Getting started with book clubs-made easy! Set routines that will ensure your book clubs will run smoothly through the year.

Finding great chapter books for 2nd graders can be a challenge. You want to make sure your students have books at their reading level, but you also want to make sure they've got a good selection of books that will hold their interest. That's why I created this book list for 2nd graders. 20 Awesome 2nd Grade

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown opens up a whole new world with themes of friendship, family, motherhood, nature vs. technology, bullying, helping others, and more. Dive deep into exploring these…

I really love to teach guided reading groups. It is always interesting and you really get to see how every student is unique in how they learn and process all the information. I like to see them make progress and move up reading levels and also REALLY comprehend what they are reading on another level. Amazing. I know many teachers may have struggled with this question before like I have...What do I do with those high readers? In second grade they are just not quite ready to start literature circles, but the daily small group guided reading is too slow and boring for them. I try to do something in between. I still want to meet with them to make sure we aren't missing an important piece of their reading instruction, but I also want them to become independent and really connect with their reading. Here are a few ideas that I have used for those readers that are really ready to move beyond the small group guided reading. I create a reading passport for these students. We put their picture on the front. Every time they finish a book, they add the title to their passport. In the passport, they can keep track of how many fiction and nonfiction books they read. This passport can be used for all levels! Reading Passport I meet with the group to introduce their book and have the discussions about predictions, unusual vocabulary, and any connections we might have. Then they go on their own to read as a group to the assigned chapter and complete a portion of their Book Club Notes. We always discuss ahead of time what the expectation is and what portion of the notes I will be looking for at our next meeting. They love the independence and take this very seriously! Book Club Notes I also like to provide something more for some of my other groups that are working above level, but not ready for this much independence. I just continue with our regular guided reading groups, but have them use a small bookmark to add their thinking and summarizing. I have a fiction or nonficiton bookmark. I add this to their book bag and they complete a portion at a time and bring it back to group for our discussions. Reading Groups Book Mark (Fiction) Reading Groups Bookmark (nonfiction) Sometimes I need a few reminders about asking those higher order thinking questions...for all my groups! I like to keep this list of question starters in my guided reading binder to help me remember to push them to think about their thinking! Higher Order Thinking Questions I can't wait to really get to work in my guided reading groups! 

Looking for ways to make your next book club meeting pop? This collection of fun activities will make sure everyone has a great time!

Free International Dot Day Activity (Creativity Challenges) Teachers, are you looking for some free resources for International Dot Day? Dot Day takes place on September 15th. The inspiration for the day comes from the book, The Dot , by Peter H. Reynolds. In the story, the main charac

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.

The Indian and the Cupboard Lesson and Activities. Comprehensive curriculum for The Indian and the Cuboard for third and fourth grade unit

“We’ve always taught that novel.” “The lesson plans and activities for that novel are already prepared.” “I love teaching that book!” “We have enough copies of the book for all our classes.” “It’s …

Load up your Character Education Perseverance month with this bundle of activities, lessons, bulletins, charts and more!

Need Wonder activities for your classroom or home school Wonder teaching resources? We have Wonder lesson plans, Wonder worksheets, and more ideas for book projects, kindness activities for middle school, and diversity lessons to make a great study unit for students using both the novel by RJ Palacio and teaching with movies (including the popular precepts project!).

Find the latest teaching resources and ideas for the elementary and middle school classroom. Interactive notebooks, classroom management, and more

Whether you're teaching in a classroom or a busy homeschool mom, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Whether you have a question about how to support learners with behavior needs, where to find the best games to practice math facts, or just need some great book recommendations, I've got you covered.

Storytelling activities not only build imagination and creativity, but they can be a beneficial learning tool too! Great for the classroom.

These STEAM activities are perfect for homeschool classes or co-ops. Put science, technology, engineering, and math into hands-on homeschool STEM learning.

Clever ideas for kids' book reports, from mint tins to cereal boxes to a Wanted poster.

Need Wonder activities for your classroom or home school Wonder teaching resources? We have Wonder lesson plans, Wonder worksheets, and more ideas for book projects, kindness activities for middle school, and diversity lessons to make a great study unit for students using both the novel by RJ Palacio and teaching with movies (including the popular precepts project!).

Nonfiction, graphic novels, diverse options, mysteries—they're all here!

Hyperboles Language Arts Classroom Poster. Created by The Writing Doctor. Visit "The Write Prescription" dot com.

Check out these teaching ideas for your novel study of Refugee by Alan Gratz. Be sure to grab the unit sample and character trait activity.

Huge collection of plays for kids and teens. Great for young audiences and school performances. Easy PDF downloadable play scripts.

Simon and I recently finished reading Charlotte’s Web together (meaning I read a bit of it to him every night before bed). We both really enjoyed it. My older

This FREE handout is a great activity for warm-ups or even early finishers. This handout was inspired by the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg. Here is the BLANK version. This is a good opti…

Hi! It's Nicole from Learning Lab here to talk about some alternative book projects your students can complete after reading novels and other books. Before that, I want to share my newest little love, Tessa. She was born on October 21. She has a very mild manner but still has her nights and days mixed up. Her older siblings absolutely adore her. Now that you got a little baby fix, back to book projects! My students complained a lot last year about boring book reports. The ones that came with our reading program were terrible so I set out over the summer to create some exciting and fun alternative book projects. These book project ideas are a break from the traditional book report and can be used with any book! This one is pretty self-explanatory. The students can write a letter to the author. Depending on whether the author is alive or not, you students could actually mail their letter out! Wouldn't it be wonderful if they got a reply?!? All kids watch a lot of movies. They're exposed to movie posters every time they set foot in a mall or theater. The creativity you will see when they create a movie poster for the book they just read can be amazing! What kid doesn't love Diary of a Wimpy Kid or any other graphic novel? They're going to love creating their own comic strip using details from the book they just read even more! This is their chance to be honest about the book they just read. They can even give it a 5-star rating if they totally loved it! Timelines help kids practice sequencing and retelling. Timelines also have less writing and are more visual which is perfect for some of your kiddos! Your artistic kids will love redesigning the book cover. The catch is that they also have to rewrite the short summary on the back of the book too! Here is another visual project that will pull some of your readers right in! Imagine being able to see all of the places from your book on a map! Every book has a juicy part fit for the front page of a newspaper. Here is a chance for your kids to write an article retelling a specific event. Your kids will get a kick out of "interviewing" their favorite character. First, they will need to come up with some questions and then they'll need to answer them from the character's point of view. I find that when you add technology to just about anything, kids will gravitate towards it. I am sure they will love putting together a PowerPoint presentation all about the book they just read. What other book projects do you like to use with your students? I would love to hear your ideas! If you want to try alternative book projects in your classroom, I have expanded on these ideas and created directions sheets for each project for my students. Each project includes the task and the plan with detailed directions including "must haves" and "may haves". There is also a Do Not Forget section that give little reminders to keep your kids on track. I have also included two versions of a log to keep track of which projects your students have completed. The first one gives them choice and they just log their choice. The second one lists each project and the student has to complete each project once before repeating a choice. Do you use interactive notebooks in your classroom? No worries! I have reduced the size of each page so that it fits right into an interactive notebook! Thanks for stopping by! If you want to read more about how I use interactive notebooks with Read180 and pick up a freebie, you should check out this blog post. See you next month!

Check out these fun activities from Award Winning Author/Illustrator Jarett Lerner to do at home or in the classsroom. Includes comics, drawing, and more.

This week the movie Wonder released on DVD + Bluray. To celebrate I'm giving away two copies to two lucky readers. Plus, download these free printable Wonder activity sheets. Based on the New York Times

So weve got a bunch of kids, right? They all love different kinds of stories - some are all about adventures, while some cant get enough of those fairy tales.

The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…

Book reports and summaries are a thing of the past. Engage your middle and high school students with five book report alternatives that will leave them asking for more and, most importantly, building vital reading and analysis skills along the way. 1. Assign one pagers at the end of a novel. One pagers are engaging, allow for creativity, and lead to higher level thinking and analysis. Assigning a one pager is easy and works for any novel. Follow these simple guidelines: • Make it standards base

Just in time for the March 9 movie release!

Create meaningful and successful classroom book clubs in middle and high school by setting expectations and designing a practical schedule.

Getting kids excited about annotating text is a challenge. Using SNOTS not only helps students annotate text, it's engaging and fun.

With so many good options, what are the best read aloud books for 5th grade? These books will make great choices for your readers.

Although Jenga is a fun game and unites a group of people together through play, there are many benefits to the game that you may not be aware of. Jenga encourages patience, cognitive development, and hand-eye coordination. Putting a spin on the game, we've compiled 20 unique ways to play and listed them below for your gaming pleasure! From discussing emotions, working some exercise into your day, and even reviewing work previously taught- we've got all the best ideas!