Teaching vocabulary to your gifted students is something you ay have pushed aside, but it is SO important for them! Read this second post in my series about how I teach vocabulary from start to finish!
Teaching gifted kids in the regular classroom can be a challenge. Do you sometimes feel like you're "losing it"? Do you not really know how to meet the needs of these kids when you have so many kids who have IEP's, 504 Plans, or are in the RTI process? Don't despair, there is help!
Most people have something they say they’d run back into a burning house for. For some, it’s photos or mementos. For others, it’s something of great monetary value.
The workshop model is a great way to differentiate your instruction for all learners in your classroom. This post focuses on workshop for gifted students.
Read about why you need to be okay with letting your gifted students learn new content, even if no one else is doing it.
Have you ever wondered if a gifted language arts curriculum could be a good fit for your homeschool even though your kids aren't necessarily gifted?
Are you challenging gifted students in the classroom? Check out these daily challenge tasks that will help your gifted students thrive!
Top 10 Pixar Short Films for teaching middles school literary elements: theme, plot, inference, setting, dialogue, conflict, and more.
As adults, we often walk into a bookstore with a certain genre we are ready to peruse the aisles for in order to find our next read. Would your students be able to do the
Whether your gifted child prefers logic, word, or strategy you'll find plenty of options with this list of 100 Games for Gifted kids.
A beautiful acrylic painting of Jesus teaching to the crowd. This meaningful and inspirational wall art can be a charming addition to an intentional space. It can also be a great holiday gift for your beloved Christian friends. THE FRAME IS NOT INCLUDED. ----What you will receive---- If you purchase a fine art paper print (Due to high risk of damage to paper during shipping and handling, sizes are limited for this option): ↠ One unframed giclée artwork printed on 100% cotton fine art paper or premium archival fine art matte canvas. ↠ Paper: 100% cotton archive fine art paper with a pleasing white tone and semi-smooth surface (hot press), 300 gsm. If you purchase an un-stretched canvas print: ↠ One unframed giclée artwork printed on premium archival fine art matte canvas. ↠ The Canvas print is a borderless Fine Art Giclee Print on beautiful rolled matte canvas and can be framed with or without glass. ↠ Canvas: designed to meet galleries and museum longevity requirements and ensure consistency of shades 200 years old, 410 gsm. ↠ Inkjet printing with premium pigment ink. ↠ If you need an extra white border around the edges of your print for stretching, please specify in the option text box. If you purchase stretched canvas print: ↠ One giclée artwork wrapped on lightweight and premium grade 1.5" thick wood (gallery). ↠ Mirror wrapped. ↠ Canvas: designed to meet galleries and museum longevity requirements and ensure consistency of shades 200 years old, 410 gsm. ↠ Inkjet printing with premium pigment ink. ----What to expect---- ✎ Flat Prints of size 11"x 14" and above will be rolled in a tube for shipment. ✎ Some flat print sizes will have a slim white border. Handling recommendations: Due to the absorptive nature of the coating, you should avoid touching the coated surface. It's always recommended that cotton gloves be used when handling inkjet coated materials. ©Made Seen 2022. FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
Anyone who knows me, reads this blog, or uses my resources knows that I am passionate about differentiation. I think that is because I grew ...
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
Wondering what skills you must teach your gifted child? Don't worry about reading or STEM as much as these lessons I learned growing up as a gifted kid.
At the end of each novel I teach, I like to have my students participate in some sort of culminating literary analysis project that allows me to assess their
It's easy to learn how to crochet. This learn to crochet tutorial will help teach kids to crochet. Beginners can watch the video lesson and follow easy steps.
How to facilitate successful Socratic Seminars in the secondary ELA
We need to understand that gifted children are not just “bright” – a highly subjective label. 15 signs of a gifted child--read on to learn.
Read how I carried out an experiment on weathering and erosion with my upper elementary class. Students get to use background knowledge to make predictions!
Resilience is one of my favorite topics to teach. Here are 6 tools that will help bring classroom lessons and small groups to life.
Paragraph writing is a big challenge for many students. This post includes a step-by-step method to help your students write great paragraphs in no time.
let students draw themselves on the inside and outsideFun and creative idea to get to know your students and for them to get to know each other!Powerpoint Available.
Want to teach students how to turn fractions to percentages…while also engaging them? In this blog, I’ll show you how you can use an art quilt lesson to help your students with fractions and converting to percentages.
I chain stitched my daughter's name on a knit sweater and it turned out SO cute! 😍 Here's the tutorial:
Teach Force and Motion to Kindergarteners with this simple STEM Challenge designed to connect to the Read Aloud Book, Ricky The Rock that Couldn't Roll.
Do you teach simple machines? They can be so much fun to discuss and explore. They are awesome to create simple...
One of my favorite lessons to teach in my short story unit is the Hero’s Journey. I enjoy teaching the hero's journey because I love seeing my students’ aha! moments - the moment when they get it, and they start making the connections between the content I am teaching and their favorite books and movies. Their faces light up, and faint chatter about Harry Potter, various Disney movies, and other stories slowly fills the room.
Need a quick gift idea? Try making one of these DIY Father’s Day gifts you can easily create at the last minute to give to Dad from the kids.
I am officially starting my substitute teaching job next week! Super nervous and excited! I can't wait to get back into the district that I student taught. I have been printing out some emergency plans to be extra prepared. Here is the sub report that I made this morning. I hope you may get some use out of it, too! Click here to download the pdf
This Fibonacci activity for kids is a hands-on way to teach the Fibonacci sequence and make some math + art Fibonacci flowers!
Why do we have two eyes? This hands-on science lesson about the human body helps children understand that we need two eyes to have proper depth perception.
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
Three AI teacher assistants, a curated collection of math activities, a website-building curriculum, a site for helping students change the world, and more.
In order to stay alive, your body is always taking in oxygen! Your lungs are SO important! They remove carbon dioxide from blood, and transport oxygen and deliver it to the blood!
Gift giving inspiration with meaningful toys that will enrich your children's learning and development! In case you happen to be considering getting a gift for your child's classroom or you happen to be putting a wish list together for your own classroom, I have put together a snapshot of what I would consider to be the
Teach kids about blueprints and architecture with this fun dream house project. Print out blueprints and create and design a house. STEM project idea
In this activity, children use a pattern to create a miniature Native American tipi.
How the stomach breaks down food: a hands-on demonstration to understand the two ways in which the stomach breaks down food during digestion.
The most typical characteristics of gifted children. Check this list and discover if your child might be gifted. Learn what signifiies giftedness.
What happened when I quit teaching? It could be different than what you think and I know some other teachers may be feeling this too...
