.
Looking to find a book for 6th grade boy? Check out this post for 10 awesome and varied books your sixth grader will love!
Novel Study | Close Reading Novels | Novel Analysis
First days of school can be stressful. There's an insane amount of pressure to make a great first impression. The administration wants you to go over the handbook of rules for the district. There's tons of forms that need to be filled out. You need to learn their names and it's hard because half the names don't match your class list. His name is Samuel but he goes by S.J. Her name on your roll says Mary, but she goes by Mary Beth. You want to start off the year on the right note regarding procedures and expectations, but you also want it to be a little bit fun, too. Yes, it can be complicated to plan out the first day. My first day was absolutely fantastic. Yes, I learned names. Yes, I went over the handbook. Yes, I went over forms. But we also did some quick exciting things that started us out on the right foot. In no particular order, here is what made my first day FANTASTIC. 1. I let my students collaborate on a story. I started a story on the whiteboard and each student could only add four words to the story. It ended up being hilarious and making ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE but no one cared. It was fun. They worked as a family. 2. That bring me to my next point--we don't call our classes, um, classes. Or homerooms. We call them families. So I have Mrs. Johnson's Family for my 1st period class and Mrs. Anderson's Family for my second period class. (Homeroom teacher names were changed for this post.) You get the idea. And it really does reinforce this idea that we need to work together like a family should. 3. I embraced and addressed my students' biggest fear. Each teacher has his/her students coming to the room with a big fear. Go ahead and address it. Since I'm the first year of middle school, the big fear is the locker. Will I ever get into it? Will I have enough time to get everything out of it? My students can't begin to learn procedures until we address the locker issue. Once they feel confident with their locker, they are ready to learn procedures. So, what did I do? I lined up my wonderful parents to come work with my students one-on-one the very first day of school on their locker. And it was the best thing for that first day. Address your students' fears with a solution. Don't think, "Oh I need to teach procedures! I'll help them with that later on in the week." No. Their Big Fear is ALL THEY CAN THINK ABOUT. Fix the fear, then they can face all the procedures and rules head on! 4. If you know me, you know that I ABSOLUTELY DETEST GETTING TO KNOW YOU GAMES. Why do I have to name a fact about myself that starts with a J just because my first name is Jordyn? Nothing starts with a J that I like! I hate jelly beans. I'm ok with jolly ranchers but they aren't anything special. I. HATE. GETTING. TO. KNOW. YOU. GAMES. I think I've made my point clear. Soooooo---what did I do to get to know them? I made a statement and pointed to two sides of the room. The students moved to the side of the room for their answer. Examples: 1. Team Cat or Team Dog 2. Would you rather travel every day or never leave home? 3. Team Math/Science or Team Language Arts? 4. Alabama or Auburn? (I live in Alabama, so this is a big deal around here. Feel free to change to whatever sports teams works for you. And by the way, the correct answer to me is the side of the room that was yelling WAR EAGLE!) We didn't do this as one big activity. I broke up the reading of the district handbook by doing a couple of these, then back to the handbook, then a couple more of these, then back to the handbook, a couple more of these, then going over forms. THEY LOVED THIS ACTIVITY! It didn't force the quiet kids to talk, but they did participate by moving. It let the other ones announce why they were on that side. It was just a great icebreaker for those of us who are anti-icebreaker. --->Do you need a GETTING TO KNOW YOU ACTIVITY perfect for the first few days? (And not icebreaker questions that tweens dislike---actually questions they enjoy answering!)
Novel Studies that Promote Higher-Order Thinking If you read my Wonder post, you know that there is a great way to incorporate novel studies into your literacy classroom! No, not your traditional comprehension question and vocabulary
Are you homeschooling 6th grade? Today, I am sharing some of our favorite homeschool resources to use with 6th graders. I hope you find something that your 6th grader will love! Sixth Grade H…
What are the best 6th grade books to read for summer that will keep your 6th grader (age 11-12) reading all summer long? The best way...
Clever ideas for kids' book reports, from mint tins to cereal boxes to a Wanted poster.
SUPERQUICK literature centers in the 6th grade ELA classroom Why I use literature centers in my 6th grade language arts classroom I need a way to reteach important concepts all through the year Students need a way to work on extension activities without much teacher input When I need to spend time working with a small group of
Searching for a books for sixth graders? Check out this post for 25 books of various genres that will satisfy any reader!
Teaching split grade classes is not an easy feat. Read this list of strategies for teachers to consider when teaching split grade classes.
