Differentiated instruction allows students to feel respected and builds confidence in the classroom. View easy to use strategies to help make differentiated learning work in your classroom.

I've got a little Secret Code Spelling sheet here. I have the students write each spelling word then draw the picture for each letter next to the word to make a code. I use this as a Word Work center, but if you need a time filler - or something for your sub plans, this sheet could be put under the document camera and done whole group with the spelling list for the week. For a variation, you can have the kids mix up their spelling words and write the code only, then give it to a classmate to "break the code". Not matter how you do it, my students like this one:) Click on the picture to go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and download this for FREE. While you are at my store, check out some of my new and best selling products including: My Original Writing Center - My best selling product! Don't miss this STEAL: Sight Word Mega Bundle Read It, Build It, Write ItAll 220 Dolch Sight Words Included Reader's Toolbox of Reading Strategies Sight Words Superhero: Everything You Need to Motivate and Reward Sight Word Recognition Sight Words Superhero Add-On Pack: 130 Pages of Sight Word Games and Activities! And MUCH more - click here to see more great products! And, don't forget to follow my store to get a free kit each month!!! Past "Follower Freebies" include" Click here to see how to get free kits each month: Mrs. Gilchrist's Follower Freebies

There is a Level 1 which is MUCH easier- students write in ONE letter to play for each beat of rhythmic values. Level 2 students have to write (and practice) playing different notes for EACH rhythmic value- much harder. It's a great way to differentiate for your "superstars".

Executed well, student-centered instructional methods can disarm some of the more intimidating parts of academia.

Students benefit from hands-on activities to help boost their conceptual understanding of math. This focuses on measuring liquid volume.

This post shares a list of free literacy apps for elementary students that can be used for different ELA concepts + a FREE Google resource.

complex sentences lesson ideas

Figurative language can be tricky to teach, because some students tend to take things so literally! This fun and engaging unit includes figurative language worksheets, posters, activities, and more to help teach and review similes, metaphors, hyperbole, idioms, etc. in an exciting way. Click on the PREVIEW button above to see everything included! Test drive this complete unit with the FREE figurative language worksheet. Click HERE to save 20% by buying the bundle, which includes Figurative Language, Author's Purpose, and Theme in Literature. This fun and engaging resource includes: Figurative Language Posters (color & b/w) Word Wall Headers (color & b/w) Student Notebook Reference Cards (color & b/w) Worksheets Activities Interactive Notebook Foldable Answer Keys Figurative Language Definitions and Examples for: simile metaphor alliteration hyperbole personification onomatopoeia idiom All activities, printables, and worksheets are very easy to use! Simply print and use in your classrooms. I suggest laminating the posters and word wall headers for longer use. This packet is perfect for: Skills Review Skills Mastery Test Prep Sub Plans Small Groups Intervention Early Finishers ELA Centers Homework Morning Work Independent Work Don't forget that leaving feedback earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases. I love that feedback! Also, FOLLOW ME and be notified when new products are uploaded. New products are always 50% off for the first 24 hours they are posted. It pays to follow me! As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thanks! Shelly Rees

Our principal has really been encouraging us to add more writing into our daily lesson plans. "They should be writing all day long" he tells us. The research is there to back him up. I bumped into this Roll and Retell page from Fun In First on Pinterest awhile back and finally figured out how to add it to our learning day. I printed and laminated four copies of the Roll and Retell page to hand out to each of my four table groups. After a round of Daily 5 I handed them out. I also gave each table one die. Each student at the table took turns rolling the die and then answering the question based on the number they rolled. They each used the individual book they were reading to answer the questions. I felt like it would be a great advertisement for new books for each child to read when they were done with the one they were working on. I also knew it would be great oral practice BEFORE they started writing. Once they had a chance to talk about what they were going to write, I set the timer for 5 minutes and let them write. Then we shared our responses. Here are a few of their responses. I had so much success with this activity with my students, that I created versions that cover the standards for 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. There are 6 different Roll and Respond Sheets that cover all of the Second Grade ELA Common Core Standards for both literary and informational text. There are 5 different Roll and Respond Sheets that cover all of the Third Grade ELA Common Core Standards for both literary and informational text. There are 7 different Roll and Respond Sheets that cover all of the Fourth Grade ELA Common Core Standards for both literary and informational text. Before you go, head on over to our giveaway page to enter our current giveaway! Every week one lucky winner gets a $25 Teachers pay Teachers gift card! Dr. Susan Hall, literacy leader and founder of 95 Percent Group, mentions this Roll and Retell Activity as a Reading Comprehension Game that Students Will Want to Play Over and Over! Check it out for the other ideas there as well! What have you tried in your classroom lately? Link up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday and share! This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love. I would love to hear from you! ❤️ Have a question? Idea for a resource you might find helpful? Be so kind and leave a comment below.

Find powerful point of view teaching activities and ideas including strong books and anchor charts to strengthen students' understanding.

How do you choose the spelling words you want to use in your weekly spelling activities?

Are your students reluctant to learn multiplication? Do you find that your students are struggling to understand the basics? I’ve watched far too many kids walk through the door of my class…

I've seen several posts on FB pages about what to do at the end of the year. If you've been here before you know I started a tradition a few years ago singing camp songs. Picture on bottom is kids reaction when we get ready to start camp songs! They are the PERFECT finish *ta da* at the end of the year. It keeps the kids singing, clapping, and they are just plain FUN!! This is a previous post I had that has several including tons of variations to "A Sailor Went to Sea" that my kids can't get enough of! This is the expression I usually see when I tell them it's time for Camp Songs! In addition to these my students also love: "Highland Gates" from the Amidons book Down in the Valley- get the book.. you won't regret it!! http://www.dancingmasters.com/store/books-cds-dvds/down-in-the-valley I use this with First Grade on up through about third. Jump Jim Joe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1m-DIa5QTA GREAT for littles- PreK/ Kinder/First Grade And I see this from the older kids when we are doing camp songs: Sashay the Donut also from the Amidons book of the same name (grades 3 and up) They LOVE this one!! These are some of the youtube videos I watched to learn how to sing/perform the songs and chants and then personalized them. I don't use these with the kids. We actually put a crackling fire on the screen to watch and turn the lights out so we have a campfire atmosphere. Wisconsin Milk is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mr0ccX7RCc Mac n Cheese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV46eduDyTY Go Bananas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFXitbTQ0-E Ricky Ticky Toomba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCmvCJU6v6E&list=PL9738E2086220EEBA&index=4 Tarzan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w1aREkMnwY&list=PL9738E2086220EEBA&index=8 Herman the Worm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCgwV-iI80E&list=PL9738E2086220EEBA&index=9 Singing in the Rain also called Chili Bop: (LOVE this one!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bbHVrtx0Ow Pizza Hut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ctjeZD0c0A Humpty Dumpty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYY7JHl_nFw HYSTERICAL! instead of the pelvic thrust on "huh" I have the kids clap and jump as high as they can go. Found a Peanut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOh6tnceO3Q Froggy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VoLaQV8aE8 Baby Shark: MUST DO!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da2IgWbkvI0 Start at 1:15 And a couple more: Have fun and keep the music going until the bitter (or sweet) end!

Hello darlings! Just a few more days until I leave 3 Teacher Chick and launch my new blog That Teaching Spark. The blog still looks yucky and I am just waiting on the designer for some finishing touches! She has been awesome! Make sure to check back for some amazing gift card giveaways, TPT Product giveaways, and crafty giveaways! This post is an overview of the Word Study Program I use in third grade. Stick with me though, because you could do the same thing in your classroom, you just need some word lists. These pics will take you through the program step by step. It is a mash up of Words Their Way, Fountas and Pinnell, and Beth Newingham. Click the pic to get the entire program from my store! Wow! You stuck with me this far! You deserve a freebie! What program have you been using? Is it differentiated? Amy

Hello Everyone! Hope you're having a joyfilled day!! I wanted to share my "Me and My Community" social studies mini unit with you. If you are one of my kiddos reading this, have mom or dad print it off for you and get busy!! :) We've done many of these activities already, but it is still a great summer time filler! The unit contains 30 pages of poems, drawing and writing activities, anchor chart activities, a mini book for kids to make, citizenship, community workers, map skill activities, and much more. I have loved having time to organize it. Don't you love summer for just that reason? Here are a few pics of what is included! Unit contains three poems An 8 page mini book for kids to make Our "Me on the Map" anchor chart Craft Connection Inspired by finallyinfirst.blogspot.com :)  Mini poster  "What will you be?" anchor sample- unit contains all 4 cardinal directions and a compas rose Since you are part of my community, here's your free 30 page printable unit. Click Here! Hope you can use a least a bit of this!! I can't wait to use it again this fall!! Have a great rest of the day! Joyfully! Nancy

Give your child practice with his sentence building skills with this printable worksheet that's all about capital letters.

Contractions are great for writing words shorter to save some time. But there is some confusion when students shorten the words. Contract means to make smaller. Students contract two words into one small word. This is what students need to remember about contractions: The first words always stays the same (except for the word; will not, won't). The apostrophe goes where the letters come out. I have a Free Contractions Bingo game to practice reading and writing contractions. This 2-Player game has students matching the two words that make a contraction to the contraction word on their bingo board. The first player to make a bingo is the winner! All you need to play are the Bingo Boards and Contraction Cards. Click the picture for your free download! Place the Contractions Bingo Game in you center rotations or use during small group time. Play after teaching or reviewing contractions. Feel free to send home for homework to play with a family member. Place the Contraction Cards and some writing paper at a Writing Center. Students use the cards to write sentences using the contraction word. Check students for understanding. It helps to remember the first word stays the same and the apostrophe replaces the letters that come out. The only time this rule doesn't apply is for the contraction word, will not - won't. Try this pack of Contraction Task Cards. It includes 3 centers. The first center has 40 task cards that students choose from multiple choice answers to find the correct contraction. The second center has 36 task cards. Each task card has a contraction. The students write the two words that make up the contraction. The third center has 36 task cards. Each task card the two words that make up the contraction. Students write the contraction that make up the the two words. This pack will keep your students sharp on reading and writing contractions all year long. Here are some resources you may need when teaching contractions. I linked them to Amazon to make it easy for you: Contraction Puzzles Contraction Chart If You Were a Contraction - book Thanks for stopping by today! See you soon, Check out more GRAMMAR activities by Teacher's Take-Out:

Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...

Learn how to use a scoring rubric in addition to a sample rubric that you can print. It's an organized way for teachers to assess their students' work.

I have used the reading workshop model for about 8 years now. It has changed a lot over the years! One thing that has stayed the same is the ‘Respond to Text’ station. This is a time where students get to write about their reading. The station stays the same all year, but the activities in the station change. Below is a list of activities you can add to your ‘Respond to Text’ station at the beginning of the year. 1. Bookmark Book Report At the beginning of the year, some students struggle to finish chapter books. I find that this bookmark book report helps them stay engaged in their reading. The students keep track of the pages they read, and complete activities as they read their book. There is a fiction and nonfiction version available for download. 2. Text Structures Tri-fold Students can use this trifold to ‘hunt’ for different text structures. Just put a basket of nonfiction books at the station and you are set! It’s a great way to get them reading nonfiction books. 3. Choice Board Students get to choose what activities they’d like to complete. This is great because it can be used for the story of the week (if you follow a basal) or the chapter book they are currently reading. You can have the students glue this page inside their reading notebook, or have them staple their responses to this sheet and turn in. Download the Printables: Click here to download the bookmark book report. Click here to download the text structures trifold and choice board. Add editing tasks to your reading workshop block! Math Resources: 1st Grade Tri-Folds 2nd Grade Tri-Folds 3rd Grade Tri-Folds 4th Grade Tri-Folds 5th Grade Tri-Folds Thanks for reading! I hope you will find these printable helpful :) Visit my blog @ Learning With Mrs S. Visit my TPT Store Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on Facebook :)

Ah! Does anyone else get excited when the ALA announces the Newberry and Caldecott winners each year? I do! I've never participated in a Mock Caldecott or anything mainly because I'd just rather read the winner or winners--depending on how busy my book situation is ha! You can get a copy here! Here's the rundown on this years book: Jordan, a smart kid with crazy artistic talent, his going to be the new kid at a fancy private school. Yikes! It's always hard being the new kid. He is paired up with a friend to show him around and during his first day finds himself with Andy, not the nicest kid in school. Because he is quick on his feet, Jordan finds a nice friend group. Now while this is a surface skim summary, Jordan and his friend ___ struggle with the fact that teachers can never remember their names and assume their athletic abilities based on their skin color. There are in's and out's and up's and down's but the book portrays what it's like to be a regular African American kid in a rich white school. This year's Newberry Award Winner is New Kid by Jerry Craft and every page of this book eye catching and awesome! It is definitely worth reading. I am so glad that they chose this graphic novel (!!! what! what!) and I love the story. The main things that I love about this book is that they are 1. SO FUNNY--so of course you are going to keep reading 2. Relatable--Jordan (the main character goes through so many 3. SO much DISCUSSION--this book is jam packed with things that need to be discussed in today's classrooms. I also spotted this at the book fair--so keep your eye out for New Kid--it's completely worth it and your students will love reading this Newberry book!

Summary writing is a vital skill, which any English Language Arts student should acquire; learning to summarize will help them learn to analyze what they read, write concisely and paraphrase. This lesson will work well as part of a larger writing unit, or when studying writing. However, it would als...

Teaching morphology can be a great way to help students with understanding unknown words, decoding multisyllabic words, and spelling.

Geometry can be a lot of fun OR it can be really confusing. This post shares 10 ways to review attributes of geometric shapes to make it fun!

Each Monday we collaborate with our building's new and Dual Language staff members for a professional development session based on what they highlight as their needs and/or desires for learning! This week we focused on Daily 5 ideas as all of our staff are currently working hard to get their stations and guided reading up and running! The teachers who attending the session came up with a variety of wonderful ideas and activities that could potentially be used throughout the year in these work stations. I thought some of you may enjoy taking a gander at what they came up with as well! Just a little background... we utilized a strategy many of you may be familiar with called "Round Robin" to gather ideas during our meeting. The staff were given the anchor charts with only the titles and asked to add any activity ideas they were doing, would like to do, etc. based on the title on their paper. We gave each group 1 minute to brainstorm and write their ideas, and then they were asked to pass the poster to the next group. We continued to do this until all posters had made it to all groups. This is a great strategy that you could use with your students as well to assess their background knowledge and/or learning of concepts. You could even do it at the beginning of the year to see what activities they already know and enjoy doing during Daily 5 if they are familiar with it from the year past! This may give you some insight as to what they may want to do in your classroom as well! Alright now onto the posters...keep in mind these were quickly written by our staff and we discussed them a bit after as well, so not everything may make perfect sense! But feel free to ask questions in the comments if you have any and I would be happy to try my best to answer! After our meeting, I also took some time to type up all of their ideas onto one page for them to hold on to and refer to throughout the year. You are welcome to a copy if you'd like- just click on the image below :)! (Graphics: Scrappin Doodles, Priscilla Concepcion)

Jenga game cards are easily my favorite way to teach and reinforce basic math fact, phonics, or grammar practice.

Help your primary grade students explore, learn, and write about landforms. See our hands-on landforms activities plus our culminating writing project!

Free Consonant Digraphs Posters for immediate download and print. Laminate and hang these in your classroom or homeroom setting for great visuals.

Jenga game cards are easily my favorite way to teach and reinforce basic math fact, phonics, or grammar practice.

Practice, review and assess student understanding of man-made and natural resources (and renewable and non-renewable resources) with this easy sort. great as a review or center work! 2 versions available for easy differentiating. NEWLY INCLUDED: Digital version of the sort as a drag and drop google slide activity. Smaller sort: Renewable vs Non-renewable resources, and an 8 question multiple choice review! Thanks! Check out these other natural resource products! Renewable or Nonrenewable Resources Sort Review, Assess, Center How are Natural Resources used? (renewable & non-renewable) Sort, Center

Hello Everyone! What a great day to start a study on clouds!! Dark clouds this morning releasing a deluge of rain! By 1:00 beautiful clear sky with just a few cirrus clouds! Perfect example of our ever changing skies. I'll share our Cloud Unit in a second, but first I wanted to show some pics of our whole group math lesson. We are continuing our study of place value. After all the activities we did last week, it was time to see how all of this fits in relationship to other numbers. I pulled out our bigger than life 100 board and handed out some mystery picture clues. Each clue described a number in place value (tens and ones). The kids took turns putting their cards on the number for which their clue stood. When we finished putting all the clues down, a cloud was revealed! Use your imagination! It looks like a cloud, right??? The kids loved working together to create it!! I'm not even sure they realized they were growing their number sense!!! I did put together a little integrated cloud unit. We are going to try to get most of this in this week!! The unit also includes some poetry, another science activity and more!! You can get it if you click HERE!! Stay tuned for more cloud fun later in the week! Until then, have a wonderful week!! Thanks for stopping by for a peek!! Joyfully! Nancy

Help your students understand division vocabulary with these simple tricks that are sure to help them understand the parts and grab a freebie!

Check out these fun teaching materials for teaching comma rules to upper elementary including an anchor chart, videos, and graphic organizer.

Students come to us on all different levels, which can be a challenge- 3 great ideas on how to teach a mutli-level class.

Looking for some lesson plans ideas for dialogue, imagery or point of view? Then this post is for you!

With my small group pull-out sessions limited to half-hour increments, I'm always looking for quick, engaging reading and writing activities to reinforce literacy skills. I used to think dice games were only for teaching math and probability, but I'm starting to discover that there are ENDLESS possibilities for using dice with literacy. Are you looking for a few ideas? Well... let's shake and roll! 3 Roll-a-Dice Activities for Reading & Writing My roll-a-dice resource collection continues to grow, but here are a few resources that I've added to my literacy toolbox that may be perfect for your students. 1. Roll-a-Story