Teaching prose, drama, and poetry is quick and easy. Your third and fourth grade students just need a little vocabulary and practice.
I am linking up with Sabra from Teaching with a Touch of Twang for a book study on Word Nerds! I am absolutely LOVING this book and all the amazing ideas for helping our students appreciate words!! Check out the link ups for the other chapters if you haven't yet: Chapter One: What's the Big Deal About Vocabulary Instruction? Chapter Two: Classrooms the Foster Word Confidence Chapter Three: Making Introductions Chapter Four: Squeezing the Juicy Words-Adding Synonyms and Antonyms I am posting about Chapter Five: Active Vocabulary Practice today. Chapter five is filled with many ways for students to practice vocabulary in both the whole group and small group or independent settings. In this chapter the authors state, "One step of the instructional model is practicing new words in a variety of settings. Our students love to act, draw, sing, and talk, and they thrive when they are engaged in active learning. We rotate different types of practice activities during each vocabulary cycle..." As I was reading the various whole group and small group/independent vocabulary activities, there were some new activities I had never heard of and variations of strategies I have tried in my class. I wanted a way to remember all of their suggestions, so I made this reference guide to refer to quickly when lesson planning. You can download it here for FREE! This really sums up chapter five. I hope you find this reference useful and enjoy trying a new way to provide active vocabulary practice in your classroom! Next, I am linking up with Kristen from iTeach 1:1 and Aylin and Amanda from Daily Learning to the Core for their Technology Linky party! This week's topic is all about iPads. I had one iPad to use with my class this year (better than none!) and I just started to get my feet wet with some apps and ways to incorporate the one iPad with my students. I have a pinterest board filling up with all the ideas I need to sift through this summer for the iPad. This post by Stephanie at 3rd Grade Thoughts was a great starting point for me in incorporating iPads in math independent practice morning work time. With just one iPad available this year, (next year I am supposed to be getting three more!) I kept a schedule where I rotated the iPad use during math independent morning work time and during ELA Daily 5 (well, 4) rotations for word work. I also used it during math intervention time with a few apps. I was intrigued by this post of a Dewey Document Camera Stand also by 3rd Grade Thoughts and it is on my wish list. My favorite blog post about my iPad was when I blogged about using the iPad as a checkout system for my classroom library here. I can't wait to see how the iPad will enhance our classroom learning environment this year! Finally, I am so excited to announce the winner of my Birthday/Blogiversary giveaway! The response was overwhelming and I am so thankful for all your support!!! I learn something new every day from this wonderful, supportive blogging world! And...the winner is...Debby D.!! Check your email:)
I have so much to share with you about writing interventions, but first things first: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW BLOG DESIGN?!?!? Please share your thoughts! Every year, I meet lots of middle schoolers who struggle with writing. And every year, I play around with lots of different interventions to meet their needs. Last year, I made establishing sound writing interventions one of my big goals. I spent lots of time (and money!!) on resources that I could use, and by about March, I had something that I thought I was pretty happy with. This year, I'm starting off with those interventions that worked so well last year and I couldn't be happier with the results! In fact, I'm so pleased with how they are working, I feel confident enough to share my practice with my blog readers. I can say that these are definitely KID TESTED, TEACHER APPROVED!! Creating a Time and Space for Intervention within your Classroom I teach by myself. There are no aides, special ed teachers, BSI teachers... just little, ol' me! So, when I want to create and manage small groups, I'm on my own. This is hard. It would be so much easier if there was another adult in the room to help, but there is not, so I just have to deal! It's work, but it absolutely can be done! A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Power of Bell-Ringers. Establishing a quiet and smooth transition into writing class is a great way to get started, but it also provides me with a window of time where I can pull a small group! By mid-October, my bell-ringer time gets extended to 15 minutes. The kids get started immediately and are clear on the expectations during this time. Now the environment for working with small groups is set: the room is quiet and engaged, allowing me to focus my time on the handful of kids in my group. I pull my kids to a table that I have set up in front of our classroom library. I have a "teacher station" at one end where I do my instruction. I usually stream some jazz or piano music during this time so my group doesn't distract the rest of the class. Establishing Interventions In my district, by middle school, there are no longer district-mandated interventions in place. There are no clear resources for teachers to use or personnel to help. So, when we have a struggling reader or writer in 7th or 8th grade, it's the job of the classroom teacher to meet their needs. In my tenure of working with middle schoolers, I've found that there are two types of students who need more support than my writing curriculum provides (and please remember... I am not a researcher/specialist/writer of books/etc. I'm just a teacher, like you, who loves my job, tries to do the best by my kids, and is compulsively reflective about what I see happening... to me, teachers are the best EXPERTS, but I know that we are hesitant these days to trust a "lowly" teacher and rather find ourselves relying on big publishers and educational researchers to show us best practices... I don't have lots of "data" to support what I'm sharing with you... just my actual observations I've made while working with real, live kids in an average classroom setting!!). Type One: Students Who Struggle with Structure The first type of students who need intervention are those who struggle with structure. These are the kids that can't organize their thoughts in a way a reader could follow. They simply write whatever their brain thinks at the time. They can generally stick with a broad topic, but because they are just writing whatever pops into their head at the time, there are lots of places where their writing veers off track and becomes confusing. Here is an example written by a former student struggling with structure: My dog Henry is my most special treasure. He is always there for me whenever I need him in sad times and happy. In many ways, he's my best friend. He has brown fur and a white chest. He is such a good dog to have around when you are sad because he always knows just how to cheer you up. His eyes are brown, like a Hersey bar. His favorite toy is a yellow tennis ball. Once he almost got hit by a car chasing the ball down the street. I have loved him ever since he was a puppy and we first got him. I was only 4-years old when that little ball of fluff was brought home by my parents to be best friends. His soft fur is always so smooth and warm when you pet him while watching TV on a cold night. He is my best friend and that is why he is my special treasure [sic]. This student is clear about his topic - his dog, Henry - but he cannot organize his thoughts. He is thinking about his dog and writes down everything he knows about his buddy exactly as it comes to his mind. Clearly, he has mechanical and conventional skills, and you can see evidence of where he is practicing what we learned in our mini-lessons and from studying our mentor pieces. But, because there is no organization, it is too difficult to follow and all of the skills he has are lost to the untrained, teacher-eye. Kids who write like this need an intervention that focuses on structure and organization. Typically, I LOATHE teaching step-by-step process writing, but in cases like this, I'm left with little choice. The lessons that I put together for kids in need of this intervention consist of learning how to write a well-organized paragraph. Together, we will work on writing topic sentences, creating strong and clear supporting sentences, and finish up with writing a closing that sticks with our reader. My favorite plans for this type of writing come from Michael Friermood. His Fact-Based Opinion Writing products are geared toward teaching elementary students (grades 3-5) how to write a good opinion paragraph, and they are PERFECT for my struggling 7th graders. They also lack a lot of the "cutesy" images that you find with products for this age group, so my big kids don't feel like I'm making them do "baby stuff." (I do not use the stationary he provides for the final writing piece... it's adorable, but it would be pushing in with my kids! So, we just do our paragraph writing in our intervention notebooks!) My plan is to pull the intervention group for one week (at 15 minutes a pop, this comes to 1 1/4 hours of learning). Long before I ever pull a group, I work hard to make sure that my lesson is broken down into five succinct 15-minute increments. Since time is so precious, you need to make sure not one minute is wasted! I can say that it takes me much longer to plan for a small-group lesson than a 50-minute whole-class lesson because efficiency is so crucial. The first few times you plan a small-group lesson, don't be surprised if your timing is mess. It definitely takes practice to be an effective small-group instructor! After their week is up, then I send them back to completing the bell-ringer at the start of class. I will watch them closely and conference with them lots to make sure that I am seeing a transfer of skills. If I don't, then it is likely that I will put them back in an intervention group in a few weeks to practice again. This intervention model will continue all year. Right now, I have 8 intervention students in one writing class, and 6 in another. By the end of the year, those number should reduce to 3-4 and 2-3. Never in all my years of working with small groups, have I had 100% of my intervention students "graduate" from small group. Don't be frustrated if this is the case! If you can improve 50-60% of those kids, then consider that a huge success!! Type Two: Students Who Struggle with Motivation The next group of kids that I work with are those who struggle with motivation. These are the students who complain a lot about not having anything to write about, spend more time doodling or coloring in their notebook than writing, and who will write the absolute bare minimum for any writing assignment. Many times, these kids produce too little for me to gauge whether or not they also need help with structure. But typically, once I can get them writing, they will likely find themselves in a small group for structure work :) Come October, after we've spent lots of lots of time list writing, the kids who are still struggling to get their pencils moving find themselves using a very special Interactive Writer's Notebook called "Musings from a Middle Schooler." This product contains loads of interactive writing pages that will motivate even the most reluctant writers. The pages can be printed out and glued into a marble notebook. (Most often, I'll have the kids create their own... I don't always have them use all the pages, rather I let them pick and choose the ones they like!). Cover Table of Contents page Table of Contents cont. and an "All About Me" page "My Life Story in Two Pages" My Favorite Thing Comics I created this project just last school year and it's been an absolute smash! The kids (especially my boys!) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! In absolutely no time, they are writing like crazy. And once I can get their pencils moving it doesn't take me long to get them producing some actual pieces. I don't necessarily pull these kids and work with them in a small group. The first few days, we will assemble our books all together at the back table, but then they go right back to the big group. Rather than do the bell-ringer with the rest of the class at the start of the period, they will work in their "Musings" notebooks. Fifteen minutes of that is usually enough to get them into writing mode for the rest of class. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * So, that's how I make writing intervention work in my classroom. Phew!! That was long, folks!! I apologize for my wordiness and I am grateful if you stuck it out until the end! Also, I'm sure that I've left out some crucial details of my practice, so please do not hesitate to ask me any questions you still have! Do you have any good intervention tips or strategies that work for you? I'd love to hear about them. Drop me a comment and share! Happy Teaching!!
Teach students about plate tectonics and how the plates interact with one another with a Plate Boundaries Sort that is aligned with the Next Generation
October 12, 2013 Fourth and fifth grade students are reviewing "rhythm" (the short and long patterns of the beat) in music class...
Analogies are such an important skill for students to master. With these activities your students will have fun as they learn about analogies.
Teaching students about immigration can be fun and engaging for your students! We always kick off this unit with a study on different cultures from around the world. You can find more information about these lessons in our culture blog post. After the culture unit we learn the key points below: 1. Definition of immigration. 2. The history of Ellis Island. 3. The why's and how's of immigration. 4. The influences of immigration on American culture. Below you will find books on the topic of immigration. The documentary below is a little boring, but it does a good job of showing why people left their countries and what they found in Ellis Island. Just click on the picture for the link to youtube. While learning about immigration we learn about Ellis Island and different famous Americans who have immigrated from other countries. Students are assigned a research project for homework. They get to choose Ellis Island or a famous person who immigrated to the U.S. They can make a poster, book report, display or anything that their heart desires. They have to include: topic, birthdate, death date, key details and what the person or place was famous for. Students have a lot of fun presenting these projects in class. Everyone gets to learn about all of the people that their peers found interesting. During the unit, I use passages and task cards written on immigration, Ellis Island and Cesar Chavez. I wrote these passages to fit in perfectly with the unit. If you want to just print and teach, you can find these units by clicking below.
October 12, 2013 Fourth and fifth grade students are reviewing "rhythm" (the short and long patterns of the beat) in music class...
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...
This Reading Comprehension Worksheet - Integrity is for teaching reading comprehension. Use this reading comprehension story to teach reading comprehension.
Yesterday I was working one on one with a student during Recess. Normally I don't like to keep students in during recess, but this particula...
Is your fourth grader learning about electricity? This worksheet is all about circuits, tests her skills and reinforces the concept of how a circuit works!
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I Teach. What’s Your Superpower? Teach • Design • Grow
If you have ever struggled knowing the best way to teach grammar to your students, you are not only one! Whether you infuse your grammar instruction into your reading and writing units or whether you teach from a more traditional curriculum, I think it is safe to say that none of our students have mastered […]
Find resources for teaching story elements to kindergarten, first, second, and third grade students including books and hands-on activities.
Teachers, looking for activities to make teaching grammar fun? These ideas and resources will be perfect for your elementary classroom!
response to intervention guide for parents, how to understand the rti process, response to intervention process for parents
Analogies are such an important skill for students to master. With these activities your students will have fun as they learn about analogies.
October 12, 2013 Fourth and fifth grade students are reviewing "rhythm" (the short and long patterns of the beat) in music class...
Visualizing the text is such an important strategy used for building your students’ reading comprehension. It is very versatile as it can be used in different ways with students of all ages and reading levels. I
Looking for ideas for a homeschool fourth grade curriculum? Check out the textbooks, workbooks, books, and other materials that I used in my home for grade 4 level work. Updated on August 13, 2023.
Give your studenst the opportunity to research a U.S. state in more depth with this Great Explorations research project! Get all the details in this post.
Teaching students about immigration can be fun and engaging for your students! We always kick off this unit with a study on different cultures from around the world. You can find more information about these lessons in our culture blog post. After the culture unit we learn the key points below: 1. Definition of immigration. 2. The history of Ellis Island. 3. The why's and how's of immigration. 4. The influences of immigration on American culture. Below you will find books on the topic of immigration. The documentary below is a little boring, but it does a good job of showing why people left their countries and what they found in Ellis Island. Just click on the picture for the link to youtube. While learning about immigration we learn about Ellis Island and different famous Americans who have immigrated from other countries. Students are assigned a research project for homework. They get to choose Ellis Island or a famous person who immigrated to the U.S. They can make a poster, book report, display or anything that their heart desires. They have to include: topic, birthdate, death date, key details and what the person or place was famous for. Students have a lot of fun presenting these projects in class. Everyone gets to learn about all of the people that their peers found interesting. During the unit, I use passages and task cards written on immigration, Ellis Island and Cesar Chavez. I wrote these passages to fit in perfectly with the unit. If you want to just print and teach, you can find these units by clicking below.
I am so excited to be ‘back in the saddle’ and teaching third grade again this year! I’ve been busily working on learning the new standards and crafting a plan that works for my new students in the fall. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that my favorite two grades...Read More »
One of my favorite writing lessons is all about the Hamburger Paragraph Plan. It is such a third grade-friendly layout and something that provides enough structure to help any student feel success with their writing. For more on how I introduce this with my class at the beginning of the year, click HERE. As the year progresses, I want to up the complexity of their paragraphs by encouraging them to add in details, descriptions, and examples. It's at this point that I introduce the Deluxe Hamburger Paragraph. I made this anchor chart this year, with help from some students about preferred toppings: This expands on our original Hamburger Plan by adding in a space for examples and descriptions after each reason/support/detail. It's awesome to see how their paragraphs improve with this simple addition and really help take their writing to the next level! *Quick Note: The green light reminds kids to have a "go" introduction sentence and the red light reminds them to add a "stop" conclusion sentence. Many times, I will have them underline their intro sentence in green and their conclusion sentence in red to reinforce this. I have updated my popular Hamburger Plan for Paragraph Writing to now include posters, notebook helpers, and plan outlines for the Deluxe Plan. You can redownload if your currently own this, or check it out in my TpT Store HERE. Happy paragraph writing!
Learn Round Robin Writing & Editing Idea. Visit for more!
Read for first week of school ideas and get a First Week Feels Student Survey Freebie!
Printable 4th grade spelling words grouped into 36 weekly themes. Themes like: Africa, fairy tales, pizza & friendship.
Practice comparing fractions using benchmark fractions with this fun fraction sort game. Students are given a total of 96 fractions to sort into different categories. This fraction game is great for third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade
Math brochures for your guided math groups! Math Tri-Folds are my go-to resource when it comes to guided math groups. Here’s why: Fill out the form below and you’ll receive an email with 18 FREE math tri-folds! Shop Grades 1-6 “These are PERFECT for what my admin is looking for!! I love that I can truly […]
Everything you need to thrive in grade five!
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...
This Reading Comprehension Worksheet - Integrity is for teaching reading comprehension. Use this reading comprehension story to teach reading comprehension.
If you are new to teaching 5th grade, you have come to the right place. This is a collection of blog posts and resources for 5th grade teachers.
Happy Tuesday! Today I am going to share one of my favorite ways to build classroom community: creating a classroom playlist. Here is what I had on our whiteboard when my third-graders entered Room 21 on our first day: I had placed an index card at each student's seat, and pencils were in the caddy in the center of each table. I told students they were welcome say things like, "That Taylor Swift song where she..." or "Anything by Twenty One Pilots." We have specials first thing in the morning (about 15 minutes after the bell rings), so I collected the cards as everybody lined up for Art. What a treat to read everybody's responses! I downloaded music from Amazon Prime (it's free! Yay!), making sure that the versions I downloaded were clean (free of offensive language or content) and appropriate for the classroom. When my young scholars came back, we moved on with our day, often working with our favorite songs playing in the background. I can't even express how happy I feel when my whole class is singing together while they're working on a project! I think the first time that happened, I realized what a community-builder shared music can be. Another eye-opener for me regarding the community-building qualities of shared music was when one of my students last year proclaimed that a particular song was "our class theme song"! Students often have additional songs that they think of later, or that comes out mid-year. I keep a notepad and pencil on our table next to the bathroom sign-out log so that kids can add to it as ideas occur to them. This particular notepad is the one I have out for book requests; this is what I refer to when I order bonus point books! (I had this photo but not one of our song request list - they are very much the same though!) One of the bonuses is that these song requests reveal a bit about each student. While most requests were pop chart favorites, I did get some interesting digressions - The Chicken Dance, Spring from Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and The Star Spangled Banner, to name a few! One sweet request came from a little boy who shared that Peter, Paul, and Mary's Lemon Tree makes him happy! And really, I couldn't ask for any more than that!